After Joe Hachem, the name you should remember best from the 2005 World Series of Poker is Steve Danneman, who placed second in the Main Event. Appearing in several Vegas

events and slated to play in the Tournament of Champions in summer 2006, this good-humored accountant talked with PokerMagazine.com writer Jason Kirk about his $4.25 million win and the tournaments past.

Jason Kirk:  You've got a photo gallery up at your website, Financial Ace, and in the pictures from the Tournament of Champions you look like you're having the time of your life.  Tell me about the atmosphere of the tournament.  How did it compare to the WSOP main event?

Steve Dannenman:  I think there was a lot more pressure on me.  I wanted to make the final table really bad after I made it to the second day.  My actual thought before the tournament started was to make it to the second day.  If I made it to the second day, that was like winning in my mind.  All the players there were professionals -- how am I going to make it through a field or table of professionals?  No chance, Steve.  So I decided to have fun the first day and take as much as I could in and enjoy the moment.

Then when I made it to the second day, I'm thinking, hey, maybe I can play with the big boys.  The WSOP was just a crapshoot and whatever happened happened.  At the TOC I was out to prove to people after the first day that I was not a fluke.  Maybe I am still a fluke, who knows.  I am just going to have fun and always know that I have a day job to fall back on.

JK:  You've said before that during the WSOP Main Event you only had to come from behind in a hand once you reached the final table.  At the Tournament Of Champions, you found yourself behind in several big confrontations, including one where Tony Bloom had you dominated with AK and you hit a flush.  How did you react to finding yourself in such an unfamiliar position against the best in the world?

Danneman:  I put a bad beat on Allan Kessler the first day.  A-K vs. A-Q.  I got a flush to beat him.  I was really low-stacked at that point, so it wasn't too bad a beat on him.  Yes, I did bad beat Tony, but what they don't show is the hand where he bad beated me as well the hand before, or he would have been out of the tournament.  And of course I was going to put out Matusow again, but he caught a four-card flush on the River.  But did I look upset on TV?  No, because there's no point to it -- it's just cards.

JK:  One of the things so many people liked

$7 MILLION PRIZE POOL

Danneman:  Matusow and Hellmuth got into a big argument 10 minutes after the tournament started, and Phil demanded to the tournament director that Mike get a timeout -- kind of like Phil was in charge and telling the director what to do.  Johnny Grooms would have not taken that, but this director did.  Phil continuallly demanded that Mike get a timeout, and then threatened the tournament director.  Well, I thought that was horrible.

Then there was the deal with Phil's chips.  Phil started with $250k in chips beginning of the day and now he was down to $125k, lost half his stack or more.  Every time he raised we would re-raise him and he would lay down, so he was getting frustrated and tried to confuse us with his chips being scattered.  He would spread them out and when it was time for him to make a bet he would start stacking his chips again while it was on him, just wasting time.  It was very annoying and unprofessional.  I asked the tournament director to stack his chips.  Once again he challenged the tournament director, and then I'd had enough of this jackass.  From what I read none of the big professionals actually respect Hellmuth, in fact he was embarrassing to his father, so I took up for the little guy at the table... the tournament director.  Why Phil wanted to give me a timeout, I just don't know.  I thought you could only get one if you said the F-bomb, so who knows.  Just more of him thinking he could push people around.

It was also brewing up months ago when he was on the sidelines at the WSOP ME, watching and commenting on me and my play.  He was not very nice to me or anyone at the table except his favorites.  I like the underdog and don't like when someone picks on another person, so I naturally defended all the underdogs, donkeys, you name it that Phil has put down all of these years.  I have never seen anyone give it back to Phil, except Matusow and me, and it was too cool.  In fact everyone tells me how good I looked on television for standing up to Phil.  Maybe he will think twice about how he acts, especially if it hurts his book sales.

JK:  At one point at the end of the TOC, you had a little fun and gave gifts to some of your tablemates.  What moment of the TOC sticks out as the most fun for you?

Danneman:  Actually that was in the very beginning of the tournament and was too cool.  The very beginning of the tournament was a blast.  I was sitting there pretending to play poker and just looking all around the room at all the professional poker players.  I just couldn't believe that I was sitting in that room with chips.  Un-friggin-real.  I was playing with the world's best poker players.  Me, yes, me! Wow...lots of fun.

JK:  You've made the final table of the WSOP ME, but you still play in the home game with your friends.  What's that game like?  Who are some of the characters you play with?

Danneman:  I am Mike the Mouth at the home games.  I have always been, even before the WSOP ME.  I love trash talking, and hanging out with Matusow the last two final tables has really worn off on me.  I love Matusow and think he is so cool when he's trash talking.  Our home games are always fun and intense.  These guys at home are unbelievable, and if all 20 entered the WSOP last year, 15 would have cashed, no crap.  Everyone reads books, plays tournaments online, and just continually discuss hands and play.  There are no donkeys at our game.

JK:  What sorts of tips can you give amateur players who find themselves suddenly playing against world-class players in a tournament?

Danneman:  Don't change your style; in fact tighten your play a little.  You will get respect from these players when you're in a hand.  In fact you can do a little stealing after you show how tight you are.

JK:  In an interview with Wicked Chops Poker you said that you started playing online at Party Poker but "lost your ass."  What do you think helped you go from losing at online play to doing well in the world's biggest tournaments?  Did you read any books or get advice from anyone in particular?

Danneman:  I just tightened my play tremendously at the WSOP and read Harrington on Hold'em Volume 2 ...good book.  I did get advice from my buddy Mark every 2 hours between breaks.  We discussed strategy, who was at the table and what they were doing.  For example, Lederer buying the blinds on the bubble at the WSOP -- Mark recognized that Howard was buying and we discussed playing back.  That was the only bluff at the WSOP that I made, honestly.

JK:  Do you have any plans to go back for this year's WSOP?