For a few smug, glorious seconds I feel like a proper card shark, but it's short-lived. I go 'all-in' on my first hand in one game and sweep up an easy £10. Twister is a turbo-charged version of Texas Hold'em, where three players face off with a small number of chips, and whoever ends up with them all bags a randomly generated prize between £2 and £2,000. I get lucky in a free game of 'twister' poker early on. Like matched betting with sports bookies, most poker rooms offer a cash bonus or free tournament tickets when you make your first deposit, and I aim to use these to kickstart my bankroll. To give myself a better chance of finishing the month in profit, despite being absolutely shit at poker, I try to take advantage of sign-up offers. It’s not like someone’s out to get you – and if they are, use it.'Īlthough I lack Maria's self-control, solid temperament, attention to detail and PhD-level understanding of psychology, I do have something going for me: an insatiable appetite for grifting. 'Remind yourself over and over that none of this is personal,' Maria says.
