“It was colossal,” says Steve Paul-Ambrose of his win at the Third Annual PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. “I’m just totally excited and blown away.”

The 22-year-old University of Waterloo student beat off a host of experienced poker players to win over $1.3 million American dollars in prize money at the event. More than 700 poker fans competed in the Third Annual PokerStars Caribbean Adventure held in the Bahamas, playing Texas Hold’em poker. The object of the game is to make the best possible poker hand from seven cards, five on the table and two from the deck.

According to Paul-Ambrose’s brother George, Steve is a relative newcomer to poker, having played for only two years and unaccustomed to playing live against his opponents. “This is the last thing he ever would have expected,” George Ambrose said. “He has very little experience. Over Christmas he was playing penny-poker with his uncles and was telling me after that he was practicing at getting a read on people.”

The business and science student was keen to participate in the event organized by PokerStars and managed to avoid paying the $8000 entry fee by winning a series of online competitions. Leading up to the event, PokerStars spokesman Scott Womer referred to the competition as “one of the biggest tournaments out there people can participate in.” But in the end, Paul-Ambrose paid a mere $102 to enter.

Paul-Ambrose won a total of $1.363.100. He also reserved a $25,000 seat in the World Poker Tour’s championship event to be held in Las Vegas in April.

Despite the student’s lack of experience, George Ambrose cites his brother’s ability to keep a clear head under pressure as one of the factors behind his win. “Steve is a fairly quiet guy and he’s a really good thinker and problem solver,” he said. “That’s what this game is about.”

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