27 May 09
Team PokerStrategy.com Interviewed - Today With PokerNoob
For the first time, four PokerStrategists will compete in the WSOP under the flag of PokerStrategy.com - a quest for fame, titles and the big cash begins. Of course, the chosen Four have to live through a little question-and-answer game first. Today, we present PokerNoob to you.
The interview was conducted by 
metaphysiker
The third Team PokerStrategy.com member we present to you is Tobias '
PokerNoob' Reinkemeier.
With PokerNoob, we were able to win the probably best known poker emigrant of our community for Team PokerStrategy.com. After three semesters of business studies in Münster, the 21-year-old born in Cuxhaven was attracted to Malta and England, where he's trying out life as a poker pro.
Always flexible and sitting on the fence, PokerNoob found his favourite poker variant in heads-up, and after his victory in the SCOOP heads-up event, the international poker prominence should be well aware of his existence.
In spite of his young age, PokerNoob has already made numerous life experiences. He has already cashed at the EPT Prage, the Spanish WPT Championship, the CAPT Velden and the EPT Dortmund. He has also played the Grand Final in Monte Carlo and the PCA on the Bahamas. It's only natural we couldn't let that much experience at such an early age slip by.
We talked to PokerNoob about
Malta and the UK, heads-up poker, reg battles on Full Tilt, Team
PokerStrategy.com, the WSOP and more.
PokerStrategy: Hi PokerNoob. It's cool that we're able to meet you in your old home city Münster this short before the WSOP.
PokerNoob:
Hi and thanks. I'm also glad to meet you.
PokerStrategy: You are one of the best known poker emigrants of our community. How did you get the idea to move to Malta and play poker there?
PokerNoob: For various reasons. First, I'm very flexible and the weather on Malta naturally appeals to me. And the fact that they speak English there. That's also very positive, for a change.
PokerStrategy: And you then decided to rent a flat there?
PokerNoob: Yes, exactly, together with my girlfriend. The flat is quite close to the beach, only about ten minutes by foot - so it's really great. The first twelve monthly payments have already been made, too. But in order to avoid any kind of confusion: my main residence is in England, in the vicinity of London. I have a flat there, right at the coast. You go out of the door and are standing in front of the sea.
PokerStrategy: When did you make the decision to emigrate?
PokerNoob:
Well, the whole thing was very spontaneous. At the beginning of the year, I had the idea and started to make some plans. I think as long as you're young and flexible and don't have a steady job yet, you should simply try and do this. I don't see any big risk either. How I can proceed depends on my further achievements, of course, but I can also imagine studying again for the next summer semester. As I said, I'm quite flexible.
PokerStrategy: Such a step still requires some confidence in your own game. What do you think defines you as a poker player?
PokerNoob:
I believe that I'm quite capable of putting myself into an opponent's mind and understand what they're thinking, especially in the many heads-up games. This helps to make the right decision in tricky situations.
PokerStrategy:
You've just mentioned your passion for heads-up. What does appeal to you in particular about this supreme discipline of poker?
PokerNoob:
I simply think heads-up is by far the most interesting. I started with SNGs, and even though it was playable more profitably, I quickly lost the motivation. Sorry to all SNG players, but on long term it simply becomes too boring. I never was a big grinder who played an endless amount of hands. I play for the fun of the game, and not primarily to make money.
Heads-up also has something personal about it, some kind of Wild West character. I have a certain ego when it comes to that. I always register first, for instance, and whoever takes place after me is my opponent. If you're new to a site or didn't play somewhere for a while, you have to face any reg on the high stakes anyway before they finally let go of you - that's something you have to pull through.
PokerStrategy: Do you spontaneously remember any hot matches regarding this?
PokerNoob:
Yes, sure, just a short time ago. I had just moved a little cash to Full Tilt again, and right in one of the first matches, livb112 regged me - one of the most profitable HU SNG players of the past years. On the first day, we probably played around ten matches, out of which I was able to win seven. He always instantly requested a rematch, but at some point I quit. The next day, he was the first who sat down at my table again. He then won the first two matches and quit after my rematch requests. The initial skirmish had thus been fought out - and we leave each other alone now.
