Nazgul: At This Year's WSOP, I Will Focus Completely on Poker
When it comes to Vegas, Tim 'Nazgul' Kahlmeyer has a lot to tell. In this interview he looks back at his deep run in the Main Event in 2009, tells which events he is planning to play and why he wants to focus completely on poker this year.
PokerStrategy.com: Tim, do you consider Las Vegas to be the Mecca of the poker world?
nazgul: (smiles) That's hard to say. It is definitely worthwhile to visit Vegas, and of course the time during WSOP is a good time in many ways. There are so many tournaments running that someone can play a lot while visiting the city.
From this perspective the WSOP differs completely from other tournaments where you have to travel to and play only one or two events there.
Plus, there is a lot you can do besides playing poker, and since everyone else is there too, you have plenty of opportunity of getting in contact with other poker players.
PokerStrategy.com: What are your personal experiences and memories of Vegas?
nazgul: I liked Vegas a lot and felt quite comfortable there. Of course, if you stay a long time you can get a bit tired of the city, but since I am pretty much a summer guy, I like the temperatures there and don't have problems with the heat. Meeting friends and going to good restaurants or parties is fun as well.
Poker-wise it didn't go too well for me to be honest. In my first year I had a pretty deep run in the Main Event but lost a huge pot in a blind battle which would have been good for a final table average stack. If I had won that hand, things might have turned out differently. But they didn't, and I busted just one hand later against Joe Cada. That could have been a big result.
2009: From 90 Big Blinds to 0 in Ten Minutes
PokerStrategy.com: How did it feel like being that deep in the Main Event?
nazgul: The first two days I played solid but didn't get that deep stackwise. With the tournament getting longer and longer, I realized how much the factor endurance comes more and more into play.
In the first few days, there are days off and a lot of breaks, but that changes in day 4 or 5. Stamina becomes really important and in addition to that, I was at the TV Table one day which is even more exhausting.
To be honest, for a very long time I felt stressed while playing poker, something I don't really feel anymore. At that point, I really wanted to perform extraordinarily and that felt pretty well.
Surprisingly and sadly I busted all of the sudden. I think I was around 80-90 big blinds deep, and ten minutes later everything was over.
PokerStrategy.com: Being a PLO specialist, do you think it is an advantage that the WSOP offers a wide variety of games and tournaments, something the EPT doesn't?
nazgul: Definitely. I wish they would even offer more PLO tournaments - a PLO heads-up tournament would have been really nice.
This year, there will be a six-max PLO event for the first time, an event I really look forward to. The advantage of playing six-max is that you can play a lot more hands. Full ring you play about ten hands per hour, which isn't too action-heavy.
PokerStrategy.com: Which events are you planning to play?
nazgul: Uff, let me tell you big ones I am definitely going to play - everything else would take a long time since I want to play so many. I will start with a $5k full ring event. That is the one where fabstinho became runner-up in 2009 if I remember correctly. Outperforming that would be a very nice start (smiles).
The next big one will be the $10k PL Hold'em tournament which doesn't differ too much from No Limit except for the missing antes, something that has a big effect in the later stages of a tournament. After that, the action will slow down a bit with lower buy-in tournaments until the PLO six-max event starts. Then I will be playing the NLH $10k six-max event and of course the Main Event.
2011: No Parties, Just Poker
PokerStrategy.com: Are there factors that may make you change your schedule?
nazgul: Of course it doesn't make any sense to play if you are not feeling completely well. For example, playing with high temperature isn't recommended at all.
A good reason to skip an event is reaching day two or three in a previous one - as long as your name isn't Phil Ivey or Tom Dwan who are known to multi-table live.
PokerStrategy.com: What are your plans in Vegas besides poker?
nazgul: My first two years in Vegas I wanted to experience as much as possible like visiting the Grand Canyon, driving jet skis, eating at nice restaurants and of course partying.
This year I want to focus completely on playing poker, and I have even arranged my schedule to do so. Besides poker, the only other thing on my list will be working out in order to stay fit the whole time I'm there.
PokerStrategy.com: Do you think the changes in the world of online poker will affect the field of players at the WSOP?
nazgul: I think saying there will be no effects would be a bit naive since most of the online qualifiers took place on PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker. With the changes to US players, there will be consequences on the numbers and fields of attendants. I don't think the consequences will be that serious, but they'll be noticeable.
PokerStrategy.com: What were the consequences of the Black Friday like for you?
nazgul: Well, the changes to UB were not the best for me because I had quite a large amount of money there. So all I can say is: Listen to PokerStrategy.com and only play on their partner sites (smiles).
PokerStrategy.com: Tim, thank you for your time and good luck in Vegas!
