This week, the PocketFives.com Podcastwelcomes a household poker name, DoylesRoomBrunson 10 member Dan djk123Kelly. The 41st ranked player in the PocketFives.com Online Poker Rankings, Kelly made waves in 2010 by taking down the $25,000 No Limit Hold’em Six-Max event at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) for a mammoth $1.3 million, the second largest payday awarded in the tournament series this year heading into the November Nine. Kelly fielded a variety of questions from his peers, discussed his playing schedule, and shelled out advice to aspiring pros during this week’s interview.

The $25,000 Six-Max event saw Kelly edge out Canadian Shawn Buchanan heads-up in a final table that also included WSOP Player of the Year contender Frank Kassela and Jason JCarver Somerville (pictured). The 191-player tournament made its debut this year and Kelly’s win earned him an automatic spot in the DoylesRoom Brunson 10.

On joining the prestigious group of players hand-selected by Doyle Brunson, Kelly told the PocketFives.com Podcast, “It’s great because all of the other members are players who I have a lot of respect for and who I’ve played with over the years. It’s incredible to be associated with Doyle Brunson since I’ve been watching him on television for a while. He’s a legend of poker.” Other Brunson 10 members include Steve gboro780Gross (pictured) and Chris moorman1 Moorman, who sit at sixth and 15th in the Rankings, respectively. Both are former #1 players.

Kelly had better than a 2:1 lead in chips over the second place stack of Kassela entering the $25,000 Six-Max final table. He explained his mindset: “I was feeling pretty good going into the final table considering I had the chip lead and a little momentum since I had built up my huge stack during the previous day. The final table went pretty smoothly. I pretty much stayed the same the whole time and knocked out a few people in the beginning, but never really won a huge pot until we got heads-up.” The tournament was not televised on ESPN.

In 2008, Kelly took down a Full TiltOnline Poker Series (FTOPS) $216 No Limit Hold’em Turbo tournament for $104,000. One year later, he claimed victories in Razz and HORSE contests during the PokerStarsWorld Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) and then promptly final tabled the Main Event for $643,000. This month, he took down an Ultimate Bet Online Championship (UBOC) title to complete the trifecta.

How does a player as solid as Kelly improve? He revealed, “Whenever I’m online, I’m browsing TwoPlusTwo and strategy posts. I occasionally watch videos and talk about hands with friends. I probably don’t study as much as I should. If I’m on my computer, I usually feel like playing.” Kelly has contributed 122 posts to the PocketFives.com community since joining the site four years ago. He regularly backs players with fellow community member Mark dipthrong Herm (pictured).

Finally, one PocketFives.com member asked Kelly for his advice for aspiring online poker prodigies. His response: “Just keep playing. You have to be willing to take shots and be willing to drop down if you unsuccessfully take a shot. You have to always be willing to get better and never be complacent. Always be willing to apply aggression and never be afraid to look stupid or make a bad play.” Now you have it from the horse’s mouth.

Check out the rest of this week’s PocketFives.com Poker Podcastfeaturing DoylesRoom Brunson 10 member and WSOP bracelet winner Dan djk123 Kelly.