Ep 303: Shaun Ellis, Nathan McCain (October 26, 2011)

Rounds: Here.


Shaun is back for his fifth game; Richard talks a little more to him about his online poker playing.  Shaun admits to not having a poker face, which is why he sticks to playing it online.  He also relates how it kept his ego in check after he became the carryover champion of the show -- the feeling of invincibility quickly faded after losing $50 in five minutes.

Today's challenge is Nathan McCain, an outdoor recreation facilitator and surfing instructor.  The early banter was about nicknames (David's poker nickname is Slingshot, after twice winning from a long way back), and Nathan reveals that his is Tambour, after the tambourine.  This resulted from a mate heckling him and then challenging him to perform on stage, which has led to him playing at festivals in various places.


Oh, dear, I definitely felt out of form for this game.  I was trying to get it done in a hurry before I had to go out, but that's hardly an excuse given that a filming would be more hurried.  The first five rounds went relatively poorly and soon had me fourteen points adrift; it took a tricky numbers round (not solved perfectly) to get me back in the right direction, and the final numbers round  gave me a narrow lead going into the conundrum.  Unusually for me, I managed to get it straight away, sealing an unconvincing victory in a low-scoring contest.

Shaun was in much more comfortable territory, as Nathan was only able to score in one round.  Shaun thus (relatively speaking) cruised to his fifth straight victory with a final score of 40 points to 7.  Will he go the distance?  Tomorrow will tell!

As usual, details after the jump.