A professional poker player from a town says that the game helped her through the 'toughest time' of her life. Claire Taylor, of started playing poker properly when she was 20 years old.

This was at a time when she'd been given the devastating news she'd been diagnosed with cancer. The now 36-year-old was receiving treatment at the Royal Marsden in London when some friends invited her to play snooker.

There happened to be a poker game running at the time, and, as she already knew the basics, she decided to join in. Claire said: "Poker gave me something positive to focus on and took my mind off being ill.

"Over the past 16 years, it’s been a huge source of joy, community, and resilience, and it truly helped me through the toughest time in my life." Claire also met her partner at the tabl

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