Dutch player joins Team PokerStrategy.com
Team PokerStrategy.com will welcome a Dutch player next year. His name is Bjorn Verbakel, but he's better known on the forums as Bokkie aka Bjorn1987. In our interview he talks about his poker career, Team PokerStrategy.com, and his future plans.
In 2010 a new member will join Team PokerStrategy.com. bjorn1987 will make his debut for the team in January, when Team PokerStrategy.com makes an appearance in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in the Bahamas.
Bjorn introduces himself
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| Bjorn Verbakel is the newest member of Team PokerStrategy.com |
PokerStrategy.com: Bjorn, congratulations on joining Team PokerStrategy.com. Please introduce yourself.
bjorn1987: I am Bjorn Verbakel, 22 years old, and I've been playing professional poker for about two years now. At the moment I'm renovating the house which I just bought, together with my girlfriend Ingrid. We hope to move there in March 2010.
PokerStrategy.com: Could you tell us more about your poker career and how it started?
bjorn1987: My poker career has been very good until now! For example, the new house was financed entirely by my poker winnings. A few years ago in high school, I started playing poker against classmates. I soon learned that I was better than them. Two years ago I decided to go pro. Last year I made my biggest cash-out during a live event in Punta Del Este, where I won 63K in a NL-event. Online, my biggest win so far has been 53K, but there have been other highlights. In live events, I managed to reach 4th place in a €100 re-buy tournament in Holland Casino, which earned me €11K. I also won $11,174 in a $200 1-rebuy 1-add-on PLO-tournament. Online, I won the $200 Speed at FullTilt for more than 12K and during the FTOPS I finished 7th in a field of 4,000. I was able to add $17.9K to my bankroll after this FTOPS event. I also made third place during the $1000 freeze-out of the ECOOP on ipoker for a little over $17K. That wasn't too bad either.
PokerStrategy.com: Do you only play MTTs, or are you successful in other variants as well?
bjorn1987: I mainly play tourneys and SnGs, but I really like playing short-stacked Omaha as well. Most opponents don't like that. Online, I usually play from PLO 400 to PLO 2000, but I’ve taken some shots at PLO 5000 as well.
PokerStrategy.com: The big news, of course, is the fact that you will be added to the Team PokerStrategy.com line-up. What do you know about the team?
bjorn1987: I don't know any of the members in real life. This will change over the next few days and weeks. Of course it's clear they're all excellent players. pokernoob's hand against DeWolfe during the PokerStars.com EPT in Barcelona is obviously an awesome story. I will definitely learn a lot from these guys!
"It's a fantastic challenge!"
PokerStrategy.com: What do you think of this opportunity to be able to play for Team PokerStrategy.com?
bjorn1987: It is a fantastic challenge! I will try and make it a huge success! I want to show myself to the poker world, and win as much money as possible for myself and for Team PokerStrategy.com.
PokerStrategy.com: Do you think you will be an inspiration for players from our Dutch community?
bjorn1987: I think it’s hard to foresee this. I haven't been too active on the forums to be honest, but that is surely going to change. I do think every player dreams of getting a deal with Team PokerStrategy.com. It's a once in a lifetime chance to make your mark on the poker scene. Maybe more people will make their way onto the team during the coming years; that would be great of course.
PokerStrategy.com: Yes, hopefully we can welcome more Dutch and Belgian players during the next period. Recently, you teamed up with envyjosh to make a video about 's big ship. It turned out to be a very good video! Can we expect more videos from you in the future?
bjorn1987: Yes definitely! This video about Yoghi was a session review, which is always a little easier. When you look back at something, it’s often easier to judge certain situations slightly better. There will definitely be more videos during the next months. This will be mainly SnG material, because I am good at this variant and I have a nice ROI. I want to share my knowledge about the different stages of SnGs with the community. Of course, I also hope to get feedback on my weaker points. The best way of learning and improving your game is when you have interaction. I really want to teach the PokerStrategy.com players, but I want to keep improving my own game as well. After all, you're never done learning in poker...
PokerStrategy.com: As we mentioned earlier, you will be making your debut at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. Do you know which events you will be playing in and did you make a plan for the upcoming year?
bjorn1987: In the Bahamas I will play at least 7 events. One of these is the Main Event, but I will also be playing the PLO-Championship. The other 5 events are smaller events, all NL or PLO. I don’t have a complete schedule for the rest of the year yet. I hope to play as many EPTs and WPTs as possible. At this point, we should obviously not forget to mention the WSOP!
PokerStrategy.com: How do you see the future, what do you want to achieve with Team PokerStrategy.com?
bjorn1987: I hope to win a WPT, EPT or a WSOP event. This being my first year it's more realistic to aim for at least one final table during a big event and hopefully a Top 3 ranking. Let's hope we will kick off the season with a great start!
PokerStrategy.com: We wish you, and the team all the best during the PCA - we will support you! Thank you for your time.
