Chris 'Billypoker1' Bilinsky is one of Pennsylvania's top online grinders.

“I definitely don’t consider myself a pro. I’m a school psychologist.”

Chris ‘Billypoker1’ Bilinsky may not be a professional online poker player, but he’s not your typical school psychologist either.

Bilinsky is a long-time New Jersey online grinder who has recently made the move from his home in Pennsauken, NJ to the City of Brotherly Love – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Now, in just under a year of making the move, he’s taken Pennsylvania online poker by storm.

“Honestly, it all got started because I had a couple of good sessions over at our local [card room]. That led me to play online. I was like, ‘I’m gonna get better playing really low stakes online so that I can do better live’…but I just started doing really well online. It’s so much more convenient. So, I just kinda stuck with [online] more than live. Live is still fun but you can’t beat the convenience of your house.”

He’s done really well online indeed. He currently sits as the #8-ranked player in the Keystone State and is rapidly approaching $400,000 in total lifetime online cashes. However, despite having more success than most in the online poker arena, Bilinsky keeps it all in perspective.

“This is my second year working full-time, and poker is definitely a nice little side job. At this point I’m doing so well with it, it’s not really a side job…actually, it’s kind of like a second income. But I definitely like the [work/poker] balance because I don’t know if I would be able to sustain being a professional for a long period of time.”

Online poker’s place in his own life isn’t the only thing he has a good perspective on. Having played in the legalized, regulated online poker market of New Jersey, Bilinsky also has a first-hand view of what to expect when online poker finally goes live in Pennsylvania on July 15. Having spent much of his twenties regularly playing on sites like PokerStars NJ, Borgata Poker and WSOP.com he has experienced how potential players gravitate to online sites in a regulated U.S. market.

“I think it’s really important that they get the word out and let people know that it’s regulated now. They talk about the population of Pennsylvania and how that’s supposed to drive customers, but that alone isn’t just going to bring people in. They really have to market this and make sure that people are aware this is happening.”

He’s certainly aware that his online options in his new home state are about to open up dramatically, with as many as seven online operators, including online poker heavyweights PokerStars, partypoker and WSOP.com, approved to offer online poker in the state.

“I’m just waiting for regulated online to start,” Bilinsky said when talking about what he hopes will follow the impending launch. “Short term, I really have no idea what to expect. I hope to see something every Sunday, like a $100K [guarantee]. Maybe more than $100K! New Jersey and Nevada have $100K every Sunday and I’m hoping that there’s something in Pennsylvania to match it, we’ll see.

“Long term, you really want everyone to get together. It’s fairly obvious you want Pennsylvania to get together with New Jersey and Nevada and just build that network. You want New York to be involved and, hopefully, California. All that stuff seems to very slowly be making progress.”

For now though as he waits to see what is in store for the Pennsylvania online poker community, Bilinsky continues to occasionally make it out to Sugarhouse Casino for some live tournaments and occasionally dabble online.

“I like to stay sharp, I like to keep playing so that when the launch does happen, I’m not rusty at all,” he said.

That said, life stays hectic for Bilinsky and poker is just a part of it. From coaching a middle school baseball team and balancing his full-time job, he has scaled back a bit from of his former volume in New Jersey. It has been a good thing for him, both personally and for his poker game.

“I am very excited by there finally being a lunch date and I’m watching the New Hampshire lawsuit closely,” Bilinsky said.

However, Bilinsky, the school psychologist, is good at keeping perspective.

“It’s also important to keep doing other stuff.”