In the weekend’s running of the PokerStarsSunday Warm-Up, it was a UB.comsponsored pro who grabbed third place. Longstanding PocketFives.com member Mark P0ker H0Kroon (pictured at right), who hails from Madison, Wisconsin, banked $79,000 for his efforts. He finished just behind tournament winner Chris1804 and runner-up Justin looshle Pechie, who earned $150,000 and $112,000, respectively. Now absent his trademark yellow Hummer, Kroon sat down with PocketFives.com to review the Sunday Warm-Up and detail a weight loss show that failed to hit television airwaves.

PocketFives.com: Thanks for joining us from Madison. Walk us through the PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up.
Mark Kroon: It was a really weird tournament. I’ve been deep in the Sunday Million the last four weeks. Every time I’d get it in with kings, someone would have A-K and I’d lose. This Sunday, every time I had kings, someone had queens and shoved in on me. I got to 100,000 chips and, once there, it seems like I got to a million in a half hour.

I’ve never really been in a tournament where it seemed like every time I had a hand, someone else had a slightly weaker hand. The prize money is weird on PokerStars. Ninth place was $7,700 and first was $150,000 in the Warm-Up, so it pays to be in the top three. With 14 players to go, I was gearing up to make a top three finish.

PocketFives.com: Talk about the play of Pechie (pictured at left) and Chris1804.

Mark Kroon: Chris1804 had about four million when I had nine million and he was re-raising me a lot. I decided to play a hand with him with 4-7. He raised, I re-raised quite a bit, and he called. The flop came 5-6-9, so I had an open-ended straight draw. I was thinking that there was no way he had a large pair the way he was playing. He led out for about 700,000, I over-shoved, and he called with 9-7. He ended up winning the hand and that knocked me down to about five million going into the final table.

I got to the final table and looshle had a big chip lead. He just took it over and I stayed out of his way. I coasted into fifth place and accumulated chips by not playing against the stacks who were playing back at people. I was amazed that when they got heads-up, Chris1804 won since looshle is a really good player.

PocketFives.com: You elected not to escape the 20-degree cold of Madison to go to the Bahamas for the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure?

Mark Kroon: I have been there the last six years and enjoyed it. Phil Hellmuth and I did an audition for a VH1 show and we were supposed to start filming on January 15th. The show was called “First to 100.” There were a bunch of celebrity teams and it was the first pair to lose 100 pounds wins a million dollars. Phil and I were going to have to live together for two months. About two weeks ago, the show got put on hold and now we don’t have plans for the next two months.

PocketFives.com: What was your plan to lose the weight?

Mark Kroon: I told Phil that I’d lose 70 pounds if he lost 30. I’ve made a couple of weight loss bets and lost 75 pounds in five months. A month before Aruba this year, I told him I could lose 30 pounds in 30 days and I lost 40. That’s why, when he got approached to do the show, he asked me to be his partner. Gavin Smith (pictured at right) and Todd Brunson were supposed to do it too.

PocketFives.com: Give us your take on the recent re-branding of Ultimate Bet to UB.com. Do you have any thoughts on the software that you can share with us?

Mark Kroon: I think the changeover went pretty well. I don’t like the new format of the tournament lobby. I don’t like the way the text is in it and there are a few technical things that will get fixed. However, I love the new tournament schedule.

I know a lot of people hate on UB because of our past problems, but I like the direction we’re going. I really mean it too. Signing Eric basebaldyBaldwin (pictured at left) was a good thing and he’s a Wisconsin guy. I just played in a Christmas home game with Phil and him. Signing Joe Sebokand other people who bring respect to the site helps a lot. Annie Duke has done a really nice job with the tournament schedule. I’m really happy about it.

We’ll be doing more live promotions and, every month, we’re getting more and more players. It was hard for a while being associated with UB because everyone had a negative spin. People didn’t realize that it was just a few employees doing a lot of bad things. Now, UB is probably the most secure site to play on.

PocketFives.com: What was your poker highlight of 2009?

Mark Kroon: It was a really weird year for me. The morning I was supposed to start the Main Event of the World Series of Poker, I found out my brother passed away. There weren’t a whole lot of highlights and it was kind of a down year. Now, I’m refocused after about three months where I didn’t care about poker anymore. Winning $79,000 helps a lot, but it’s more of a confidence thing and I’m looking forward to 2010.

PocketFives.com: Where can we hear you on the radio?

Mark Kroon: I do a local radio show with Mike WiscomurrayMurray every Saturday called “Man Up with Mark and Mike” on WTDY in Madison. It airs at 11:00am CT. I also do a show with Annie Duke on Rounders Radio called the “Ultimate Poker Show.” It airs at 9:00pm ET on Sunday night.