Aussie cricket legend Shane Warne to face off with son Jackson at poker table

HE’S swiped cash from Brian Lara and taken Andrew Simmonds to the cleaners but now proud dad Shane Warne could face one of his toughest tests at the poker table — staring down the cards at son Jackson.

HE’S swiped cash from Brian Lara and taken Andrew Symonds to the cleaners but now proud dad Shane Warne could face one of his toughest tests at the poker table — staring down the cards at son Jackson.

The Warnes have entered the coming Aussie Millions Poker Championship, starting this week, and the cricket legend said it would be win at all costs if they happened to cross paths.

“If we end up at the same table, so be it. Jackson will try and knock me out of the tournament, and I will probably try and knock him out for bragging rights,” Warne said with a grin.

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Does Jackson Warne have his old man Shane covered when it comes to the poker table? Picture: Jay Town

“But it’s highly unlikely. There’s going to be 800-plus people and the computer randomly

draws it ... so it would be unlucky.”

While 18-year-old Jackson Warne didn’t inherit his father’s passion for spin bowling, he has always shared his love of cards — from Uno through to Texas hold’em.

The father-and-son duo now test their cunning in fortnightly home poker games that involve a revolving door of AFL aces such as Brendon Goddard, Steven Baker, Campbell Brown, Leigh Montagna, Nick Riewoldt, Aaron Hamill and Brendan Fevola.

“I never pushed Jackson into cricket. He played it for a year, took a hat-trick — took four wickets in five balls — bowling a little bit of leg spin or with the seam, smashed a few with the bat but it didn’t really grab him,” Warne said.

“But to be able to do things like play a bit of poker for a bit of fun during the Aussie Millions it’s pretty amazing. We have a real bond with it.”

Jackson, who plays his father for the right to dodge chores while on holidays, said he’d been hanging out to play tournament poker for the past two years.

“I reckon if I go out in the first hour, the first day or even make the final table, it’s all about the experience,” he said.

In terms of cricket circles, Warne said former Aussie captain Mark Taylor had the best poker face, but he drew greatest pleasure from beating West Indian great Brian Lara.

“I took a bit of cash off him, playing on a plane once — from Dubai to Melbourne. I absolutely owned him. It was better than bowling to him because he used to smash me all over the park. So it was nice to take his cash over the poker table — or the plane tray,” Warne said.

“One of the funniest cricketers to play was Andrew Simmonds. Once we were playing and I went all in and I could see him looking at his cards to see if he had a straight or not. I said, ‘you need five cards remember, Andrew, to get a straight.” He said, “Yeah, I’ve got that, Joe”, and then realised he only had a four-card straight.”