‘He’s ugly, has nothing going for him and he isn’t even a good player.’ Dave Ulliott, the country’s most explosive poker export, is slowly turning from mild-mannered host to the party villain we all love to hate. Sitting in the plush surroundings of his home on the outskirts of Hull, he throws me a wink that is almost subconscious, before adding: ‘That’s the problem with Mike [Matusow]. There are people in poker who have no sense of humour. They just sit there and shout. It’s pretty sad really.’

Getting the man they call ‘Devilfish’ to badmouth his rivals is not something you would imagine being difficult.