Looking back to the beginning
For those who can read german you may probably have already read my article about the new Poker Royale Cardroom in Kufstein, Austria at Pokerfirma.de.
For those who haven't: A new and wonderful pokerroomm has opened in Kufstein (less then 100 km away from Munich). In addition Kufstein is the place were I started my live game experiences five years ago. Funnily the guy running the cardroom in that time is now part of the team running the new pokerroom.
The room is great: 10 tables with a wide selection of tournaments all week round and cashgames down to €0,50/0,50. This is definately my new homeplace for poker. I can't think of a room closer to Munich as long as the german laws won't change.
My first visit was a great success already as I made a third place for €220 in the €10 rebuy-tournament. My second visit wasn't as successfull. I was really carddead in the beginning and finally ran my top-pair top-kicker (AT) into a pair of 8's that hit his set on the river.
The following eight hours of cash game had been great fun but ended break even straight on the Euro. Really looking forward to come back to this place!
Writing that article for Pokerfirma and remembering the "old times" made me re-reading some of my old blog entries again. Amazing how much I have changed and how much my thinking has changed. Today it's too easy to laugh about those who think they are sooo good but are just "fish" (of course calling all others "fish"). Imagine, five years ago I wasn't any better. Anybody who didn't play by the book was a moron for me. Today I seldom play by the book because that doesn't win you enough. You have to be creative ... and obviously I wasn't able to make differences between the real morons and those who just showed a creative game (which I didn't understand at this time).
Just one quote from that old times:
"Got some nice hands (and a big stake) to the break after the first hour. Decided to cool down after the break and play only premium hands. Guess - I got QQ a little later. Raised it - everyone folded and the button went all-in. As I had covered her but had to invest a decent amount of my stake (about 2/3) I thought about it but finally decided that you have to call this with 3rd best hand pre-flop. Unfortunatly I ran into the best hand - AA that improved to a set on the turn."
In that time I was sure that this was the absolute right play ... today I would say this was a horrible, horrible mistake! BTW, there is of course no "absolute right play" ;-)
Oh, and I mostly like that quote from December 2005: "I'm not made for the crazy style of a Daniel Negreanu". Guess which kind of style I am playing now!
Just barely a year after I started with poker I played a WSOP Cicuit event in Tunica. Looking back this was a big mistake. Of course I enjoyed my trip ... but I was less able to enjoy the tournament as I would do today. Just think about that one: "I love this 'who can I recognize'-game [after seeing Andy Black at a table] but I pray that I won't recognize anybody at my table in a few hours!". Today I would love to have those guys and girls at my table as it would be much fun to watch them playing.
On February 16th 2006 I made my first live final table with a decent cash at the CCC in Vienna ... but still lacking much of todays experience at that time. Ah, time to stop now with those memories!
All that reminds me so much about my second passion: dancing! It's so easy to laugh about the clumpsy movements of those who are still learning but it's so hard to remember that not long ago you most probably looked the same. Having a blog like this helps a lot to take a look back from time-to-time ... realizing how far I came already but how far I still have to go to become really good!
Nowadays, if I see unusual plays I don't put them away as a donk play immediately. I always give them a second look to be sure there isn't a "wolf in a sheepskin".
For those who haven't: A new and wonderful pokerroomm has opened in Kufstein (less then 100 km away from Munich). In addition Kufstein is the place were I started my live game experiences five years ago. Funnily the guy running the cardroom in that time is now part of the team running the new pokerroom.The room is great: 10 tables with a wide selection of tournaments all week round and cashgames down to €0,50/0,50. This is definately my new homeplace for poker. I can't think of a room closer to Munich as long as the german laws won't change.
My first visit was a great success already as I made a third place for €220 in the €10 rebuy-tournament. My second visit wasn't as successfull. I was really carddead in the beginning and finally ran my top-pair top-kicker (AT) into a pair of 8's that hit his set on the river.The following eight hours of cash game had been great fun but ended break even straight on the Euro. Really looking forward to come back to this place!
Writing that article for Pokerfirma and remembering the "old times" made me re-reading some of my old blog entries again. Amazing how much I have changed and how much my thinking has changed. Today it's too easy to laugh about those who think they are sooo good but are just "fish" (of course calling all others "fish"). Imagine, five years ago I wasn't any better. Anybody who didn't play by the book was a moron for me. Today I seldom play by the book because that doesn't win you enough. You have to be creative ... and obviously I wasn't able to make differences between the real morons and those who just showed a creative game (which I didn't understand at this time).
Just one quote from that old times:
"Got some nice hands (and a big stake) to the break after the first hour. Decided to cool down after the break and play only premium hands. Guess - I got QQ a little later. Raised it - everyone folded and the button went all-in. As I had covered her but had to invest a decent amount of my stake (about 2/3) I thought about it but finally decided that you have to call this with 3rd best hand pre-flop. Unfortunatly I ran into the best hand - AA that improved to a set on the turn."
In that time I was sure that this was the absolute right play ... today I would say this was a horrible, horrible mistake! BTW, there is of course no "absolute right play" ;-)
Oh, and I mostly like that quote from December 2005: "I'm not made for the crazy style of a Daniel Negreanu". Guess which kind of style I am playing now!
Just barely a year after I started with poker I played a WSOP Cicuit event in Tunica. Looking back this was a big mistake. Of course I enjoyed my trip ... but I was less able to enjoy the tournament as I would do today. Just think about that one: "I love this 'who can I recognize'-game [after seeing Andy Black at a table] but I pray that I won't recognize anybody at my table in a few hours!". Today I would love to have those guys and girls at my table as it would be much fun to watch them playing.
On February 16th 2006 I made my first live final table with a decent cash at the CCC in Vienna ... but still lacking much of todays experience at that time. Ah, time to stop now with those memories!
All that reminds me so much about my second passion: dancing! It's so easy to laugh about the clumpsy movements of those who are still learning but it's so hard to remember that not long ago you most probably looked the same. Having a blog like this helps a lot to take a look back from time-to-time ... realizing how far I came already but how far I still have to go to become really good!
Nowadays, if I see unusual plays I don't put them away as a donk play immediately. I always give them a second look to be sure there isn't a "wolf in a sheepskin".
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