The country of Poland nearly had a victory in the 19th event of the most recent Full Tilt Online Poker Series, a $129 No Limit Hold’em Re-Entry Knockout. Nearly 5,100 entries were recorded and over a half-million dollars was up for grabs. When the final cards were dealt, Mateusz Żbikowski (pictured), known as uczniakon PocketFives, was part of a three-way chop for $57,000. We caught up with the member of the Poland poker community to get his thoughts on the tournament that was.

PocketFives: Congrats on your FTOPS chop. Tell us how you’re feeling about it.

Mateusz Żbikowski: Obviously, it feels awesome. For me, it is kind of a long-expected closure in a big tournament. I have had numerous deep runs in tournaments this large and larger and have won lots of medium-sized ones. But, so far, I have never seemed to be able to follow through in a major one.

PocketFives: Can you walk us through how the tournament went in general for you?

Mateusz Żbikowski: After a good start, I remember losing a large pot close to the money, so after the bubble burst, I was short and had to take some risks. From that moment on, it all just fell into place. I won a couple of coolers, a couple of flips, and was able to chip up, taking some smaller pots both at showdown and without showdown. Twice I lost a big pot (both times for the chip lead), but was able to bounce back and was in the top 10 or so most of the time.

I entered the final table as a short stack, but after winning a flip and then sucking out with 5-5 against Q-Q all-in pre-flop, I became the chip leader. I was mostly card dead from that moment on, so being able to chop it three ways definitely feels like a success, especially since I managed to get an ICM deal as a short stack, as opposed to a chip-chop.

PocketFives: What were your thoughts on the chop?

Mateusz Żbikowski: I always try to chop, but the goal is to reduce variance. Obviously, I am taking into account my perceived edge, so I don’t just accept anything on the table, but in this case, it definitely felt like a good deal for me.

PocketFives: Do you have any plans for the money?

Mateusz Żbikowski: I give coaching to pay my bills, so I am in a situation where I can reinvest my winnings to enlarge my bankroll. That is what I will do with most, if not all, of it for the moment. At some point in the future, it will probably be cashed out and act as a down payment on a mortgage to get a place for my family and me.

PocketFives: Talk about poker in Poland (pictured). What do people think of the game and how many people play?

Mateusz Żbikowski: I do not know the exact numbers, but it is already really popular and it’s gaining more popularity each day. As for what people think, it is kind of polarized. There are people, mostly of the older generation, who follow stereotypes that poker is a game of crooks. A famous quote from a Polish movie about the game is “I cheated, you cheated. The best one won.” Still, more and more people acknowledge that poker is an intellectually demanding pastime, a great hobby, and potentially a legit source of income.

PocketFives: How did you get started in poker?

Mateusz Żbikowski: A fellow Scrabble player at a tournament introduced me to the game. I believe we played something close to a micro-stakes sit and go. I forgot about it for a few months, but then learned that a couple of my Scrabble colleagues were winning nice amounts of money playing cash games online. It was then that I got caught up, read through “Harrington on Hold’em,” and started my way up from the micro-stakes. Initially, I played full ring cash games up to mid-stakes, but at one point in early 2011, I was so fed up with cash games that I decided to give MTTs a go and never looked back.

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