PokerStrategy:
Sounds like some interesting duels. How did you even get into poker?
PokerNoob: Like most others, I was simply swept away by the popularity wave at some point. I signed up to PokerStrategy.com at the beginning of 2008. I had already played some home games, and then I did indeed see the famous advertisement for PokerStrategy.com on DSF and thought: I'll just sign up there - it can't hurt.
That's how my nickname came to life, too, simply because I was new at poker - so I was a pokernoob. I didn't expect to be playing the WSOP with this nick some day, nor to have any other competencies in the matter.
PokerStrategy: You were quickly able to gain a foothold in live tournaments after that. How did it initially go?
PokerNoob:
The beginnings took place on a cruise to Prague in 2007. It wasn't really a big tournament, but my first tournament in a casino. The €500 Side Event of the EPT Dortmund in March 2007 was my first milestone. €500 wasn't a small sum for a buy-in to me back then - and I won the tournament for €30,000. That was the biggest feeling of success I've experienced so far. I still felt like a king days later.
PokerStrategy:
And now you're heading to the WSOP for the first time. Are you nervous?
PokerNoob:
To be honest, I'm not. I played my first EPT in Baden in September 2007, and that dates already back quite a while. After that I played several other bigger events, the Grand Final in Monte Carlo twice and various other EPT event. The $40k at the beginning will be quite the challenge. I never played an event with such a high buy-in before, so it will definitely be exciting.
PokerStrategy: What does it mean to you to represent PokerStrategy.com in Vegas?
PokerNoob:
Yes, well I'm a little bit proud for sure. The whole team is really very strong, and if variance doesn't hit us too hard, I expect quite some results from us. A bracelet wouldn't be wrong. I know that everything can come as the complete opposite, of course, as a poker player, that's something you have to be conscious about, but I would be disappointed if there wasn't a cash or something to come out of it.
PokerStrategy: How did your surroundings react to the fact that you're a real poker pro now?
PokerNoob: My parents support me 100% in that matter. Meanwhile even my grand parents, who are rather conservative, like what I'm doing. I would also be doing it if they weren't supporting me, but it's of course a lot more relaxed this way.
My mother has turned into my biggest fan in the meantime. She's sitting in front of the monitor for every live coverage and follows my every move, sending me texts during the pauses and absorbed in the action. And slowly but surely, my girlfriend is also becoming successful in poker. She has just recently cashed in her first tournaments and already possesses quite a nice bankroll.
PokerStrategy:
In which tournaments can we expect to see you this year?
PokerNoob:
In Vegas, I'm definitely playing the $40,000 NLH Event, the Main Event, the
$5,000 Shooutout, the $5,000 6-max Event, and of course the tournament I'm looking forward to the most: the $10,000 Heads-up Championship.
In Heads-up you have the most action in live play. 9-max or 10-max events which last several days are very exhausting and long-winded, especially if you come from online poker. In heads-up or the 6-max events, there is noticeably more action.
They are of course a lot more costly from the organizational point of view, if you need a dealer for every six players instead of nine or ten, for instance. You need more tables, which equates to higher costs, and so on - let's not even talk about head-up events. It would be fun if there were more of these tournaments, though.
PokerStrategy:
Do you make any special preparations for the various tournaments?
PokerNoob:
I don't really worry about this beforehand. I will just go there, take a look at the table, at the opponents and try to adjust my game. It doesn't make sense to prepare some strategy in advance because the circumstances won't be the same.
PokerStrategy: Can you tell us your three golden rules for tournament poker?
PokerNoob:
Puh, I didn't really think about that beforehand. But I think being flexible is the most important thing, secondly you should be disciplined in your game and thirdly... (thinks for a long time) ... exceptions confirm the rule. I think it does make little sense to look for absolute rules. The answer is to be found in the particular situations of the game.
PokerStrategy: Would you designate yourself as an intuitive player?
