Sydney, Jan 16 : After remaining at the top of the cricketing world for almost a decade and finally saying good bye to it, former Aussie leg spinner Shane Warne is now all set to begin a new indoor sports career in poker. He is learnt to have signed with poker giant "888.com".

Warne said he developed interest in the game from playing with his friends over the past five years, including Joe Hachem, who won the prestigious World Series of Poker, and his brother Tony.

Now, he sees the Hachem family every week to learn a tip of two about the game.

"Joe and Tony have taught me a lot, and what excellent teachers to have. But my attitude is I've got a lot more to learn about the game," an AAP report quoted him as saying in an interview with the Herald Sun.

His new sports agreement will see him travel to the US, UK, New Zealand and possibly South Africa with 888.com this year with more dates possible around the world.

But, Warne confided that the 20 years of cricket of his life are the most special for him. "Nothing will replace the 20 years of cricket in my life but there are a lot of similarities. It's a game of skill that has a lot of analogies to cricket. You have to be very, very disciplined. I'm really excited. Hopefully this will replace the competitive spirit that I had with cricket," he said.

Warne, who quit cricket last year after two decades on tour, said that now he is able to spend more time at home with his family and friends. "It's been great, I've been enjoying doing lots of different things and it's been great to spend heaps of time with the kids," he said.

ANI