I never abused anybody but myself.

I play poker face to face.

The people in China love their snooker. We get a fantastic reception when we go over there.

The best match I ever played in was the U.K. championship final against John Parrot in 1992. I won 16-14 and I felt like I could pot anything from anywhere.

Ronnie O'Sullivan, the greatest snooker player ever, will tell you that he doesn't practise. I'm not having that. I call him Roger, after Federer, because he's a genius. He doesn't like that nickname.

I like the hypnosis. Nothing too deep - just enough to keep me clearer and more focused.

I love Belfast, because of the way that people here love their snooker. And I won my first professional tournament here in 1981. It was at the King's Hall and I beat Doug Mountjoy in the final. That victory will always be pretty special for me.

One of my great heroes was my brother. You couldn't have dreamt of a better one.

Over the years I have been in a lot of trouble but I've always managed to switch off and play.

Not only did I have to face the great Steve Davis for 10 years, Stephen Hendry came along, who attacked the balls. He was such an incredible potter with self-belief.

My dad was a coalman and was always playing snooker with his mates.

That period in the late Eighties and early Nineties was when I was playing my best snooker. My trouble was that I had so many bad habits that my preparation was terrible: people like Steve Davis or Dennis Taylor were model pros.

The trouble started when I won the world amateur title in 1980, aged 18. People began talking about me as the next star of the game. But I also started to get recognised more and I wasn't prepared for it.

On my 50th birthday the Rolling Stones played at my party at Grosvenor House. That's not bad for a kid from Tooting.

I really enjoy working as a pundit.

I would have prepared differently before big matches but I wouldn't change my life.

I've been gambling since the age of 12. Horses, dogs, dice, roulette, you name it.

Do I have any regrets about my life? No.

Snooker's only popular in China now. Well China's OK to go to once or twice a year but to go and play six or seven tournaments there is too much.

I mean what's the point of them becoming professional snooker players? If there's not much money in the game, if there's no guarantee of future tournaments, if no one knows what's going on.

I'm lucky to be alive.

The thought of the weekends I used to have now makes me shake.

We go out and have a drink occasionally. We're quite happy to go for a nice meal and go the theatre or something.

In a way, sometimes I was quite pleased when I got beat, 'cos then I could do my antics.

I'm such an addictive personality that I can say yes or no.

Everything for me was to beat the system, the way I played was to beat the system.

Because I could do things on the snooker table that no other player could do, I just had this sort of self-destruct button in me.

I used to think of exhibitions as being practice but they are not.

I've played 8-ball in Hong Kong and I'm more knowledgeable with that than 9-ball.

Hendry's fine. I've got a lot of respect for him.

I think I should win every tournament I enter.

I was mad-keen on poker as a kid. It was like the snooker, pulling me into that same smokey atmosphere I loved.

I love playing in Ireland and I've had great support here, like I get everywhere.

People appreciate anyone who takes chances - they like a bit of flair.

Snooker still fascinates me and I still get a buzz from it.

We play Snooker Legends exhibitions and there is never a spare ticket.

I love playing O'Sullivan. It is a bit of a role reversal from when I used to play Alex Higgins.

The worst problem I've probably had was the gambling - you can do your money in the bookies a lot quicker than you can do it in the pub.

I was introduced to the game by my father, Tommy, when I was 11.

I think boxing is a fantastic sport.

I was a big fan of Naseem Hamed, and followed him. Ronnie O'Sullivan, Stephen Hendry and I know him well.

I play golf but very badly.

Listen, I could have won the World Championship. Obviously if I had the chance to do it all again I would do things differently. But then would I have still wanted to play?

I learnt the game as a kid hustling car dealers for cash.

Golf and snooker are similar. They are ball games that you don't have to be super fit for. It's not like boxing or football when, at 35, you are on your way home.

I was a beat-the-system sort of player, but you can't beat the system, you have to prepare properly.

I have always loved playing snooker.

It is like any sport. You practise thousands of times and you miss the simplest ball and you don't understand why. But that's why snooker is so special, because all of sudden you can lose everything.

We earned any fans with the way we play.

I know sometimes I played to the crowd, and it did cost me.