On Thursday, the second USA-friendly PocketFives Open since Black Friday played out on HogWild Poker, a free site that accepts American users. In the end, over 300 players turned out and Heather ECUgirl Lockey (pictured) came away with the win and earned a brand new Kindle Fire from Amazon. You'll also notice a shiny new badge in her profile. We caught up to Lockey the day after her PocketFives Open win to talk about her poker career. Thanks again to everyone who played.PocketFives: Congratulations on winning the PocketFives Open. How does it feel to beat the guys and come away with a title?
Heather Lockey: I'm very excited. I had actually taken a break from PocketFives for about six months, so this was a nice way to jump back in. I greatly appreciate the opportunity and had a great time. I'm very excited about the Kindle and the badge is pretty cool too.
PocketFives: Why did you decide to play in the PocketFives Open? Can you tell us in general how it went for you?
Heather Lockey: I decided to play for fun. I've met a lot of people through the PocketFives Off Topic forum over the years and knew a few people who were playing, so I thought, "What the heck? I'll play." Like most poker tournaments, I won a few key coin flips. With that particular blind structure, you kind of had to shove or fold quite a bit. The cards went my way a few times when I needed them to.
PocketFives: You joined PocketFives in August 2007 and have about 8,500 posts. We understand you met your boyfriend, OneM24 (pictured), through our site. He knocked out wantagolf and claimed one of the bounties in the PocketFives Open.Heather Lockey: Yes, I'm not shy, so I just jumped right in back then. I've met some really great people on the site, including my boyfriend. It sounds odd to say this about an internet site, but I have many OTers that I consider good friends. We have a group here in Raleigh that gets together a few times a year for drinks and stuff. It's been a good experience overall.
Regarding OneM24, it makes for an interesting story when people ask us how we met, for sure. I truly wasn't looking for anyone at the time we met and had actually sworn off dating. But, we decided to get together to have some drinks, just on a friendship basis, and the rest is history.
PocketFives: How did you find PocketFives originally?
Heather Lockey: Well, that's an interesting story too. My ex actually introduced me to Texas Hold'em in early 2006. I played on a regular basis for about a year, mostly on UB in a lot of sit and gos. I read everything I could get my hands on about poker and loved it right from the start.
I used to play Seven Card Stud as a kid with my dad, grandfather, and uncle, but I just took to Hold'em. One time, I played in a tournament and had a question about a hand, so my ex told me to post in Poker Discussion. I did and someone from OT directed me there. I've been hanging around ever since.
PocketFives: What did you think of HogWild Poker, a free, USA-facing online poker room that was the host of the PocketFives Open?Heather Lockey: I liked it. The level of play seemed to be better than I expected for a free site. I've played a lot on Zynga, just for fun, and it's just plain scary the way the people on there play. People tend to be very loose with "free" money.
PocketFives: Do you play a lot of live poker?
Heather Lockey: I play every month or so in some cash games here in Raleigh and up in Richmond, where OneM24 lives. I also go to Vegas once or twice a year when I can. I'm very excited too because the North Carolina legislature just passed a bill allowing the reservation in Cherokee to have live dealers. They've had video poker for several years now. I haven't had a chance to go play there yet, but I hope to soon.
PocketFives: Is there anything else you'd like to add?
Heather Lockey: I just want to say thanks again for running the tournament. I hope PocketFives will sponsor more of them in the future. It's always a good time.
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