Joe Beevers

Joe Beevers (full name Joseph Charles Beevers) was born on December 9, 1967 in Marylebone, London. His father taught him how to count blackjack cards when he was 10, and he calculated permutations and probabilities on a Sinclair ZX81 computer. Beevers left school at 16, and at 18 he formed a blackjack card-counting team with his father and two others, often playing at the Sergeant Yorkes casino in Luton. Due to their success, he and his father were banned from 21 of London's 23 casinos. After that, Beevers worked for NatWest and Citibank, then entered Middlesex University as a mature student, earning a Bachelor's degree in Finance and Accounting at age 24. During university, he began regularly playing poker tournaments in casinos.

Beevers' poker career started when he signed up for a £10 pot-limit seven-card stud tournament during a blackjack session in Luton. Later, he won approximately £35,000 playing seven-card stud in North London, building his bankroll. After graduating, he made a living playing poker and teaching students and faculty, never returning to an office job. In 1996, he played his first World Series of Poker (WSOP) event, a $2,500 pot-limit Texas hold'em tournament, finishing 14th—becoming the first member of The Hendon Mob to cash at the WSOP. In 1997, he won his first major tournament title at the MasterClassics of Poker in Amsterdam.

Beevers formed "The Hendon Mob" with Barny and Ross Boatman and Ram Vaswani. In 1999, he was invited to participate in the first televised poker show, Late Night Poker, which was the first to use hidden cameras and became a hit. Beevers appeared in all six series, making the final table in Series 1, 4, and 5, with a total of 10 appearances—one of the most frequent players. In 2003, Beevers and The Hendon Mob signed a $1 million sponsorship deal with PrimaPoker (later Microgaming), pioneering corporate sponsorship for poker players.

Beevers is one of the UK's most successful tournament players, with career tournament earnings exceeding $2.6 million. His major wins include: winning the Irish Open; winning the Poker Million (broadcast live on Sky); and in 2007 winning the GBPT (Great British Poker Tour) title, crowned "Champion of Great Britain" (aired on Channel 4). He represented Great Britain three times, winning the Poker Nations Cup in 2006 and 2008. At the WSOP, he has 15 cashes, with his best Main Event finish being 151st in 2005; on the World Poker Tour (WPT), he has one final table (6th place) and one cash; on the European Poker Tour (EPT), he has one cash.

Beevers is a sponsored player for Grosvenor Poker, often hosting poker training camps at large events such as the Goliath at the Coventry Ricoh. Additionally, he runs the sports betting website Betting Emporium with friend Neil Channing.

Beevers married his wife Claire at the Bellagio in Las Vegas after the 2006 WSOP. He now lives in Hertfordshire with his twin daughters. His poker nickname is "The Elegance".

Beevers is known for his solid tight-aggressive style, using position and reads effectively in cash games. He prefers pot-limit Omaha, considering it his favorite variant. In tournaments, he focuses on survival, avoiding high-risk plays early on.