One player who has excelled on the live poker felts in 2009 is DoylesRoomBrunson 10 member Alec trahehoTorelli. A poker pro from California, Torelli stormed onto the live poker scene three years ago after finishing eighth in the Ultimate Bet Aruba Poker Classic for $39,000. Since then, he’s made waves at the World Series of Poker (WSOP), reaching two final tables. At the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Bellagio Cup V, he took fourth place for $271,000. Torelli sat down with PocketFives.com to recap his success in 2009.

At this year’s WSOP, Torelli finished sixth in the $40,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event commemorating the series’ 40th running and earned $329,000. He also took 16th in the World Championship of Heads-Up No Limit Hold’em for $38,000, a tournament he finished second in last year for $336,000. On his domination during the 2009 calendar year, Torelli told PocketFives.com, “Poker has been great even though I haven’t been playing that many tournaments. I feel like I’m playing really well and enjoying the ride.”
In July, Torelli took fourth in the WPT Bellagio Cup V, a tournament that saw PocketFives.com members dominate the final table. Team PokerStarsPro member Alexandre Allingomes Gomes won the event for $1.2 million, while Faraz The-Toilet Jaka and Justin Boosted J Smith also reached the final table. On the $15,000 buy-in tournament, Torelli explained that it was especially memorable: “It wasn’t the money, it was the whole experience and my friends and family being there to support me.” One month later, Torelli finished fourth in WPT Slovakia for $63,000.

In April, Torelli finished 41st in the PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) Main Event for $27,000 and noted that he’s played sparingly all-around in 2009. Torelli explained his reasoning: “I really like going into the major events refreshed.” He also became a member of the Brunson 10 following the 2009 WSOP, telling us, “It’s great to be in a position to work with Doyle Brunson (pictured at left) when I’ve looked up to him my whole poker career. Anything we need, he’s been great.”

The Brunson 10 currently consists of five online poker players, with a sixth member likely being announced in the first quarter of 2010. On how he became involved with the USA-friendly Cake Poker Network site, Torelli recalled, “I met Doyle when I was playing some high-stakes poker in Bobby’s Room. The first time he met me, he agreed to take half of my action not knowing me. I won a bunch, we hit it off, and things went well. When they were looking to sign people for DoylesRoom, I was one of the first contenders.” Torelli has been on a tear ever since.

One of Torelli’s first major career accomplishments was taking down the Main Event of the third Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) for $288,000, defeating Smith heads-up. On outlasting the 3,217-player field that turned out for the $535 buy-in tournament, Torelli told PocketFives.com, “Even though it’s not as publicized as a lot of the other events, it was life-changing for me at the time.”

Torelli got his start in poker after playing home games with friends. He explained, “I ended up ditching school and playing poker. After I went to college, I realized that I didn’t like it and wanted to pursue my dream of playing cards.” One of the newest additions to his circle in the Brunson 10 is “2 Months, $2 Million” cast member Dani ansky451 Stern (pictured at right). On the youngster’s game, Torelli commented, “We’ve played together a decent amount. I respect his game a lot.”

PocketFives.com members can play against Torelli and other members of the Brunson 10 by signing up for 33% DoylesRoom