PocketFives had to opportunity to catch up with New Jersey poker pro Daniel wildman75Buzgon (pictured, image courtesy of Borgata), who recently won Event #15, a $1,000,000 guarantee, of the Borgata Winter Open for a cool $194,509. Buzgon outlasted a field of 2,882 runners to capture his first live tournament win.

He has over $2 million in recorded online cashes and over $1 million in live cashes to date. Some of his notable online accomplishments include a win in the 888 PokerBig Sunday $10,000 Guarantee for $3,000, a fifth place finish in the FTOPS XIX Main Event in February 2011 for $321,400, and a runner-up performance in a PokerStarsWCOOP event in September 2007 for $99,115. Visit PocketFives’ New Jersey poker community for the latest news and discussion from New Jersey players.

PocketFives: Congrats on your win in the Borgata Winter Poker Open. Tell us how you are feeling and what this win means to you.

Daniel Buzgon: Thank you. The emotional high from winning this tournament has pretty much worn off by now and I am starting to get back to reality. This win means a lot to me since it was my first win in a live tournament. I have had a few close calls in smaller tournaments in the last few months and not winning one definitely starts to get frustrating. It shouldn’t, but it does.

Most of us are extremely competitive in the poker world and I am no exception. Winning this one kind of takes that weight off my shoulders. I also feel extremely fortunate. I will probably never run or get starting hands like that in a tournament for a very long time. After the first hand on Day 2, I was left with seven big blinds. On the money bubble, I had seven big blinds. And at the final table, I spent way too many hands under 10 big blinds for my liking. After the money bubble, the average stack in this tournament probably never exceeded 25 big blinds. So, I definitely needed a little bit more luck in surviving this field then others. But I’ll take it!

PocketFives: Do any hands from this tournament win stick out?

Daniel Buzgon: There are a couple of key hands that definitely stick out in my mind from this tournament. The first one happened when we were on the exact bubble of this tournament early on Day 2. I was severely short-stacked and was fortunate enough to look down at AA. I got called by two other players who were holding KK and JJ. An ace on the turn would lock up the hand for me and send me out of the danger zone with over 20 big blinds.

Another hand that sticks out in my mind occurred when we were three-handed. I was the short stack with around 20 big blinds and opened on the button with A3 offsuit. The small blind folded and the big blind called. The flop came 832 with two diamonds. Before I could decide how I was going to play my hand, the big blind led out into me, which definitely took me by surprise.

From what I could remember, I had not seen him do this before and was not quite sure what to make of it. There are just so few value hands he should have on this board. I thought there was a chance he could be light because of the huge money jump from third to second, but also did not think he would want to jeopardize his chip lead by running a big bluff. I am not sure I have any other option than to just call at this point, but was not thrilled about it because he probably will keep applying pressure and there are a lot of bad turn cards for my hand if I have the best hand.

The turn came an offsuit 6 and he bet again. This card helps his most likely semi-bluffs of 54, 65, and 64, but for some reason I just did not believe him yet. The river came another 6, with the flopped flush draw missing. He took a few seconds and bet enough to put me all-in. I tanked for a long time trying to figure what he could possibly have and if he was really willing to risk most of his chips in this spot with nothing.

I remember saying out loud that the old me would never fold in this spot. Like a lot of people, I like to sleep well at night, know what my opponents have in these spots, and call a lot more than I probably should. Eventually, I folded and decided he was not bluffing enough in this spot to justify making the call.

This fold would save my tournament because while watching the replay of the live stream, I learned that he had A8 and had me in bad shape the entire way. Maybe it should have been an easier fold on the turn or river, but I am just glad I eventually made it on the river.

PocketFives: Do you have any plans for the money?

Daniel Buzgon: I do not really have any plans for the money, but that’s because I did not get to keep the majority of it. I had been backed for tournaments since February 2010. It was always nice to have that security blanket of knowing you couldn’t lose your own money if things went bad for an extended period of time. And giving away part of the profits when things went well was a price that I was willing to take.

Fortunately, I was able to take away enough money from this score that I thought it was in my best interest to go back on my own. I try to focus more of my time on online cash games over tournaments these days, so being backed for tournaments did not make as much sense for me now as it did in the past. This score might not give me as much money as I would have liked, but it will give me some of the freedom back to play when and what I want that I have not really experienced in a very long time.

Every backed player knows that feeling of being buried in make-up and not knowing how long, if ever, it will take them to get out. It sucks. Plain and simple. Just know with a lot of hard work and a little (or a lot) of luck you can get out.

PocketFives: Give us your thoughts and experiences of regulated online poker in New Jersey.

Daniel Buzgon: As much as I complain about the current state of online poker in New Jersey, I know how fortunate I am to live in a state where it is “legal.” I love being able to play online from the comfort of my own home and not have to move out of the country like so many of my friends have chosen to do. But, it’s almost like the current sites in New Jersey don’t know what they are doing or don’t care.

I know these sites have to go through the Division of Gaming Enforcement, where it is no easy process to change the smallest of things. The people running some of these sites just don’t know poker. And it’s very apparent in the way their sites operate. They employ professional poker players, yet hardly listen to what they have to say. I know it’s going to take a while to fix all the bugs, but I feel like they are not doing nearly enough in the meantime.

Everyone is anticipating the arrival of PokerStars into the market. This is both exciting and scary. Many assume they will show up and on Day 1 and all the players will jump ship to play on their software. They have the capital and marketing budget to make these other sites obsolete. I truly hope this doesn’t happen because we need competition in this market. This is why I can’t understand why the other sites are not doing everything in their powers to keep their regulars and recreational players as happy and as loyal as possible before PokerStars gets here. I hope the other sites start to shape up before it’s too late.

PocketFives: What are your favorite New Jersey online poker sites to play on and why?

Daniel Buzgon: I like how 888 has tournament buy-ins that cater to everyone. Having three different tournaments with buy-ins of $100 or more on Sunday is great. Borgata has finally come around to this and added a few bigger buy-in Turbos, which I enjoy playing. I think all the sites have a decent Sunday tournament schedule, but could definitely be improved. I am excited to see what PokerStars has to offer for us on Sundays if and when they show up to the party.

PocketFives: How did you get started in poker originally? Why was it appealing?

Daniel Buzgon: I got started in poker way back in 2003 during the Chris Moneymaker boom. We started playing small cash games and tournaments in my friend’s basement. A few months later, I started to get hooked while playing in the dorms at Arizona State University. That’s where I would fine online poker and start taking the game somewhat seriously.

The money was the most appealing part by far. I was working at a golf course making $6 per hour as part of an internship. Having the opportunity to make a couple hundred dollars in a night seemed like a much better alternative even if I lost most of the time. After graduating, poker became a full-time thing.

PocketFives: What do you do away from poker? What else interests you?

Daniel Buzgon: My main hobby outside of poker is golf. If I weren’t playing poker, I would be working in the golf business in some capacity. I also enjoy watching and playing soccer. I am a big Liverpool supporter. I also enjoy cooking or at least trying to cook.