A British man playing in his first online poker tournament at online poker room Titan Poker (www.titanpoker.com) won the tourney–and $220,000!

According to Titan Poker, Luke Cahill of Manchester, England, captured first place and the top prize of $220,000 last week in the online poker room’s European Championship of Online Poker.

The event was a no-limit Texas hold ‘em tournament with a field of 992 players and a buy-in of $1,000, Titan Poker said.

“I was awake all night,” Cahill said after winning the 12-hour tourney. “I wasn’t as tired as I should have been towards the end.

“Recently, I decided to try playing tournaments,” he added, noting he had played in cash games at Titan Poker but never in a tourney. “I only heard about (this tournament) the day before. I”ve played only one live tournament before, and busted out on the first day.”

So to what does Cahill attribute his good fortune?

His advice is simple, direct and probably as good as any one might receive from a seasoned poker pro:

“Knowing which cards to start with, waiting for the good hands, and playing those,” Cahill said.

(E-mail Tom Somach at tomsomach@yahoo.com.)