07 Apr 10

TwiceT: "Feels great to be the first Black Member"

This weekend, we were busy celebrating Easter, but we also celebrated TwiceT's accomplishment of becoming our first Black Member. Read more to see what he had to say about his new status.

We are proud to announce that the English community now has its first Black Member. You might know him if you attend our coachings, watch our videos, read our poker blogs or do anything related to our page, actually.

Our longtime member, coach and video producer TwiceT has done it! He reached the coveted status, so we decided to sit down and have a talk with him about his newest achievement, his party list and more.

If you are interested in reading more about the Black Member rank, please click below:

• PokerStrategy.com ranking system - Black Member status

The interview was conducted by vhallee

Say hello to our first Black Member

PokerStrategy.com: Hello, TwiceT, it is with great pleasure that we can officially say "Congratulations on getting the Black Member status!" because you are also the first English community member to reach it. How does it feel?

TwiceT: Thank you! Well I like being first in general, so it feels great to be first English Black Member (laughs). However, the status itself is just a proof of my continuous work regarding poker. Especially since I mainly play NLHE, it takes many hands to get in 500k StrategyPoints. So yeah, I’m a bit proud to be first English Black Member (smiles).

PokerStrategy.com: It has to feel good, I believe you. You started with us in mid 2007, if my memory is any good. How was your road from Basic to Black Member?

TwiceT: That's right. I registered at PokerStrategy.com in the summer of 2007 when I made an internship in Dublin. While working/partying in this great city, I started developing my first poker "skills" and played some micro SSS and micro SNGs.

Cost: $50 starting capital. Also, "The T" has to drive a TT.

My mentor Ash05 gave me helpful advices and coached me during this time. I was always eager to make a lot of money, so when I realised there are really people out there who are able to make money by playing cards, I was motivated a lot and started reading a lot of stuff about the game. Of course, it was mainly all the articles on PokerStrategy.com, but basically also any other article I could find on the Internet. I can't go into detail about every step in my poker career, because it would just be too much.

However, what I can say is: If you want to become good at something it's all about commitment and dedication. Work harder than the others and you will see positive results. Maybe not in the short term, but definitely in the long run. The most important step for me personally was, when I "killed" $55 SNGs at PartyPoker. At that time I had fun grinding when not at the university or at a random party + I made more money than my teachers and of course all my colleagues.

Many people might underestimate the power of just staying at a limit you totally crush. I know many people who just want to move up all the time. I personally loved to stay at one limit (e.g. I never moved up to $200 SNGs that time, because I crushed $55 and $109 so hard) for some time and just made a "ton" of money and enjoyed the advantages of having some money.

TwiceT's promotion: coaching for accommodation

My name is T... Twice T

PokerStrategy.com: Beautifully put, you have a way with writing. Our readers should also check out the thread (link) which you created when you just reached the Black Member status. They should also read your party blogs, which became quite successful with the community. Do you have any upcoming plans in terms of partying? I hope the next Black Member Event is on your list.

TwiceT: I hope this is more of a rhetorical question my friend (smiles). Of course I have upcoming plans for partying! Since I have been on the road (PS Skicamp, EPT, Bratislava, Prague PartyCrew Weekend) for 4 weeks, I take a weak line for 2 weeks now (so basically just weekend parties in Vienna) and coach/play a lot.

On April 19th – 30th, TheLastNail and me will be in Marbella at a friend's place. Of course big parties inside and also Johannes ( SoyCD) will join the crazy action for some days. On the 22nd/23rd we're going to visit the PokerStrategy.com headquarters in Gibraltar. Looking forward to meeting many friends there and also many people I just know from Skype so far.

Upcoming parties after that: mid May Woerthersee party week, Austria. May25th – June 1st: start road trip western parts of Germany; June 2nd – 4th Black Member Party Bensberg; June 5th – July 23rd road trip NL, BE, LUX, CH, FR, GER; July 23rd – 25th Diamond Party Hamburg; July 25th – August 4th Fete Blanche & Beach VolleyBall GrandSlam @ Woerthersee, Austria; August + continuing road trip IT, SLO, CRO...

September: maybe Vegas, October probably Thailand + next BM Party in Leipzig; November PokerStrategy.com offers me an Apartment for the winter when it's soooo cold in Central Europe (of course, that is just an idea so far (laughs)). On all my journeys, I’m partying hard of course. However, I’m also grinding and coaching incredibly much, so it’s not only about having fun.

TwiceT and TheLastNail in the so-called "monkey mode"

PokerStrategy.com: That sounds great. To quote a famous professional gamer (SlayerS_BoxeR), "That is many party, yes?” Grinding and coaching are also things we would expect from you, so it's great to hear you will continue doing that. Now that you are a Black Member, has your perception of poker changed? How do you see it in the long run? What does poker mean to you now?

TwiceT: No, my perception hasn't changed at all due to the new status. Although poker is just a game, you can develop so many real life skills playing it. Being able to adapt to and evaluate situations objectively are skills that are crucial for many aspects of life. Patience, discipline, concentration, planning, conducting risk-reward analyses and soul reading are just some of the skills I mastered through poker.

For me, poker is an opportunity to make some money for my future business plans. I don’t want to become world's best poker player; I just want to enjoy the game while making some money and continue having fun coaching. In the long run poker will probably just be a hobby while being world leader (I have some secret Pinky & Brain plans that I can't talk about now in detail ...)

PokerStrategy.com: A world under the reign of TwiceT... May god have mercy on us all. Well I believe I took enough of your time, so if there is something you would like to add, be my guest.

TwiceT: Before I go back to business now, I just want to add two more things: 1) check out my 1k forum post - some serious stuff inside, I would say. Reading and understanding (!) some of my statements might help you more than you would think at first. 2) Check my latest road trip plans in my blog and let me know if you're living at a cool place that’s on my route [to all of the reader who don’t know: for free accommodation on my road trip you get free coaching]. I think that's it for now. Peace on you guys!

PokerStrategy.com: Thanks for the interview, TwiceT, and once again: Congratulations! Keep the "I like to move it, move it" spirit going!

TwiceT: Don’t worry sir, I will! (laughs)