Apologies to anyone born before 1988, but according to Power Path qualifier Lawrence Penfold, being 35 years old now makes you “old school” in poker terms – at least if you’ve been playing for as long as he has.
Penfold, 35, turned pro back in 2007 and for years maintained the prestigious Supernova Elite status on PokerStars, where he played the majority of his online volume behind the screen name “lozzz”. “I’m old school,” he says.
But around eight years ago he decided to hang up his proverbial boots and enter the tech world, beginning as an intern at a tech company and working his way up to consultant.
With a wife and three-week-old child, the only opportunity Penfold gets to play is on Sundays, where he mixes a mid-stakes MTT schedule (“Anything from $30 to $150”) with Power Path $11 qualifiers. “Now I just enjoy playing poker fun,” he tells us.
STILL GOING STRONG
But despite leaving the daily poker grind behind, he’s still enjoyed great success on the virtual felt. In 2018, Penfold took down a World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) title, winning a half-price $55 Sunday Kickoff for $47,494.
And recently, he added another impressive score to his résumé: a Gold Power Pass.
On roughly his fourth attempt at a $109 Step 4, Penfold secured the top Power Path prize worth $10,300 and used the pass to book a trip to the European Poker Tour (EPT) in Paris.
REPPING THE OLD SCHOOL
It’s been a couple of years at least since Lawrence Penfold played a live poker tournament. He estimates he’s played two or three UK and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT) events throughout his career, but never an EPT.
So here he is in Paris making his EPT Main Event debut, and with less than $4,000 in live earnings listed on his Hendon Mob, this former Supernova Elite is flying well and truly under the radar.
“It’s been really good,” he says. “Everything is organised really well and everyone has been super friendly. It’s been a great experience so far and PokerStars puts on a lot of extras for the players.”
Understandably, with such a young child, Penfold has made this trip solo. “It was hard enough just to get permission to come here,” he says with a chuckle.
But if he makes a deep run, he plans to get a few people to come over and cheer him on.
Go on, Lawrence. Do it for us old-schoolers.
MORE ABOUT POWER PATH:
INTRODUCING POWER PATH
POWER PATH STRATEGY
WHAT DO PROS THINK OF POWER PATH?
POWER PATH INSPIRATION
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