James "The Doctor" Dempsey

James “Flushy” Dempsey is an English professional poker player from Brighton, England, who made his first live-event cash in 2005. In the first 6 years of his career, James cashed 61 times, made 45 final tables, won 12 events, won a WSOP bracelet, won a WPT title, and earned over $1.7 million.

James was born in the United Kingdom in 1983. Unlike many poker pros that discovered the game in their teens or while in college, James played and loved the game of poker from a young age. While growing up, he always knew that playing poker was what he wanted to do in life.

In 2005, at age 22, James realized his dream when he made his first live-event cash by finishing 14th for $1,144 in a Blackpool Bonanza event. He would go on to have 6 cashes that year at the Grosvenor UK Open Poker Championship, the Grosvenor UK Open Poker Championship, the SportingOdds.com London Poker Masters, and the Harbour Lights Poker Festival. The next year, he had another 4 cashes in local UK events, winning his first event, a £30 NLHE Poker4Charity event at the Cardiff Classic for £1,100.

James cashed 14 times in 2007, making the money in 6 Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT) events where final tabled 5 events. His biggest paycheck was from the GUKPT Brighton, where he finished 7th in the £1,000 NLHE to earn £12,200.  Other cashes that year included winning events at the January Sales Brighton, the Sussex Masters, and the Brighton Summer Shaker.

In 2008, James started the year with a 3rd place finish in the £500 NLHE Main Event at the Gala Casinos Poker Tour Bristol for £16,000. He also cashed twice at the Summer Breeze event, winning the £200 NLHE to earn £4,400, and cashed twice at the 888.com UK Open.  This was also the year that James started playing online at PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, where he would earn over $500,000 in just 3 years. His biggest online score was at PokerStars, where he was runner-up in a 2009 SCOOP event to earn $211,748.

The highlights of 2009 for James included his first WSOP cash, when he finished 14th in the $2,500 Omaha-8 for $12,667. Among his other 7 cashes that year was a win at the Summer Breeze Brighton where he took down the £150 NLHE to earn £5,800.

James started 2010 by cashing at the Sussex Masters and EPT San Remo before cashing 4 times at the WSOP. He started his WSOP run by winning his first gold bracelet and $197,470 in the $1,500 PLHE. He went on to cash in the $5,000 NLHE, the $1,000 NLHE, and finish runner-up behind Sammy Farha in the $10,000 Omaha-8 Championship to take home $301,789. In recognition of his accomplishments in 2010, PartyPoker offered James a sponsorship deal and signed him as a member of their pro team.

In 2011, James cashed 13 times, made 10 final tables, and won 3 events – including his first WPT title. He started by winning an event at the January Sales Brighton. In Las Vegas, he cashed twice at the Wynn Classic, winning the $500 PLO-8 for $18,937. At the WSOP, he cashed twice, earning $13,368 in the $5,000 NLHE Shootout for finishing 39th. After a pair of cashes in the UK, James was in Cannes for the WSOP Europe where he finished 9th in the €3,000 NLHE Shootout for €16,637.

In November, James made the final table twice at the Coral Late Night Poker event, and finished 5th in the PartyPoker.com Premier League Poker Mixed Game Championship for $30,000. Back in Las Vegas in December, James cashed twice at the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic. In the $5,000 NLHE, he collected $56,782 for his 3rd place finish, and a few days later, won the $10,000 Championship event for his first WPT title and $821,612.

From his home in Brighton, James continues to represent PartyPoker as one of its pros, and is often involved in their high-profile events. He also maintains a home in Las Vegas, and when away from the poker tables, enjoys playing golf and semi-professional bocce.