Living proof that determination is key to a prosperous career in poker, Daniel Cates has rapidly achieved notable status as a fierce heads up cash game player. Known as "jungleman12" at Full Tilt Poker, Daniel Cates has become a regular at the high and nosebleed stakes of No Limit Texas Hold'em and Pot Limit Omaha.

The moniker "jungle man" was bestowed upon Daniel Cates back in high school, for insane plays he would make in live poker games. However, Cates often lost in those first years of live poker play.

Getting his start in online poker as a $5/$10 SNG grinder, Daniel Cates used a $5K tournament win to purchase a membership to CardRunners, where he fervently delved into video lessons to sharpen his cash game strategy. Soon he had mastered the $50 No Limit Hold'em Heads Up cash games, and was well on his way to the biggest ring games Full Tilt Poker could provide.

While one can expect to see measurable variance in even the best poker player's earnings, Daniel Cates has seen almost consistent profit at Full Tilt between September of 2009 and January of 2011. Except for a brief downswing in December of 2009 at the hands of the notorious "Isildur1" - which sent "jungleman12" back to the lower stakes to rebuild his bankroll - Dan Cates has managed to maintain a steadily growing income as a professional online poker player.

Daniel "jungleman12" Cates is now an instructor and $1,000 per hour poker coach at CardRunners. He can be found playing at Full Tilt Poker under the nickname "jungleman12", or at PokerStars as "w00ki3z".