Lee Davy finds time to talk to the former Winamax sponsored pro, Manuel Bevand, about his forthcoming appearance on the Ted Conference stage.

Anyone that watches Manuel Bevand playing poker can quickly deduce that this is a smart man. So I wasn’t surprised, albeit a little envious, when I learned that he was about to make his Ted Conference debut at the TEDx Ecole Polytechnique in Paris on 23 April 2015.

It’s not easy talking in front of some of the smartest engineering students in the world.

But if anyone can do it, Manub can.

Talking at a Ted Conference is a bucket list goal of mine. How did this become something that you wanted to do?

“Well, I suppose everyone has something to say? When I started watching TED talks I became hooked and started wondering about what I would say on that stage. I put it on my bucket list, and attended my first event (TedXClapham) as a spectator, but I didn’t know I would have to speak three months later. The opportunity just presented itself and I’m super excited.”

How did it present itself?