Graduate wins £1m in poker match - graduate jobs

A Manchester University graduate has found a novel way of earning money by winning around £1 million in poker game - although other graduates may have to use more conventional ways to find gainful work.

Olivia Boeree, 25, who studied astrophysics, is only the third woman to win the European Poker Tour. She beat 1,240 players to win the 1.25-million-euro prize with a pair of fives, at the competition in San Remo, Italy.

The graduate was one of a small number of UK players who managed to catch a flight when parts of Europe's skies were filled with ash from the erupting volcano in Iceland.

Ms Boeree beat Swedish professional Jakob Carlsson to take the winnings but admitted that beating him with a pair of fives was unusual.

She said: "The final hand was a scary one because it was a true coin flip. I don't really like calling on pairs but I just felt I had the best hand."

Nicknamed the Iron Maiden because she loves heavy metal music, Ms Boeree only began playing poker five years ago.