Dan Gordon (A.K.A. Lucky Egg) is a professional poker player, living in Vegas. In addition to his live play, he spends a good deal of time playing tournaments and cash games online, mostly atUltimatebet andPokerStars. He is currently ranked in PocketFives.com'stop 50 online players. PocketFives.com had the opportunity to ask him a few questions about his poker career.
PocketFives.com:How did you get started playing online poker?
Dan: I saw an old WPO replay on espn classic which prompted me to do a search for online poker. When I found the freeroll limit holdem tournaments at PokerRoom.com, I was hooked.

PocketFives.com: What was your first big win?
Dan: My first big win came in a free tournament. I won an entry into a 7 dollar tournament. I took 16th in the 7 dollar tournament and won 38 dollars. It was my first bankroll, and I eventually ran that up over 1000 dollars and did not ever have to deposit any money from a bank account. Because of that win I was able to learn how to play for real money for free, and able to play a game I otherwise wouldn't have been able to afford.

PocketFives.com: That gives a lot of young players hope, to hear about someone starting so small and working their way up. Tell me about your style of play and what makes it a winning style.
Dan: I could spend a month answering that, but let me try. My style is very intricate and ever changing. Half of the people I play with think I play a very straight forward style, while the other half think I am off the wall and could have any 2 cards at any time. What makes mine a winning style is that I can transition between the 2 with the greatest of ease, and feel I play both styles extremely well. Without notice I can start raising King three suited under the gun when all I have been playing is top 10 hands all night. During the game I talk constantly, which gives the impression that I am in a lot of pots, but in fact I am just making a big show of each one I am in so my opponents will remember it. Then later when I raise in a pot that one of them is playing, he is not going to have me read for a tight player, and thus be willing to call me with a weaker hand and pay me off.

PocketFives.com: Interesting. It sounds like we could talk a while longer about that. The question seems to come up a lot about whether it’s worth your time to play satellites or if it’s a better use of the time to just win your buy-in in ring games. What are your thoughts on that?
Dan: I have always been a big fan of winning satellites to get into bigger tournaments. If I ever have the time and the patience to play them I will. Its always a better feeling when I have spent $22 to get into a $200 multi and just sneak into the money and win $285. Instead of a $70 profit, its a $263 profit. If I am going to play NL ring games to get buy-ins into tournaments, I enjoy 2-4 NL. It seems that game has much more loose action than the 5-10 NL, with less risk involved.

PocketFives.com: OK, let’s talk about some of the other top players. Which online player do you have the most respect for, and why?
Dan:There is a list of quite a few people that I feel about the same about. I respect Loewa79 and westtexasman (both ranked in PocketFives.com's top 50 online players) the most I think. They are always willing to talk me through a tough situation and not afraid to tell me if what I did was wrong.

PocketFives.com: We’ve heard a lot of good things about those guys. Do you have a favorite site to play on?
Dan: I dont have a favorite site. Ultimatebet is where I have the most friends, and I also like their software the best, but they can't compete with the prize pools at a place like PokerStars.

PocketFives.com:What are your goals for 2005?
Dan: Make enough money to support myself comfortably for the entire year, win a big buy-in(>$1000) live tournament, and cash in a main event.

PocketFives.com: One last question, Dan. Do you have any suggestions for people trying to get started in online poker?
Dan: Play within your bankroll. If you play too high, its going to be hard to play your normal game because the money will affect you, and if you play too low, then the money won't mean anything to you, and you will chase too many draws and call too many hands. Find a game you are comfortable with and stay there. Don't think that since you won $1000 playing 1/2 it's now ok to go swing $500 at 5/10 since it’s just profit. Take your time working your way through to bigger games, and you will find that you will be much more successful.

PocketFives.com: Thanks for the advice, and thank you very much for your time.

You can watch Dan play as Lucky Egg on Ultimatebet and as Danomano2 onPokerStars. You can also read his highly-rated monthly column, entitled "Dan's Diary," in Bluff Magazine.