PokerNoob:
I think that I play very intuitively indeed. But intuition also is somewhat mathematical. Intuition comes from various situations which you have analyzed and internalized accordingly. If I think - for whatever reason - that a player is weak, I will start a bluff-shove sometimes. He might show me aces from time to time, but I'm usually right in my assumptions.
PokerStrategy: In your time as a poker player, you've certainly already experienced some bizarre, funny and interesting moment. Is there a hand or moment which is especially vivid in your memory?
PokerNoob:
The story of the EPT Prague comes to mind here. It was a €2,000 Side Event and a couple joined the table. The man raised, the woman shoved all-in and the man thought and thought and then said "I can't do this" and open-folded aces. What he was thinking about was of course whether this could be considered as collusion, and he indeed had to sit out for two orbits and got a warning. The floorman didn't have any pity on him.
PokerStrategy: Let's change the topic. How does a normal day look like in the life of a poker player?
PokerNoob:
Ah well, I didn't really play much recently, so my day currently looks completely different every time and isn't really that focused on poker. Other than that, I don't really have a regulated day anyway. When I go out, I sleep far into the day, or when I'm at a tournament, all of that stuff is really hard to plan. It all just happens flexibly, which is very nice, I think.
PokerStrategy: Do you have a "favourite pro"?
PokerNoob:
I don't have a favourite player or something. There are certainly a lot of strong players, but I don't want to single one out.
PokerStrategy:
Which player would you like to meet on the final table of the Main Even, then?
PokerNoob: The worst possible player, of course. (laughs)
PokerStrategy: Okay, we won't really get anywhere like this (laughs). Well, will you tell us your hobbies, then?
PokerNoob:
I would of course have to mention sports. But mainly, I like to eat really good food. On the Bahamas, there was a really good steakhouse, for instance, it tasted really good there, I will remember this for years to come. If the atmosphere is right, the food is good, there is a nice whine on the table, then that's something I will remember for a long time. I've also recently started windsurfing on Malta. And the boat driver permit would also be tempting, but it's a whole other question whether I will be able to realize that in the near future.
PokerStrategy:
We thank you for the chat and wish you all the best for Vegas!
PokerNoob: Yes, thank you, too.
metaphysikerThe third Team PokerStrategy.com member we present to you is Tobias '
PokerNoob' Reinkemeier.With
PokerNoob, we were able to win the probably best known poker emigrant of our community for Team PokerStrategy.com. After three semesters of business studies in Münster, the 21-year-old born in Cuxhaven was attracted to Malta and England, where he's trying out life as a poker pro.Always flexible and sitting on the fence,
PokerNoob found his favourite poker variant in heads-up, and after his victory in the SCOOP heads-up event, the international poker prominence should be well aware of his existence.In spite of his young age,
PokerNoob has already made numerous life experiences. He has already cashed at the EPT Prage, the Spanish WPT Championship, the CAPT Velden and the EPT Dortmund. He has also played the Grand Final in Monte Carlo and the PCA on the Bahamas. It's only natural we couldn't let that much experience at such an early age slip by.We talked to
PokerNoob about
Malta and the UK, heads-up poker, reg battles on Full Tilt, Team
PokerStrategy.com, the WSOP and more.
