In the 45 events of the recent Full Tilt Online Poker Series(FTOPS), Daniel wildman75 Buzgon (pictured) reached the final table of three events. He was one of the big winners in the Main Event to the tune of $321,000. He also final tabled a $216 Limit Seven Card Stud High-Low Eight or Better contest for $12,000 and a $216 No Limit Hold’em Rush event for $61,000.

On the Main Event, Buzgon told us, “The whole series was filled with a lot of great moments and that was just the cherry on top.” PocketFives.com caught up with the New Jersey native to break down his recent FTOPS hot streak.

PocketFives.com: Thanks for joining us. How many shells did you fire in the $640 Multi-Entry Main Event?

Daniel Buzgon: I played the full six. It was definitely a hectic start since I had a bunch of other tournaments going, but I was able to focus enough on the Main Event to get somewhat deep with all six. I remember doubling up within minutes with the entry that eventually got to the final table. I min-cashed another entry and two others came somewhat close to making the money.

I am pretty happy with that decision, but maybe that’s being a tad results-oriented. I am not really used to 16-tabling tournaments, so I probably auto-piloted a little too much in the early stages. I stopped registering for the day after it started, so it became less of a problem as the tournament went on.

PocketFives.com: At $640 a pop, that’s quite an investment.

Daniel Buzgon: Yes, there’s no question that it’s a huge amount to put up for one tournament, but I guess if you look at the prize pool compared to the other tournaments I probably would have played if I did not have all six, it’s worth the shot. These tournaments only come around so often and to get six cracks at it is tough to pass up.

PocketFives.com: Tell us a little bit about your Stud game. How and when did you start playing?

Daniel Buzgon: I started playing Stud games back in college a few years ago just to get away from Hold’em. I then pretty much just stopped playing them altogether and would only play them in big series such as WCOOPs, SCOOPs, and FTOPS. Then, when PokerStars added the Eight-Game Mix, I started having to play them more and more. But other than the big series, I hardly ever play them.

I think this was probably my first real deep run in a Stud Eight or Better tournament. I have probably cashed in one here or there, but not a deep run like this. I enjoy playing all of the other games, though, and have had a few close calls.

PocketFives.com: Are you a big fan of Rush Poker tournaments now?

Daniel Buzgon: I am not a huge fan of Rush tournaments because you never really have a good feel for what’s going on. And you pretty much are just playing a guessing game on your opponents and the table dynamics. I stayed really patient at the final table. I came in as one of the short stacks and pretty much just survived to get to second place.

PocketFives.com: How did you get started in poker?

Daniel Buzgon: Just your standard combination of Chris Moneymaker, “Rounders,” and college games. I started playing low-stakes in the dorms and taking trips to Morongo Casino in Southern California. Then, I got into online poker in early 2004, when I started with small-stakes sit and gos and Limit cash games. Then, after I graduated in 2007, I started to get into the bigger MTTs.

PocketFives.com: What are your goals for the rest of 2011?

Daniel Buzgon: More golf and less poker are on the top of my list. But, mainly try to enjoy this hot streak and enjoy playing the game. It has been a rough few months for me poker-wise, so this definitely came at a great time. I am going to try to limit my online tournaments to mainly Sundays and big online series with the occasional weekday thrown in the mix. I also want to play more live tournaments and get a big live final table under my belt.