David ‘dehhhhh’ Coleman is playing in his first Main Event and is out to validate New Jersey online poker in the process.

Last year at this time, David ‘dehhhhh’ Coleman was another New Jersey online grinder looking to move up in the virtual world. Fast forward a year later, and Coleman is the #1 on ranked player in the state and among the first players to break 100,000 on Day 1C of the World Series of Poker Main Event.

Coleman has learned plenty both poker-wise and on the business end of the game that helped him make sure he had a seat for this year.

“I definitely wanted to, but I wasn’t fully rolled for it at the time and not accustomed to selling action. This year, I sold a bunch of action and here I am. It’s going really well so far.”

The preparation done by Coleman to get himself in the right state mentally for a potential two-week grind was to come out a few weeks before the start of the Main Event and play a few preliminary events. Coleman cashed in the $5,000 No Limit event and on his relative home turf in the $3,333 Online High Roller. Those events gave Coleman some wind at his back at he gets started on the longest journey in poker.

“It helps gives me a little confidence because I don’t have a ton of live experience,” said Coleman.

Going deep in the Main Event is a boon for any player and Coleman is looking at this tournament as an opportunity to expand his horizons outside the online world.

“It would solidify me in the poker world, getting a deep cash in the Main Event. I have a lot of online experience success but not much live success. It would give me a lot of confidence going further in the live poker world. Maybe I’ll play more big buy in events and gear away from all the online I’ve played in the last two or three years.”

Before he shifted his focus to online MTTs, Coleman was primarily a cash game player and is right at home in the deep structure the Main Event provides.

New Jersey’s own Thomas Pomponio won the Colossus to kick off the WSOP and by making the final table, Coleman would be the second player from the state to notch a live seven-figure score this summer. Coleman appreciates the relative burden of representing the NJ online community and representing the strong play from the state.

“A lot of New Jersey players have had success this summer, which is great to see, especially coming from a smaller market. The solid players that are out here seem to have success which is a testament to how much talent we have in New Jersey.”

Only time will tell how Coleman’s Main Event will end but for someone who wasn’t in any part of the poker radar a year ago, there is plenty for him to look forward to regardless how what his fate holds. The Main Event offers a few great storylines each year and a 24-year-old online phenom from New Jersey competing with the best in the world would make for a great headline as the pay jumps grow by the tens of thousands.