Our SnG coach: Tigga
Today he is coaching how to play Sit&Go tournaments successfully. But what about him and his poker career? Find out more in this interview.
"I am a coach with heart and soul," says PokerStrategy - coach Mark "Tigga" Schäuble. In an interview with PokerStrategy he is talking about his difficult entrance into the world of poker and the funny as well as depressing moments of his career thus far.
Pokerstrategy: Hello Tigga. Please introduce yourself real quick.
Tigga: Hello, my name is Mark Schäuble, I am 19 years old and I am from the beautiful village called Hochstetten, which is close to Offenburg/Germany. I am still in school getting ready for my Abitur.
Pokerstrategy: How long have you been a member of PokerStrategy and how did you find out about it?
Tigga: I became a member of PokerStrategy two years ago (November 2005). A friend of mine pointed the site out to me, and since I was very interested in poker at that time, I immediately registered.
Pokerstrategy: Was PokerStrategy your first contact with Poker?
Tigga: Actually, yes. I experienced poker for the first time with the $5 at PokerStars.
Pokerstrategy: How did you start your career? Did you have problems or did you rise quickly?
Tigga: The beginning of my poker career was very, very arduous. It took me at least half a year before getting away from PokerStars and "to be allowed" to switch to PartyPoker. I then fought my way up from FL 0.25/0.50 to FL 5/10 within half a year at Party (I left out 3/6 since everyone told me that this limit was tougher than 5/10).
As soon as I arrived at 10/20, there was the downswing. Since I didn't feel like playing FL anymore, I changed to SnGs. I was also able to work my way up pretty quickly and played a little Omaha for fun on the side. In January 2007 I arrived at the vertex of my career. Private matters forced me to cash out almost my entire bankroll. I then lost interest in poker for almost a whole month until Bahmrockk pushed me to start again. Said and done. By now I have build up a pretty nice bankroll again and it was enough to play my regular PL Omaha limits (PL 1000 and 2000). Due to a "small" downswing, I temporarily quit Omaha and I am now playing FL 5/10.
Pokerstrategy: Which limits are you currently playing and what are your short-term goals?
Tigga: I am currently playing PL Omaha 1000 and 2000 as well as 5/10 FL. One of my goals is to become winning player at 5/10 and another is to expand my Omaha skills so that I can soon switch to FullTiltPoker.
Pokerstrategy: Do you remember the best and worst moments of your poker career?
Tigga: The worst moment occurred at the beginning of the year when I had to cash out almost my entire bankroll. The best moments are the ones where I play with friends at a table in a casino.
Pokerstrategy: What was your toughest badbeat so far?
Tigga: My toughest badbeat occurred in Omaha: At a $16000 pot my opponent hit his only out on the river and won.
Pokerstrategy: What was the funniest moment of your career?
Tigga: There have been many funny moments... One of them surely was the moment when I became third in a $215 FL for $6000. For a long time I thought it was a no limit tournament and the moment I found out it was a fixed limit tournament and that that was the reason my opponents only did minimum raises surely was one of the funniest.
Pokerstrategy: What was your biggest success in a tournament?
Tigga: My biggest success was to win first place, and hence $13000, in a $109 rebuy tournament.
Pokerstrategy: Apart from the internet, do you also play poker in casinos or with friends?
Tigga: I go to casinos quite frequently. But I also love to play those famous Sunday night rounds with my friends. It's only NL10, but great in order to have a good time.
Pokerstrategy: Maybe you even made new friends by playing poker?
Tigga: I met a lot of nice and interesting people through poker. I would surely miss something if they weren't there. First to mention is Bahmrockk, who became a very close friend. Or the 10 hour Skype sessions with Scheip, Milamber and Sandman... and I wouldn't of course forget about Tobsen. There are many more people I met through poker, but naming them all would take forever.
Pokerstrategy: How did Poker change your life?
Tigga: That's a question I can only answer by writing a few books. Most changes occurred due to changes in my financial situation. There are many positive aspects: I don't have to look for a summer job or to look for a job at all; financial freedom. But the financial situation also bears negative aspects: Money starts to become "unimportant" at some point, or to put it differently, I lost touch with reality in regards to money.
Pokerstrategy: Which virtue do you find most important in poker and why?
Tigga: Patience. Everyone who has played poker for longer knows how draining a downswing can be and if you don't stay patient and disciplined, you give up too quickly.
Pokerstrategy: One of your friends is starting to play poker. What's your advice?
Tigga: I always tell them to carefully read the beginner section at PokerStrategy, or to sign up in case they haven't done so already. It is important to admit to your mistakes and to look for them. Nobody is perfect. You should also use others to identify mistakes, even if it is just by visiting coachings or by posting sample hands.
Pokerstrategy: When did you start coaching and how did you become a coach? What do you like most about coaching?
Tigga: I've been a coach since the beginning of 2007 and Sammy offered the job to me back then. What I like most is to share my knowledge and to answer the questions of my listeners.
Pokerstrategy: If you do not feel like playing poker anymore at some point. How do you get motivated, or do you just take a longer break?
Tigga: If I don't feel like it, then I just don't feel like it. I don't try to simulate motivation then. I just take a break which can even be two or three weeks long.
Pokerstrategy: How much time do you spend analysing your hands and improving your knowledge of theory? How much time did you spend on this at the beginning of your career?
Tigga: By now I spend less time analysing hands, because I am pretty satisfied with my game. If I am unsatisfied with one hand in particular, I do look at it after the session though. I spent very little time with theory at the beginning of my career. Poker didn't matter that much to me then. When it became more important, though, and I started making money, I studied theory for about 1.5 hours a day.
Pokerstrategy: Why do you think our visitors should visit your coaching in particular? What distinguishes you from others?
Tigga: There's always something going on in my coachings and you never get bored. I am a coach with heart and soul and I answer every question as long as they are related to the topic. But if you want to know which coaching you like, you should just start listening to one.
PokerStrategy: Thank you for the interview Tigga.
If you want to ask questions or give Tigga feedback, you can do it here:
