Last week, HogWild Pokerhosted a U.S.-friendly PocketFives Openthat attracted a field of over 300 players. Among the entrants to the tournament was Islip’s Bryan Winkler (pictured), who goes by the user name EndersShadow723 on PocketFives and walked away with a brand new Dell Inspiron laptop and a PocketFives hoodie for his troubles. A few days after the Open ended, we caught up with him to break down his big win and swanky new profile badge.

This author was seated alongside Winkler for the early stages of the PocketFives Open on HogWild Poker, a free, U.S.-facing league site. On why he signed up for the free tournament, Winkler told us, “I’ve been checking out PocketFives for a few years now and the HogWild freeroll sounded like a no-brainer. Once I saw it was happening, I was excited to play.”

By the way, you can sign up for HogWild for free here.

Early on in the 300-man tournament, he lost a three-way all-in with queens against K-J and pocket sevens, but didn’t throw in the towel. Instead, he patiently waited for an opportune spot to pick up the blinds in the middle and late stages.

When he finally won, it felt like anything but winning a freeroll: “I was pretty pumped! I used to play a lot online and it’s been tough since Black Friday. This was the first online tournament in a while that I was excited to play in. It felt great to be grinding on the virtual felt for a worthwhile prize and taking it down was definitely a confidence-booster despite the free buy-in.”

Part of the allure of HogWild Poker is that its fields are usually pretty competitive. Unlike the fields on other free online poker sites you’ll find, players on HogWild are largely highly skilled. As Winkler evaluated, “I felt like I was definitely taking it more seriously. In freerolls, you’re obviously going to have sit-outs and all-in shoves early, so I think that makes it softer. The structure was decent, but I don’t think we were playing much more than 20 big blinds deep in the late stages. So, luck comes into play more and it’s a lot of push-fold strategy, which I think I know pretty well.”

Next up for Winkler is a trip to Foxwoods (pictured) in the forests of Connecticut, and his brand new laptop and hoodie will certainly come in handy for the trip. On why he picked Foxwoods, which is nearby his hometown of Islip, the newest PocketFives Open champion told us, “I haven’t been there in a while and I’m looking to play some cash games and maybe check out some tournaments. I’ve just been really excited and confident about my game right now, so I guess I’m looking for a fun, challenging, and hopefully profitable experience.”

We’d probably just go to Foxwoods for the Fuddruckers.

Winkler is a product of the Moneymaker Boom and was also turned onto poker by another American staple, the movie “Rounders.” He currently manages a family-owned market in New York and told PocketFives that his poker volume has sunk since Black Friday: “After Black Friday, my volume and decreased significantly. I was fortunate enough to find a home game close by that runs at least twice a week, so that’s been good at least. I also try to get to Foxwoods when I can.”

Finally, we’d be amiss if we didn’t ask Winkler about PokerStars purchasing the assets of Full Tilt Pokeras part of a deal announced in July. U.S. players are still awaiting word from the U.S. Department of Justice on how they can retrieve their account balances, but in the meantime, Winkler assessed, “I’ve always had a great appreciation for what PokerStars has brought to the poker community. I’ve always loved everything about the site. Buying Full Tilt sounds like another great move on their part and I’m looking forward to the success of PokerStars and its reemergence into the U.S. market.”

Winkler had half of his bankroll on PokerStars and the other half on Full Tilt. As such, he hoped to be reunited with his funds shortly: “I’m hoping it works out for me and everyone else who was affected.”

Sign up for HogWild Poker today, a free, U.S.-facing poker site that shells out live staking packages every month along with prizes like HDTVs and laptops. There’s no cost and no credit card required, so get started.