Allanon85: 'Huge Fun With Tournaments'

Published on 11 Oct 08 14:03 by Drakhor

Allanon85 won the Sunday Million on PokerStars this week. Furthermore, besides this success, the sympathetic PokerStrategist is also doing well. In this interview, he tells us about his participation in the WSOP Main Event 2008 and the 400 tournaments he played last month.

The interview was conducted by garten309

PokerStrategy: Hello Allanon85, please introduce yourself in brief.

Allanon85: My name is Daniel Drescher, I am 23 years old and come from Saal on the Danube in Bavaria. Also, I've been a student at the college in Regensburg since October, and I'm studying business in my first semester.

PokerStrategy: How and when did you get in touch with poker?

Allanon85: I've seen a few poker shows on DSF (Editor's note: German TV station), and I really enjoyed what I saw there. Then I played a few home games with some friends a few times. When I heard about PokerStrategy, I signed up there and started playing online with the $50 about 2 years ago.

PokerStrategy: How did your career begin?

Allanon85: I started playing on the lowest limits in the cash game with $50, back then still Fixed Limit - I think it was $0.05/$0.1. When I then had a BR of about $700, I found the No-Limit cash game and then moved up from NL25 up to NL1k there.

PokerStrategy: A few days ago, you were able to prevail over more than 7,000 players in the Sunday Million on PokerStars. What is your recipe for success?

Allanon85: I think it's the same one that many other poker players have. I play according to the probabilities, pay attention to odds & outs, observe my opponents to see if I notice any mistakes in their game, and try to abuse all of this as well as possible.

PokerStrategy: Has anything changed in your life since this success?

Allanon85: All things considered, not really. So far, everything remained the same, except that I have far more hits on Google now.

PokerStrategy: Did you ever have a material wish which you can now fulfill?

Allanon85: About a year ago, I wanted to buy a car. However, this has already been financed by previous poker wins. Actually, I'm perfectly happy right now with the stuff I have. However, I am currently looking for a flat with some buddies, and will treat myself to a few fixtures with the money.

PokerStrategy: Do you think that this success will influence your future poker career?

Allanon85: It will definitely influence my career. In what way I cannot yet say. In any case, I won't immediately move up to High Stakes only to donk away half of the money again. I will still play my limits, only with a somewhat bigger BR.

PokerStrategy: In early October, you also had many second place wins, as you told us in the (German) forum. How do you deal with these successes?

Allanon85: Without wanting to sound arrogant now, but with time you get used to sitting at a final table every now and then, and hitting one or the other. Sure, I am happy about my good performance and the money, but in most cases it's already ticked off again after a few minutes.
Of course this wasn't the case with the Sunday Million.

PokerStrategy: In September alone you played 400 tournaments. How do you motivate yourself to always participate in a tourney again and again?

Allanon85: First and foremost, I enjoy tournaments immensely. Constantly playing cash games has slowly become a bit boring, and tourneys are still somewhat fresh. Furthermore, I've done pretty well lately, which has made me enjoy tourneys even more.

PokerStrategy: In spring, you qualified for the Main Event of the WSOP in Las Vegas. What were your impressions?

Allanon85: I had a great time in Vegas, and I really enjoyed it a lot. The hotel was top class, and the casinos are also worth seeing. My impressions of the tournament were so-so at first, as it was my first big live tournament. However, when I then sat at the table, I was able to pull through my usual game rather well. A pity that I had to run into AA with KK at the end of Day 2, otherwise I might have made it a bit more success.

PokerStrategy: Which poker pros did you meet, and which ones did you play with at the same table?

Allanon85: I've seen a lot of poker pros there, and actually I don't remember a player I didn't seen there. Right at the start of the first day, I sat at a table with Chris Bell. Later that day, when my table was broken up, I had Eric Seidel at the back of my neck, and on Day 2, Ted Lawson and Jeff Williams had position on me.

PokerStrategy: Besides tournaments, you also play cash game NL400 up to NL1k. How are things going there?

Allanon85: I had a longer break from poker and started with NL50 in August, to get back into it again. The plan was to win 20 stacks on every limit. In early September, I was then able again to play NL400, and near the end of September, I already had a bankroll for NL1k. So it has gone really well lately.

PokerStrategy: On which poker platforms do you play, and for what reasons?

Allanon85: Currently, I'm playing on PokerStars, as I think the software and the support there are great. Furthermore, PokerStars has a huge choice of online tournaments. In addition, I also play on Full Tilt Poker.

PokerStrategy: You have a blog in which you report about your poker happenings. How did you get into blogging, and how do you motivate yourself to make new entries?

Allanon85: I have always enjoyed reading blog entries from other players in order to learn about what is going on in the poker world. Eventually, I got the idea to make my own blog - and Fold4Value was born. Unfortunately, I've been lacking the necessary motivation for blogging lately, which was also due to my poker break. My blog entry about the Sunday Million was the first one since the entry about the WSOP.

PokerStrategy: What are your goals for the near future?

Allanon85: I definitely plan to keep on playing in big online tournaments, and maybe hit one or another cash. Furthermore, I am going to try and qualify for the EPT via satellites or Step-SnG's a bit more often. And, of course, I also want to participate in Vegas again next year.

PokerStrategy: Aren't you planning on making a direct buy-in?

Allanon85: No, a direct buy-in is out of question, as my BR is much too small for that. And as I have already pointed out, I don't want to lose money on High Stakes games.

PokerStrategy: Let's assume a friend of yours begins playing poker. What advice would you give him?

Allanon85: He should read books and articles diligently, watch coaching videos, and discuss his hands with other players! And very important: Always stick to the BRM!

PokerStrategy: Thank you very much for this interview, and we wish you a lot of success in your poker career. Do you want to add anything else at the end of this interview?

Allanon85: No problem, I enjoyed doing it. First of all, I want to thank all the community members who congratulated me, and wish them good luck in their own careers!

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