Team PokerStrategy.com Interviewed - Today With PokerNoob
PokerStrategy: Hi PokerNoob. It's cool that we're able to meet you in your old home city Münster this short before the WSOP. PokerNoob:
Hi and thanks. I'm also glad to meet you.PokerStrategy: You are one of the best known poker emigrants of our community. How did you get the idea to move to Malta and play poker there? PokerNoob: For various reasons. First, I'm very flexible and the weather on Malta naturally appeals to me. And the fact that they speak English there. That's also very positive, for a change.PokerStrategy: And you then decided to rent a flat there? PokerNoob: Yes, exactly, together with my girlfriend. The flat is quite close to the beach, only about ten minutes by foot - so it's really great. The first twelve monthly payments have already been made, too. But in order to avoid any kind of confusion: my main residence is in England, in the vicinity of London. I have a flat there, right at the coast. You go out of the door and are standing in front of the sea.PokerStrategy: When did you make the decision to emigrate? PokerNoob:
Well, the whole thing was very spontaneous. At the beginning of the year, I had the idea and started to make some plans. I think as long as you're young and flexible and don't have a steady job yet, you should simply try and do this. I don't see any big risk either. How I can proceed depends on my further achievements, of course, but I can also imagine studying again for the next summer semester. As I said, I'm quite flexible.PokerStrategy: Such a step still requires some confidence in your own game. What do you think defines you as a poker player? PokerNoob:
I believe that I'm quite capable of putting myself into an opponent's mind and understand what they're thinking, especially in the many heads-up games. This helps to make the right decision in tricky situations.PokerStrategy:
You've just mentioned your passion for heads-up. What does appeal to you in particular about this supreme discipline of poker? PokerNoob:
I simply think heads-up is by far the most interesting. I started with SNGs, and even though it was playable more profitably, I quickly lost the motivation. Sorry to all SNG players, but on long term it simply becomes too boring. I never was a big grinder who played an endless amount of hands. I play for the fun of the game, and not primarily to make money.Heads-up also has something personal about it, some kind of Wild West character. I have a certain ego when it comes to that. I always register first, for instance, and whoever takes place after me is my opponent. If you're new to a site or didn't play somewhere for a while, you have to face any reg on the high stakes anyway before they finally let go of you - that's something you have to pull through.
PokerStrategy: Do you spontaneously remember any hot matches regarding this? PokerNoob:
Yes, sure, just a short time ago. I had just moved a little cash to Full Tilt again, and right in one of the first matches, livb112 regged me - one of the most profitable HU SNG players of the past years. On the first day, we probably played around ten matches, out of which I was able to win seven. He always instantly requested a rematch, but at some point I quit. The next day, he was the first who sat down at my table again. He then won the first two matches and quit after my rematch requests. The initial skirmish had thus been fought out - and we leave each other alone now.PokerStrategy:
Sounds like some interesting duels. How did you even get into poker? PokerNoob: Like most others, I was simply swept away by the popularity wave at some point. I signed up to PokerStrategy.com at the beginning of 2008. I had already played some home games, and then I did indeed see the famous advertisement for PokerStrategy.com on DSF and thought: I'll just sign up there - it can't hurt.That's how my nickname came to life, too, simply because I was new at poker - so I was a pokernoob. I didn't expect to be playing the WSOP with this nick some day, nor to have any other competencies in the matter.
PokerStrategy: You were quickly able to gain a foothold in live tournaments after that. How did it initially go? PokerNoob:
The beginnings took place on a cruise to Prague in 2007. It wasn't really a big tournament, but my first tournament in a casino. The €500 Side Event of the EPT Dortmund in March 2007 was my first milestone. €500 wasn't a small sum for a buy-in to me back then - and I won the tournament for €30,000. That was the biggest feeling of success I've experienced so far. I still felt like a king days later.PokerStrategy:
And now you're heading to the WSOP for the first time. Are you nervous? PokerNoob:
To be honest, I'm not. I played my first EPT in Baden in September 2007, and that dates already back quite a while. After that I played several other bigger events, the Grand Final in Monte Carlo twice and various other EPT event. The $40k at the beginning will be quite the challenge. I never played an event with such a high buy-in before, so it will definitely be exciting.PokerStrategy: What does it mean to you to represent PokerStrategy.com in Vegas? PokerNoob:
Yes, well I'm a little bit proud for sure. The whole team is really very strong, and if variance doesn't hit us too hard, I expect quite some results from us. A bracelet wouldn't be wrong. I know that everything can come as the complete opposite, of course, as a poker player, that's something you have to be conscious about, but I would be disappointed if there wasn't a cash or something to come out of it.PokerStrategy: How did your surroundings react to the fact that you're a real poker pro now? PokerNoob: My parents support me 100% in that matter. Meanwhile even my grand parents, who are rather conservative, like what I'm doing. I would also be doing it if they weren't supporting me, but it's of course a lot more relaxed this way.My mother has turned into my biggest fan in the meantime. She's sitting in front of the monitor for every live coverage and follows my every move, sending me texts during the pauses and absorbed in the action. And slowly but surely, my girlfriend is also becoming successful in poker. She has just recently cashed in her first tournaments and already possesses quite a nice bankroll.
