We ask the questions...
Kyna England is a player who's been making big waves since recording her first tournament cash in 2018. She won the title of Mid-Stakes Poker Tour (MSPT) Player of the Year in 2021, and in 2022 was named GGPoker's first ClubGG ambassador.
Her results at the recent North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Las Vegas, where she won the Ladies' event and cashed in the Main, have pushed her career winnings over the $1 million mark.
England can currently be seen taking part in GGPoker's well-received Game of Gold.
What's one bit of essential prep you do before a big tournament or cash game session?
"I don’t really have a routine. Before any Day 2, though, I like to make sure I can decompress the night before. Before going to bed I like to read the hands or the updates from the day, if there is coverage, and catch up on anything I missed. Then it's sort of a routine to give my friend group an update on my chip stack, and collect the good luck texts in the morning.
I think having a network of support around me is most important when preparing for a big spot. I would not be where I am today without my good friends."
What piece of strategy advice did you get when you first started playing that you wish you had ignored?
"One thing a pro once told me early on in my career, is that you don’t ever have to be a good loser. I mean we all know the saying, 'show me a good loser and I will show you a loser', but that doesn’t mean I should be mean or cocky at the table, which, in my early years, I may have been.
But its something I learn from and I try to be more gracious now and appreciate the wins for other people when they beat me. I am not always going to win, and it is on me how I react to that."
What's the dumbest thing you've seen/done at the poker table?
"This is so small and stupid and seriously insignificant, but it often pops into my head to haunt me how stupid I was.
I was deep-ish in a $400 ring event in Potawatomi. Probably final 3 tables and I had flatted 5-5 in position against a MP open. The board came 5-5-K. He bet all three streets and on the river I raised all-in, which was almost surely less than half the pot.
My opponent went into the tank for quite a bit. My buddy was walking by while this guy was tanking and I said to my friend “Hey look, look!” and showed him my hand. And my opponent just snap-folded. It was so stupid, and kind of lame I still think about it. They guy told me after he had KQ."
What's your most memorable hand?
"There are a lot of really great hands that stand out, mostly because of who I got to play them against and how each one made me feel like I progressed a little in skill. But the one I will never forget is my bustout hand in the WPT Venetian $5k.
I was so green, and just 3-bet jammed A-8 suited, three-handed, with 30bbs. I was the shortest, but not by much, and 30bbs is a lot three-handed. I was against Chad Everslage and Mike Liang and it just felt like I was outmatched skill-wise, so I should take a flip. But it's annoying to think I could play in that spot better now.
I hope to be in a similar spot in the future, so I can hopefully learn from my mistakes."
What's your single best piece of advice for poker players?
"I hate to be a broken record, but give it time and put in some hard work and eventually, just like anything else in life, if you want to get better you will."
If you owned a poker room, who's the first player you'd want to sign as an ambassador and why?
"I really like Krissy B [Kristen Foxen]. She has such a great attitude all the time and she's very pleasant to play with. Also I might reach out to some of my mid-stakes friends: poker is always more fun with friends! I would definitely be signing Angela Jordison and Josh Reichard. They are crushers and always make a poker table more fun with their table talk and banter!"
Images courtesy of PokerStars
