Yuka BachoB Goto-Burgos (pictured) is a female poker player living in Reno who enjoys playing the $3,000 tourneys on WSOP.com. In the last nine large payout tournaments, she has two first place cashes and seven other final table cashes for more than $3,900 total. She has developed her poker skills playing play chip poker and started playing for cash after her husband convinced her to do so.

PocketFives: How many hours a week do you devote to playing poker?

Yuka Goto-Burgos: I would say 20 to 25 hours, maybe more.

PocketFives: How did you choose your player name?

Yuka Goto-Burgos: “Baboy” means “pig” in Tagalog and I nicknamed my beloved person “Bachoy” for being chunky. So, “BachoB” = “Fat Bitch.”

PocketFives: Do you feel that it is less intimidating to play poker onlineversus at a casino?

Yuka Goto-Burgos: Let me start with how I started playing poker. I was not big fan of gambling. Maybe I would play penny slots once a while for $20. My current husband has played poker for a while and when we were planning to take a trip to Vegas to watch Pacquiao fight, he said, “Since we are staying at the Bellagio, you gotta play poker there. That’s what Bellagio is known for.”

He took me to a local casino, Peppermill, and bought me in for $500 to play $15/$30 Limit. I only lasted 20 minutes and lost all of it. I didn’t play poker for another year. Then, I played $3/$6 Limit on Thanksgiving. I did really well and said to myself, “Yeah, I can do this. I get it now.” Little did I know that it wasn’t just a beginner’s luck!

I played live games for a while and one day after dinner, my husband and I decided to play the All-In Poker series at Atlantis right before the cutoff. I took first place. From there, I focused on tourneys only and did very well for a first year tourney player.

Overall, I am more intimidated online than in casinos. This is because I don’t see players’ faces online and they can’t see me; therefore, they would do outrageous moves. I have been playing online a lot more and didn’t even attend WSOP Circuit at Lake Tahoe, as weather this time of year around here is super unpredictable and I almost didn’t make it home last year. There is nothing better than playing online with no makeup and in pajamas!

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