Hilger became an online poker professional during 2001 and made over $100,000 playing online in his first year, playing limit poker from $1/$2 to $30/$60. At the time he wrote his first book, he had played over 7,000 hours of online poker.
His writings include:
- Internet Texas Hold 'em: Winning Strategies from an Internet Pro (ISBN 0-9741502-0-7)
- Texas Hold 'em Odds and Probabilities: Limit, No-limit and Tournament Strategies (ISBN 0-9741502-2-3)
- The Poker Mindset: Essential Attitudes for Poker Success (with Ian Taylor) (ISBN 0-9741502-3-1)
- Card Player Magazine (numerous articles)
- The Hendon Mob website (numerous articles)
Hilger won the 2002 New Zealand Poker Championship and went on to finish in the money in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) $10,000 no limit Texas hold 'em main event in 2004 (33rd,) 2005 (332nd) and 2007 (221st.)
On Sunday, May 4th, 2008, he won the Full Tilt Poker 750k guaranteed for $132,788 besting a 3600+ player field.
As of 2009, his total live tournament winnings exceed $270,000.