PokerStrategy:
In which tournaments can we expect to see you this year? PokerNoob:
In Vegas, I'm definitely playing the $40,000 NLH Event, the Main Event, the
$5,000 Shooutout, the $5,000 6-max Event, and of course the tournament I'm looking forward to the most: the $10,000 Heads-up Championship.In Heads-up you have the most action in live play. 9-max or 10-max events which last several days are very exhausting and long-winded, especially if you come from online poker. In heads-up or the 6-max events, there is noticeably more action.
They are of course a lot more costly from the organizational point of view, if you need a dealer for every six players instead of nine or ten, for instance. You need more tables, which equates to higher costs, and so on - let's not even talk about head-up events. It would be fun if there were more of these tournaments, though.
PokerStrategy:
Do you make any special preparations for the various tournaments? PokerNoob:
I don't really worry about this beforehand. I will just go there, take a look at the table, at the opponents and try to adjust my game. It doesn't make sense to prepare some strategy in advance because the circumstances won't be the same.PokerStrategy: Can you tell us your three golden rules for tournament poker? PokerNoob:
Puh, I didn't really think about that beforehand. But I think being flexible is the most important thing, secondly you should be disciplined in your game and thirdly... (thinks for a long time) ... exceptions confirm the rule. I think it does make little sense to look for absolute rules. The answer is to be found in the particular situations of the game.
PokerStrategy: Would you designate yourself as an intuitive player? PokerNoob:
I think that I play very intuitively indeed. But intuition also is somewhat mathematical. Intuition comes from various situations which you have analyzed and internalized accordingly. If I think - for whatever reason - that a player is weak, I will start a bluff-shove sometimes. He might show me aces from time to time, but I'm usually right in my assumptions.PokerStrategy: In your time as a poker player, you've certainly already experienced some bizarre, funny and interesting moment. Is there a hand or moment which is especially vivid in your memory? PokerNoob:
The story of the EPT Prague comes to mind here. It was a €2,000 Side Event and a couple joined the table. The man raised, the woman shoved all-in and the man thought and thought and then said "I can't do this" and open-folded aces. What he was thinking about was of course whether this could be considered as collusion, and he indeed had to sit out for two orbits and got a warning. The floorman didn't have any pity on him.PokerStrategy: Let's change the topic. How does a normal day look like in the life of a poker player? PokerNoob:
Ah well, I didn't really play much recently, so my day currently looks completely different every time and isn't really that focused on poker. Other than that, I don't really have a regulated day anyway. When I go out, I sleep far into the day, or when I'm at a tournament, all of that stuff is really hard to plan. It all just happens flexibly, which is very nice, I think.PokerStrategy: Do you have a "favourite pro"? PokerNoob:
I don't have a favourite player or something. There are certainly a lot of strong players, but I don't want to single one out.PokerStrategy:
Which player would you like to meet on the final table of the Main Even, then? PokerNoob: The worst possible player, of course. (laughs)PokerStrategy: Okay, we won't really get anywhere like this (laughs). Well, will you tell us your hobbies, then? PokerNoob:
I would of course have to mention sports. But mainly, I like to eat really good food. On the Bahamas, there was a really good steakhouse, for instance, it tasted really good there, I will remember this for years to come. If the atmosphere is right, the food is good, there is a nice whine on the table, then that's something I will remember for a long time. I've also recently started windsurfing on Malta. And the boat driver permit would also be tempting, but it's a whole other question whether I will be able to realize that in the near future.PokerStrategy:
We thank you for the chat and wish you all the best for Vegas! PokerNoob: Yes, thank you, too.
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#1
dallievas, 27 May 09 18:40
Good luck :)#2
martisPS, 28 May 09 04:16
goooooood luuuuuuuuuck mate!!!! "kill" them all with your best hands !!!!