AN amateur poker ace is hoping to play his cards right when he takes on some of the biggest names in the game at the grand final of a national tournament.

Father-of-three Colin Pearson, from Stockton, qualified for the Great British Poker Tour grand final, held in Bristol, by winning the heat at the Gala Stockton Casino, in April.

Mr Pearson is a casino regular but qualified for the festival, which has a total prize pool of £650,000 by playing online poker at Galapoker.co.uk.

He went on to beat 100 other poker players, including several professionals, in a series of gruelling high pressure games at the Teesside tournament.

He said: "I won't fear anyone, and I'm as ready as I'll ever be - I'll give it my best shot.

"The Teesside poker scene is buzzing at the moment, so it's a great environment to prepare in.

"The poker community at the casino is great, and the support and challenge they have provided me over the last year helped me improve my game enough to win.

"There is a lot of UK poker talent to face, but I'm hoping I can bring the overall title home to Teesside.

"I've got as good a chance as any, it just depends who's on the table, but I'm just going to play my game and we'll see what happens."

The final event runs from tomorrow until Sunday.