12 Feb 08
Interview with Nani74
He won the January promotion by far and is now our newest Black member. More than enough reasons for an interview with our fixed-limit professional.
He will certainly be present at the next black member party, but today the winner of the January promotion (by the way, congratulations on the $8,000 win!), fixed limit player 
Nani74 will answer a few questions for us.
He proves his rare skills on up to 16 tables at a time, which would be a good enough reason to focus even more on poker in the future. However Nani74 has other strengths and interests aside from the card game. Read for yourself!
PokerStrategy
Hello, and, first of all, congratulations on your victory in January and on your newly-acquired black member status!
Please tell us a little about the person behind "Nani74".
Nani74
My real name is Christian. "Nani74" comes from my girlfriend's nickname and year of birth. So I hope not too many people at the next black member party will call me Nani - that's only for the forums ;)
I am a 30 year old business graduate. Already during my studies I was self-sufficient, and that continued after my graduation - 7 years total. I have had a job for 2 years though. I also have a 3-year old son with my girlfriend (the real Nani)
In my spare time I volunteer as a table tennis coach - back when I played, I was the 1997 vice-champion in Saxony. Before that I also pursued other sports - in 1995 I was district champion in chess and in wrestling (Greco-Roman).
PokerStrategy
Work, Hobbies, Family - how do you coordinate all this with poker, and, especially, how did you come across PokerStrategy?
Nani74
Through another hobby: Age of Empires - a real-time strategy game. PG_Fire, perhaps the all-time best AoE player, told me about PokerStrategy. By the way, I was the best 1-on-1 island player in the world ;)
Editorial Note: Age of Empires is a very popular real-time strategy PC game; "island player" refers to a particular map type.
PokerStrategy
Real-time strategy seems to be in the CV of many black members. You have been a PokerStrategy member for over 2 years and belong to the first 10,000 members - how did it go for you at our site?
Nani74
Back then, I started with the 5 dollar capital - the 50 dollars seem almost luxurious as a starting capital now. Around that time I started working in the public service, and I had to travel a lot, and so I had started playing poker as a hobby.
All of that was quite stressful; child, wife, job, volunteering... I wasn't able to play much in the beginning, but it went slowly uphill. Along the way I had 2-3 setbacks - the most memorable being my biggest downswing, which lasted 1,000BB and 5 months!
PokerStrategy
A 1,000BB downswing on 5 months? Wow, that's hard!
Nani74
Yes, it was very frustrating. But I had a lot of determination - and I was aware of how I played. I analyzed my game after every session, and I could see that aside from my leaks was a huge amount of bad luck - that gave me the courage to play on.
By the way, finding and fixing leaks should be done daily! What is today a strength can in 6 months become a leak, due to the dynamics of poker. Fortunately during my downswing I found my leaks, but also saw a lot of bad luck - even though the others couldn't stand hearing things like "AA lose so often..." anymore ;)
PokerStrategy
How do you conciliate job, family and poker?
Nani74
Well naturally my family had to make some sacrifices as well - no question about that (thank you very much for your understanding, both of you!). However I think that I have a professional attitude, discipline and patience. And those are three of the most important qualities for a good professional poker player. Moreover, I believe that I have the necessary madness to play at high stakes.
PokerStrategy
You have been around for a long time - playing poker, but especially on PokerStrategy. What do you think has changed?
Nani74
It has changed naturally - mostly because of the poker boom, but of course also through PokerStrategy's expansion. I think these changes are all for the better - especially PokerStrategy's openness.
I think it is a big pity that many people exploit this company, and I just don't understand the hostility of certain people towards PokerStrategy. They are given a golden opportunity to change their lives after all... Maybe this sounds a bit cliché, but grumping and griping about this kind of thing seems just typically german.
You see this kind of stupidity very often in real life too, so I guess it makes sense that the community would be no exception. Sometimes I wish we still had the right to fight...
PokerStrategy
What would you advise players who are at the beginning of their career? How to get more out of the time they dedicate to poker?
Nani74
Reading is the way! There are so many good books, and one can always find time to read them. At the doctor's, on the toilet, in the bath tub, in the train, during sex or in the garden.
PokerStrategy
Another similar question: many people are faced with the problem that they might be able to use their time better; often they're not sure how serious to be with poker. What's your opinion on that matter?
Nani74
I think that you have to be bold. A lot of people are almost afraid, it seems, to become a professional poker player, because they think that they will never be able to get their old job back, and ruin their lives. Nonsense!
I have witnessed some fateful shots among my closest relatives - I know how quickly this life can be over, regardless of how old you are. And what poker offers is, for most of us, simply unbeatable: a huge salary and totally flexible hours!
There have been professionals for 50 years, so it's reasonable to assume that there will still be some in 50 years. We just have to be flexible and constantly evaluate our game.
To sum it up: I can't understand the anxiety of most when it comes to poker. Most are even younger and more flexible than me, and have less responsabilities. Flexibility is always important in our world.
My motto is: "Find a compromise between enjoying yourself now, and long-term security. Live neither exclusively for this day nor just for the future"
PokerStrategy
Nice footnote to end our interview! Is there anything you would like to add?
Nani74
Sure! Once again, many thanks to my wife and child for their understanding and supporting. And a big thank you to Sven - a friend who had to put up with my curses and blow-ups on the phone whenever things didn't go so well.
PokerStrategy
Thank you very much for your time and for the interview. And of course, good luck in your poker career!
Additional interviews:
50,000 in only one week - what's your line Mr Nightfly?
I thought online poker was boring...
