Bodog Flight Club Winner: Nate Avenson Interview

by Bodog Poker | Apr 14 2009

Bodog Flight Club tournaments have been making poker dreams come true for young poker stars all over the world. The latest young multi-table tournament (MTT) specialist to win his way into a big event is Park Rapids, Minnesota native Nate Avenson. Avenson recently returned from the LAPT Punta Del Este in Uruguay where he managed to make it through half of the field before getting knocked out of the biggest live event of his poker career. Despite the early exit, Avenson describes the experience as the "time of his poker life" where he was able to meet numerous online and live poker stars.

Avenson has been an online MTT professional for nearly a year and a half, turning pro after winning enough money in a couple of tournaments to maintain a bankroll and leave his day job behind for full-time felt duty. Today he can be found playing as many as 45 tournaments in the run of a day, with an average of 30 on a normal scheduled session. His biggest online cash to date was $10,425 for a second-place finish in a tournament on Bodog. A recent cash of note was a third-place finish in the Bodog $100,000 Guaranteed on 02/08/2009.

In Uruguay Avenson was able meet WSOP stars Dennis Philips and Greg Raymer as well as many stars he's been playing with online for years. He went down there a few days early to get accustomed to the casino and its staff, so he would be comfortable when the big event began. He said that the locals were very friendly and easy to approach and talk to, once you got past the language barrier. He stayed in a hostel so he could get a true cultural experience, and to save some money to play in some local poker action.

Avenson plans on going to Vegas for the WSOP but he's undecided on the action in which he'll partake. He intends to play in the $1000 Stimulus Tournament, which promises to have a massive field and huge prize pool. The rest of his action will consist of some satellites and whatever interests him in the way of MTT's about town. He'll also be trying to qualify for the WSOP main event via online satellite action on Bodog.

The 27-year-old Avenson began playing in 2003 after Chris Moneymaker set the poker world on fire. He first played in home games and eventually discovered the value of MTT's on Bodog Poker a couple of years ago. He currently plays four days a week, but hopes to slowly reduce how much he plays over time until he only has to dedicate a couple of days in the week. He expects to be playing poker for a long time, but he'd like to be able to play less as time goes on.

Avenson doesn't limit his poker earning to the felt, as he is in the process of having a website built and will soon be promoting his own action to friends and future patrons.

Get in on all of this year's 2009 WSOP action at Bodog Poker today!