Benjamin Jenkins

Benjamin Jenkins first discovered poker in his sixth form common room, inspired by the television show Late Night Poker. With a strong background in mathematics and a competitive nature, he quickly took to the game, playing small-stakes cash games with friends. His first live tournament, a £10 or £20 rebuy event at a casino, ended in a chop for over £400, and he was immediately hooked. He funded his gap year through poker and continued playing through university at Bristol, where he spent more time studying poker than history. By graduation, he was making more from poker than he could from a traditional job, and he chose to turn professional.

Jenkins transitioned to online poker, depositing $50 and building his bankroll through low-stakes games. His primary screenname, "gs08bjohnson," combines his membership number (08) from the Stodmarsh Perudo Club and a play on his surname (Jenkins being Welsh, Johnson English). He achieved early success in online tournaments, eventually accumulating over $1.7 million in online cashes according to PocketFives. In 2013, he was offered a spot as a Full Tilt Ambassador, a role he described as "getting really lucky" and which provided opportunities to travel and meet exceptional people.

Jenkins' largest online score came in September 2012 when he chopped the PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up three ways for $71,000. He has also cashed in multiple World Series of Poker events, including a 125th-place finish in the 2012 $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em event for $3,659 and several deep runs in 2020 WSOP Online events. His biggest live cash to date is £27,000 from a tournament in London. Other notable results include 86th in the 2013 EPT Main Event in London for £8,000 and a 6th-place finish in a May 2020 WSOP Online event for $1,984.

Jenkins specializes in No-Limit Hold'em, which he calls his unequivocal strength. He plays a tight, mathematically sound game, using a simple HUD setup with VPIP/PFR/3-bet on the top line, positional raise first in stats on the second, and c-bet/ turn c-bet/ fold to c-bet on the third. He emphasizes that note-taking is more important than HUD stats for tournament players. He avoids Pot-Limit Omaha, claiming he might be "the worst when it comes to the four-card game." Despite his conservative image, he is proficient in mixed games like 7-card stud and HORSE.

Jenkins is known for wearing a suit to live tournaments, a habit that originated from a prop bet with Stuart Rutter and Jamie Sykes. The goal was to wear suits until one of them made a top-three finish; Jenkins ran well, achieving a 2nd place on his third outing, but then reverted to the suit after a cold streak and has worn it ever since. He also holds certificates in ballet and tap dancing from childhood. Jenkins moved to Gosforth, Newcastle, to live with three other professional poker players, improving his game through shared analysis and camaraderie.