Jake jakedasnakeNeff – no relation to Peter number1penNeff – chopped Event #13 of the ongoing Full Tilt Online Poker Series(FTOPS), a $322 No Limit Hold’em tournament. The contest blew away its $1.25 million guarantee, as more than $1.4 million was on the line after 4,684 poker hopefuls registered. In the end, a three-way deal was forged and Neff walked away with a $153,000 third place prize. PocketFives.com caught up with him to break down his monumental finish.

When the chop occurred, Neff told PocketFives.com that he was significantly out-chipped. Both of his opponents had over eight million, while Neff’s stack didn’t top five million. An ICM chop was forged and Neff received $1,000 from each of his adversaries, Full Tilt Poker players andinista and 93Tillnfinity.

Before the chop, Neff 3bet pre-flop with K-6 offsuit and saw a king-high flop with two hearts. Neff check-raised his opponent all-in and his foe called with A-9 of hearts for the nut flush draw, which promptly hit on the turn.

Despite the setback, the payday marked his largest ever: “I gave it a go for a while trying to break through. I was working for the Philadelphia 76ers as their Scouting Coordinator and really took a major passion for poker. I started studying, reading a lot of books, and going to Atlantic City every chance I could get. When I realized I was an average player, I ended up going back to school for clinical social work.”

bbbbb33(pictured), who sits at #57 in the Online Poker Rankings, tutored Neff. The FTOPS chop participant contacted bbbbb33 on a whim and watched him play over the course of 10 days. Neff explained, “I realized I had major leaks in my game. I innately got parts of the game, but was struggling with bet sizing at certain points.” Last November, Neff took down the Full Tilt $30 Rebuy for $6,500.

Breaking the top three in the FTOPS XVII event was no easy feat. Full Tilt pro Chris Ferguson and Brent bhanks11 Hanks (pictured) made the final table, creating some stiff competition. Neff gave us his scouting report on Hanks: “I was talking to a mutual friend who said he’s a solid player and will open nine of 10 pots with a min-raise. He got a little bit spewy, but he’s a tremendous player and I had a major advantage on him in position from the final two tables down. He is so liberal with his 3bets and 4bets and his bet sizes are so brilliant that you have to be aware when you’re in pots with him.”

Neff got his start in the game by watching it unfold on television and realizing the large amount of brain power required for success: “There’s such an internal element to it and I’ve always been interested in the human psyche. In the FTOPS event, I felt like I was in touch with what was going on and wasn’t getting freaked out by situations that baffled me. I have been trying to work on being patient.” In fact, Neff was 22 of 24 on the leaderboard late in the FTOPS XVII tournament.

Neff averages a couple of hours on the virtual felts every day and primarily plays Turbos and Super Turbos on Full Tilt in order to perfect his end game. He wrapped up his interview by congratulating andinista and 93Tillnfinity: “Both of those guys were gentlemen and it was a pleasure playing with them.”

Check out Full Tilt Poker for more details. Remember, the site happily accepts players from the United States.