On August 23rd, Massachusetts PocketFives.com member itssuitedfinished second in the high-stakes Full Tilt Poker $1K Mondayto the tune of $62,000. The cash wasn’t anywhere close to his largest to date, a near $400,000 haul for winning the Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) VI Main Event in November, 2007. That tournament, which came with a $500 buy-in, saw itssuited outlast a massive 4,400-player field. Also to his credit is a final table in the 2009 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) Main Event for $171,000.

He told PocketFives.com that despite the $1K Monday payday not eclipsing his standing record, he was still relieved to make a final table: “It feels good, especially since I haven’t made a significant amount of money in a long time. Lately when I’ve been winning, the vast majority has gone to makeup. Most of this was profit.” The $1,000 buy-in tournament generated a field of 405 players and the top 45 landed in the money.

itssuited has definitely made a name for himself at the tables, so much so that he’s well recognized in the online community and sits just outside of the top 100 in the Poker Player Rankings. On whether he’s received any pushback at the tables, itssuited told PocketFives.com, “I haven’t noticed anything really. I think people just tend to not like to fold to me. I don’t get many folds from people who know me. I used to just try and run people over all the time and it didn’t really work out too well.”

He’s had success on the industry’s biggest stages, including the Main Events of both the FTOPS and WCOOP. He admitted that his success in large-scale high-dollar tournaments is due to “understanding late stage play.” You can catch itssuited playing under the screen name aaaaaaaa on PokerStars and fkscreennames on Full Tilt. He’s been a card carrying member of the PocketFives.com community ever since year one.

Speaking of the early days, in November 2008, itssuited final tabled the PokerStars Sunday Million for $18,000 and once won the $100 rebuy and a $100,000 freeroll on the same day. What changes has this successful player seen over the years? “Back in 2005, 3betting meant you had a good hand and there was no such thing as 4betting. I did it like once a week back then and it was a big deal. Nobody knew the math, so nobody open-shoved light or re-shoved; nobody knew anything. I used to one- and two-table back then and I think a lot of other people did too. Now, some people play 12,000 MTTs a year.”

Prior to August, itssuited could be found on the virtual felts about three times per week. Now, due to his recent success, he’s ramped up to five times per week and forecasted, “It’s more about putting in more volume and getting better. The more hands I put in, the better I’ll get at executing what I want to do.” He estimates that he logged only about 1,200 MTTs per year over the last three years, a number that is sure to rise given more playing time online.

When he was younger, itssuited began reading poker books by David Sklansky and watching the game unfold on television. Then, he started tackling online freerolls across 10 different poker rooms trying to ramp up his bankroll. His game has also received a major boost by virtue of itssuited chatting online with Greensboro PocketFives.com member Kofi Redsoxsoxfarkyke and Las Vegas’ Andy BKiCe Seth (pictured). On what makes itssuited’s game so profitable, Seth told PocketFives.com, “He’s a great hand reader and is always thinking outside the box.”

In case you missed it, here’s how the final table of the August 23rd Full Tilt $1K Monday cashed out. It featured, among other players, five-time Triple Crownwinner Bernard JLizard Wright:

1. psychobenny – $101,250
2. fkscreennames – $62,775 (itssuited)
3. PeachyMer – $46,575 (peachymer)
4. shuriken555 – $36,450
5. SteamCleaner – $27,337 (Pezzo)
6. JaEs SiK – $20,250
7. JLizard – $13,162 (JLizard)
8. iHAVaBELYbutn – $10,125
9. lileor99 – $8,100

Visit Full Tilt for more details and to sign up for this week’s version.