The inaugural PocketFives league at HogWild Poker, a free site that welcomes U.S. players, has wrapped up. Last week, photokid earned an iPad 2 after defeating nearly 200 players who registered for the free league. After winning the first league event, photokid finished third in the fourth and final tournament to land atop the leaderboard. Now, the top five league players will compete on behalf of PocketFives in a $500 Top Hog Freeroll.

PocketFives caught up with Dylan SWrestle Rinker (pictured), who took down one of the four PocketFives HogWild Poker league events. He explained that the tournament’s structure was quite unique: “It was an interesting structure because there weren’t any antes and the blinds almost doubled each level. I ran J-J into K-K early and rivered a jack to stay alive. I played patiently, knowing that acquiring points is more important than being a hero.”

The overall winner of the league was the person who scored the most number of points over the course of four events. “Play stalled out four-handed for awhile, as no one really gave up any ground. Once photokid was knocked out in fourth, I felt much more comfortable and in my element. The opponent I ended up heads-up against was a very competent player, but passive, so I used that to my advantage and raised most buttons. I ended up getting it in with A-J against A-2 and faded. Overall, the field seemed strong and I didn’t see any plays that seemed out of line. The level of play was high for what is technically a freeroll.”

HogWild Poker’s software mimics live play. You’re seated at the end of the table and your hole cards are dealt face down, among other novel features. Every time you look at your cards, they light up, so your opponents know when you’re peeking. We asked Rinker about HogWild’s software: “I have enjoyed playing on HWP very much. The staff and players are all very friendly and everyone is very talkative at the table. The software reminds me a lot of Facebook, and adds a lot more of a social element, as people congratulate each other through comments.”

His overall take: “It makes the game feel more personal and more like a home game.”

Anyone can create a free league on HogWild Poker. You’ll be able to customize your tournaments’ blinds, format, and game, among other options, and no deposits are accepted, which makes it USA-friendly.

We asked Rinker how he got started in poker. “I started playing poker in middle school during the WSOP boom,” the American told us. “We used to play at my friend’s house every weekend, sit and gos usually. I didn’t play at all through high school and it wasn’t until my sophomore year of college that I started to get back into it. My roommate was playing on PokerStars at the time and I decided I would give it a try again.”

He explained that getting back into poker was easier said than done: “I didn’t realize how much I didn’t know about the game. I used to play every weekend, but I have spent a lot of time since then reading up on PocketFives and watching videos to better my game. I haven’t played online too often since Black Friday. I play in a 200NL live game once a week and also enjoy going to Mohegan Sun once a month or so.”

HogWild Poker is in the midst of doling out live staking packageseach month for tournaments around the United States. The top 15 finishers each month in freerolls will score a $500 staking package, and the HogWild Poker player with the best 12 games between February 1st and May 31st will get a $13,000 World Series of Poker Main Event prize package. Read more.

Here were the top five finishers in February’s PocketFives HogWild Poker league. They will represent the site in the aforementioned $500 freeroll:

1. photokid
2. txlady
3. Annunaki
4. vicvegas007
5. MamaOnTheRiver

Thanks to everyone who played. Sign up for HogWild Poker.