Recently, Joe JoeBlazenyc Chaplin (pictured) took down the Full Tilt $1K Monday to the tune of $83,000. He faced stiff competition heads-up, defeating Full Tilt Poker pro David “The Dragon” Pham for the title in the 332 player tournament. The PocketFives.com member from New York promptly won the PokerStars $100 rebuy one week after his impressive $1K Monday showing, adding another $26,000 to his net worth. What’s the secret to his success? PocketFives.com sat down with Chaplin to find out.

After piling up a mound of chips in a hand where his A-K outlasted another player’s A-J, Chaplin began to focus intently on his $1K Monday table. He told PocketFives.com that he had “gotten killed” in every other tournament he played in that day. Chaplin can usually be found throwing his hat into the ring of eight to 12 tournaments Monday to Wednesday and 30 to 40 on Sundays. On facing the two-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner heads-up on the virtual felts of Full Tilt, Chaplin told PocketFives.com, “I actually prefer playing some of the Full Tilt pros to some of the younger online guys. David folded to most of my raises, which is how I took advantage heads-up. These online guys would have given me no credit.”
His success, however, extends well beyond the virtual felts. In June, Chaplin grabbed third in a $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament held during the 2009 WSOP for $276,000. That event saw Tony Veckey earn his first gold bracelet. On his WSOP run, Chaplin told PocketFives.com, “The fact that it was over three grueling days and it was a WSOP event made it really special. I was mad that ESPN didn’t cover it.”

Chaplin began playing online poker when he was studying abroad in Costa Rica. He watched a friend rake in hundreds of dollars online in an internet café and decided to try his luck. He was immediately hooked and told PocketFives.com what made poker an appealing game: “The money aspect, definitely, and the fact that there are no requirements. I’m not big enough for football. I’m not tall enough for basketball. As long as you put in the work, you’ll be successful at poker.”

Despite his accomplishments, which also include a win in a $320 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament on PokerStars in June for $48,000, Chaplin commented that there is always room to grow as a player: “No matter how good you are, there is so much you can improve on. So many people blame their woes on luck, but poker is a game that keeps evolving and you have to admit that you have flaws.” During the first 26 days of August, Chaplin recorded $124,000 in tournaments that count towards the Online Poker Rankings.

He’s now looking forward to the road ahead, literally. On his upcoming tournament schedule, which will see him traverse North America, Chaplin revealed, “I have a Borgata preliminary event in a few weeks. I’d also like to play in Aruba in October. I want to keep traveling and mix up live and online poker. Too much of one will bore you.” The Main Event of the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Borgata Poker Open will set players back just $3,500 this year. Meanwhile, the Ultimate Bet Aruba Poker Classic plays out from the tropical paradise starting on October 3rd and wraps up one week later.

He wanted to recognize one of his former backed players, Matt pez102 Perrins (pictured at right), who won the €2,000 buy-in Main Event during the PokerStars-sponsored Italian Poker Tour (IPT) stop in Venice for €150,000. Chaplin recalled, “I was on a cruise for a week and had been staking him for a few months. I go away, he plays an Italian tournament on his own, and wins it. I clicked on his Facebook profile and saw him holding a check for €150,000. I was disappointed, but couldn’t be mad with him.” Perrins has flown solo after winning the Venice event in July.

We look forward to more success from Joe JoeBlazenyc Chaplin in the near future.