When you hit that first big poker score, there are plenty of options available for how to spend it. You can sink it back into your online poker bankroll, buy something extravagant, or save it for a rainy day. For Hungary’s robika27, who is known in the real world as Robert Salk (pictured), taking second in the iPoker Network $150,000 Sunday Special late last month for $20,000 will result in putting half of it back into his bankroll. What to do with the other half?

Salk told PocketFives that he qualified for the Sunday Special, which takes place on sites like Gala Poker, through an $18 satellite. He noted, “Sunday evening, I played five or six tournaments, but unfortunately busted from the others, so I focused on this one.” The Sunday Special had 824 entrants and offered up a prize pool of $164,000, or $14,000 more than its guarantee.

“I feel I played quite well,” Salk evaluated. “But, in the early stages, I got no premium cards, so when the money bubble was close, I was in bad shape. 144 places paid and I was about 120th when the bubble burst. Then, I doubled up a few times: one coin flip and one with 10-10 against K-K when a 10 on the river saved my ass. I stole pots several times and found myself in fifth place with only two tables left. Luckily, my table was not as aggressive as the other table, so I could keep my position and chip stack.”

Salk entered the final table of the iPoker Network’s flagship tournament in third place and chose to lay low in the beginning. He recalled, “It was quite a long time to eliminate the first player and there was a very aggressive player at our table, so I couldn’t really play my game.” Ultimately, Goldfisch089came away with the first place prize of $28,000.

This is the Hungarian’s largest score we have tracked for him, which means a big decision to make: how to spend that first cash windfall? Salk said, “I will keep $10,000 for my bankroll. For the rest, I have two options: since I have a regular job, I might quit, or I might buy a car.” He is currently a C++ programmer and application developer.

His coworkers aren’t tuned into his online poker exploits, but he said he enjoys spending some of his winnings on his girlfriend and qualifying for live events in locations like Ireland. He explained, “When we travel, we always have a good time.” He also enjoys cycling and fishing, so perhaps he’ll be buying a new bike or a new reel sometime soon.

Salk got his start in poker after hearing about the game at a Christmas party in 2009. “We played for a few hours and I loved it at first sight,” he recalled. “A few days after, I registered for PartyPoker, but of course I lost my money, so I started searching for some strategy. I began to read articles and watch videos and my play started to develop.” He signed up for PocketFives in April 2011 and also registered for PocketFives Training, where he feels he learned a considerable amount about MTT tactics.

There are 758 PocketFivers in Hungary (pictured) with PLB scores and Salk is ranked #50 in that group. He is #2 in the county of Baranya and gave the following scouting report of the Hungary poker community: “There are quite a lot of players, but most of them play for fun or for small stakes. Of course, there are pros, but not too many as far as I know.”

If you don’t already have an account at Gala Poker, an iPoker Network site, you can sign up through PocketFives’ links and make a deposit to get a 200% up to $2,000 deposit bonus, a VIP Upgrade to Level 5, a $6.60 satellite token for the site’s $150,000 Sunday Special, and one free month of PocketFives Training. Click here to get started.

How did you spend your first big online poker score? Let us know by commenting below.

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