To date there are just five poker players who have earned poker's Triple Crown of an EPT title, WPT title and WSOP bracelet.
Jake Cody, from Rochdale in North England, is one of them. (Davidi Kitai, Bertrand Grospellier, Roland De Wolfe and Gavin Griffin are the others).
The first of those three titles Cody won in Deauville, France back in 2010, and he returned to the shores of Normandy this week to try to add another spike in the crown.
Cody: A New Baby, A New Life
Things didn't work out quite as well this go-round for the PokerStars pro but otherwise, with a new baby girl and a new life in London, everything is going just fine these days.
PokerListings caught up with Cody for a few words on poker and parenting, leaving his poker home in Leeds and how having a family ends up being a moneysaver.
PokerListings: You won your EPT title here in Deauville. Does coming back here bring back fond memories?
Fond memories of Deauville.
Jake Cody: Deauville will always be a special place for me. It was my first ever EPT event - that by itself was so exciting, but the fact that I went on to win it!
I will never ever forget that moment and every time I come back I get to relive it a little bit.
PL: You used to live in Leeds until a couple of days ago. Which players did you live and play with and for how long?
JC: The original house was me, Jamie Sykes and Ashley Mason.
Then Matt Perrins came in and Rob Woodcock and JP Kelly have spent a lot of time there too over the last 3-4 years.
They were great times and they remain some of my closest friends.
PL: Do you know the film The Damned United? What’s your favorite football team and why?
JC: I have never heard of it! BUT, I am a big Manchester United fan, my dad was a season ticket holder in the 1970s and I grew up supporting them from day one.
I still try to go to one or two games every season when I am not travelling and playing poker.
PL: There is a centuries old rivalry between England and France. Is there any mockery going on between the two?
JC: Hahaha, I think these days amongst poker players anyway it is just friendly banter but we definitely like to think we are a stronger nation.
Let’s just say this, France is definitely my favorite place to play poker ;)
PL: You used to be a poker “punk” in earlier years, but now you’ve changed completely. How did becoming a parent change your life?
New look, new focus
JC: I guess it was just a phase I had in my late teens and early twenties that I kind of grew out of.
I like to think I had my own style but now especially since the baby I want to look more like a father and not a boy.
It has definitely changed my life, for the better. It has been a big change and tough at times with the extra responsibility but seeing her smile and laugh just for one moment makes it all worth it.
PL: You used to come to poker tournaments as a single player. Now you've brought your whole family. Do you feel the weight of responsibility when you’re playing these days?
JC: You would think it would be more expensive with the family but honestly it keeps me out of trouble, haha!
It means we generally cook at home, limit going out to big meals and table clubs whereas when you are single it’s easy to get carried away and the expenses get huge!
It’s more like now when I win I want to be clever with the money and invest in our future rather than another sports car.
