Bernard Lee gets a well-deserved pat on the back for this one. Early last year he told me about a player named Dwyte Pilgrim and the fact that he would be a force at the table. Now, I'm usually on the end of the mic where players are telling me who to watch for. I've heard names that have come and gone, but Lee gave me one of those "listen" looks. The look that says, "I know what I'm talking about."

WSOP.com Dwyte Pilgrim won his third WSOP Circuit ring last weekend.

Well, Bernard, you're most definitely right about this one. Pilgrim isn't a household name, or even a common name to those that follow the industry, but his results are finally shouting to the masses asking for some respect.

Think about this. Since the start of 2010, Pilgrim has had nine cashes, eight final tables and four wins. He's earned $260,909 while cruising through tournament stops across the country, and with his most recent victory at the WSOP Circuit stop in San Diego, he now owns three WSOP Circuit rings. His recent success isn't a fluke; all Pilgrim is doing is continuing his amazing run in 2009, when he notched 14 cashes (including two wins). The WSOP's Nolan Dalla even called him "the [2009] unofficial WSOP Circuit Player of the Year."

"I always say I'm one of the best players," said Pilgrim to the WSOP. "I'm just not promoted right. … I'm just going to keep playing consistent until someone recognizes me."

Pilgrim won't have to wait much longer. With his latest accomplishment (a win in the 169-player field in the $300 event) he's battling for second place in the CardPlayer Player of the Year race, and, as he mentioned to the WSOP, the only person who performed better than him in 2008 was the actual CardPlayer Player of the Year, Eric Baldwin.

With no endorsement deal, Pilgrim is a true grinder, playing in as many events as he can on his own dime. He played in the $10,000 WPT Hollywood Park last month and finished just out of the money. Despite having such success on the WSOP Circuit, a first cash in a $10,000 event has evaded him thus far.

The coming months will tell another story, and Pilgrim is excited about the potential of a big summer.

"Everybody plays poker just for June," he said. "The rest of the year is to get ready for the World Series."

More poker on TV

OK, I officially want to be the "Loose Cannon."

PokerStars announced this week that the debut of "The Big Game" will be coming soon to a television near you. The show will feature Daniel Negreanu, some other top poker players and one lucky qualifier who will get to play in the high-stakes cash game with hopes of taking down some real cash. A $100,000 minimum buy-in will be necessary to participate in the $200/$400 no-limit hold 'em game, but the kicker will most definitely be the "Loose Cannon."

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IMPDI 2009Daniel Negreanu is confirmed to appear on PokerStars.net's new show "The Big Game."

The qualifier that appears on the show will be free-rolling. If they win, all the money they profit will be theirs. However, if they lose $1 or $100,000, they walk away with nothing; that's where the whole "Loose Cannon" thing comes in. If you are sitting with $82,000 and you know you won't take any money home unless you profit, you're probably going to change up your game and play just about everything to try and get over the $100,000 mark. It's an interesting idea for a couple of reasons, most notably the fact that it will change the game completely, while giving the professionals at the table a chance to win some extra cash late in the session by taking advantage of the weaker player. Remember pros, bluffing won't work when there's nothing to lose.

But wait, there's more! … well, if you live in the United Kingdom. Full Tilt announced that they will debut the "Poker Lounge" on Channel 4 starting June 21 and running until August 23. The 10 matches will essentially be "Poker After Dark," but will include one qualifier at every table. The $20,000 buy-in six-handed tournament will offer a top prize of $120,000.

Small blinds: Tony Guoga has offered to stake Isildur1. I'm not sure that's the best investment, Tony. … Allan Baekke won the EPT Snowfest for 445,000 euros … The American Gaming Association changed its position and said it would be "open to the concept" of online gambling. … PartyPoker announced the "Online Cash Game Championships," where players will compete at different stakes and advance to higher limits if they do well enough against their competition. I won't even try to explain this one. All you need to know is that from April 5 to April 9, you need to do really well at the $.50/$1 no-limit hold 'em tables (at least 400 hands) in order to move on to the second stage. … UB offered the first $1,000 Annie Duke Heads-Up Challenge on Sunday, but due to technical issues they had to cancel the event. Better luck in April! … DeepStacks Live has named PokerRoad its official media partner. … The X PRIZE Foundation's $8,500 charity poker tournament will offer the winner their choice of three amazing top prizes: a trip to space aboard Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo, a Tesla Roadster or the chance to have their genome fully sequenced and analyzed. Oh, and you also get to play against some pros.