atuerke: Coaching Is Fun As Never Before

Published on 11 Sep 08 11:49 by Drakhor

Due to his HU content and his high quality coaching, atuerke was elected Member of the Month by the German community. Now, the sympathetic citizen of Berlin talks about motivation, kite surf lessons and of course HU.

The interview was lead by funmaker

PokerStrategy: Hello atuerke! Even though you are already quite well known, there are supposedly still a few members who haven't heard about you yet. Please introduce yourself shortly!

atuerke: Hi, my name is Andreas, I am 21 years old and currently live together with my girlfriend, Seri ;), and our two dogs in Berlin for the time being.

PokerStrategy: In the winter term, you will move to Bremen and study earth sciences. What exactly do you learn there and how did you pick this area?

atuerke: In a nutshell, the earth sciences mainly deal with the system Earth and its correlations... but why did I choose this... well, I still lack a concrete perspective for my later professional life. In short - I have no idea yet what kind of job I want to have later on. However, I already know that I can absolutely not imagine myself working in an office from 9 to 5. As I am interested in natural sciences in general, and as the earth sciences offer you many interesting areas of research, I think that I made the right choice.

PokerStrategy: We do this interview with you because you were elected as the Member of the Month by the German community. What does this choice mean to you?

atuerke: In any case it is nice to see that my work for PokerStrategy appeals to the community, and thus makes it a motivation for me to keep it rolling.

PokerStrategy: Do you have a bad conscience about pushing Paxis back again to the second rank?

atuerke: A bad conscience? Nope! :)

PokerStrategy: You are a coach and our NL expert - and not only for the German forum. Please tell us a bit more about what you coach!

atuerke: For the most part, I coach almost everything. Currently, for the German community NL full-ring, NL heads-up and NL heads-up SnG's, along with a weekly theory coaching. For the English community I only coach NL short-handed for the moment. Until recently I was also active in a FL short-handed coaching with Cornholio. I play FL per se - although I prefer heads-up as well - as this is where the almost legendary kobeyard video came to life. ;) Other than that, I also write articles at times and record videos.

PokerStrategy: NL HU is your specialty. What does HU make so interesting for you?

atuerke: First and foremost the excellent opportunities to practise good table selection. If we find a big fish at a 6-max table, we often have to share him with five other good players. In a heads-up, you are able to take all of his money on your own. :)

PokerStrategy: Some players could be in the delusion that HU means "fast money" without many hassles. What skills do you have to have to be successful in HU?

atuerke: Basically, the playing style is not that different from the one on a 6-max table. I like to compare it with a 'button versus big blind' situation, in which hundreds of PokerStrategists find themselves daily. Many think you suddenly have to play super aggressively in a heads-up and act like a maniac. However, this is definitely the wrong approach. It isn't possible to make fast money, but with a good table selection a considerably better winrate is clearly possible. Apart from that, it is of the highest importance that you can play your A game even if things aren't going so well, or that you have the ability to stop when you realize you no longer play well.

PokerStrategy: How would you describe your coaching style? All people have their oddities after all.

atuerke: I always try to motivate my listeners to reflect about the situation themselves and teach them to answer their questions on their own. I think it's always sad again when questions like "What do you do with AK against a 4-bet?" are thrown into the room without giving further information. Of course it is only human to desire strict guidelines for playing a certain situation, but when you seek those and stick to them, you definitely won't become a good poker player!

 

PokerStrategy: What defines a good coach? What skills does one have to bring along?

 

atuerke: Most of all motivation! The rest can still be acquired afterwards.

 

PokerStrategy: How long have you already been a coach at PokerStrategy, and what enticed you to take over this task back then?

atuerke: This is certainly already two years ago, and I don't really know anymore what got me to do it. :) However, coaching is fun as never before currently, and thus I will certainly still be around for the community for quite a while.

 

PokerStrategy: The squad of coaches increases more and more. Only recently, quite a few have joined. How do you get along amongst each other?

atuerke: Especially since the first coaching meeting in December last year, the contact has definitely improved. I think everybody gets along with each other as well. However, as many new coaches have joined who I don't know yet, it's difficult to say. But then again, I look forward to the next meeting in Münster even more now. :)

PokerStrategy: About your game: On which limit do you currently feel at home?

atuerke: Most of all I can probably be found on NL 200 heads-up on Full Tilt Poker or Titan Poker. However, I do not have that much time to play currently. As I recently deal with PLO again, I can also be found at the PLO 100 tables on Titan at times. ;)

PokerStrategy: In one of our weekly votes you guessed that you have already played more than a million hands. Do you remember which one was the most important one?

 

atuerke: That is always hard to tell, as I only play cash games almost exclusively. I only still remember that I once lost a $2.5k pot on NL600 in a set over set situation when my higher set was beaten by quads. ;(

PokerStrategy: Let's head towards a more private area: How do you kill time when you don't play poker?

atuerke: In the near future probably with my studies most of all. Apart from my work for PokerStrategy, my girlfriend and our two dogs which of course always want to get out a lot, there isn't that much time anymore. Oh yeah, I can't miss out on sports. Especially on weekends I enjoy getting on my racing cycle and driving a small tour. :) Other than that, I also had a kite surf lesson for the first time this year, together with Destolon, a French coach. I hope that I will be able to act out this sport even further. ;)

PokerStrategy: Where is atuerke in five years? What do you want to have achieved until then, professionally, privately and in poker matters?

atuerke: I tend towards always setting goals which I don't pursue anyway then, and thus end up scrapping them, so I would rather not make any predictions.

PokerStrategy: Do you want to get rid of anything at the end of the interview? Tips, tricks, wisdoms, greetings ....

atuerke: Then I want to greet the already mentioned sex god Destolon, Kreatief, with whom I currently have many PLO sessions and... hmm... the rest of the ~300 people on my Skype list. ;)

PokerStrategy: Many thanks for taking the time for this interview! We wish you good luck for the future and hope that you will remain with the community for a long while!