Heads-Up with New Jersey Poker Player Chris Daniels (cjd45021)
PocketFives had the opportunity to catch up with longtime member Chris cjd45021Daniels (pictured), who resides in Westville, New Jersey. A member with PocketFives since 2006, Daniels has over $150,000 in tracked online cashes. He recently quit his 9-5 job to pursue a full-time poker career. Some of his notable success include a win in the WSOP.com$10,000 Guarantee for $2,764, a win in the Ultimate Poker $20,000 Guarantee for $6,200, and a win in the WSOP.com $5,000 Guarantee for $1,499.
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PocketFives: Give us your thoughts and experiences of regulated online poker in New Jersey.
Chris Daniels: Like everyone else, I wish it would expand to other states, but that’s only a matter of time. I clearly wish the guarantees were bigger, but I’ll honestly take what I can get right now. I haven’t been able to play as much as everyone else, but it feels good to finally be back playing full-time. Unfortunately, when I was working I had zero time for poker.
PocketFives: What are your favorite New Jersey online poker sites to play and why?
Chris Daniels: I would have to say WSOP.com given that is the first site I made my deposit on and had success immediately. I love the setup Ultimate Poker has, but unfortunately they don’t offer much anymore for New Jersey players, which I believe will change.
PocketFives: What got you started playing online poker?
Chris Daniels: Like everyone else in New Jersey, I started around the Chris Moneymaker boom. In high school, I began throwing $50 at a time onto Absolute Poker. I started playing small tournaments, mostly $5 sit and gos. I was known as the super aggressive person at every home game. I fared pretty well and would win myself beer money for the weekend.
PocketFives: Is there anyone who helped change how you approach the game of poker?
Chris Daniels: Not really. I kind of taught myself everything at the time. Now, I have some players I talk strategy with and go over lots of hands with like BiggDaddyand Bigmike22. Those two have helped me a ton getting the PLO game down.
PocketFives: How many hours a week do you dedicate to playing poker?
Chris Daniels: I like to try to force myself to play five days a week right now because I set some personal goals that I would like to accomplish by the end of the year. My sessions usually go from 7pm to 3am; it depends how I do in late-night tournaments.
