hasenbraten: 'Keep Your Chin Up!'

In this interview, you will get to know why hasenbraten is called hasenbraten. Furthermore, our coach and content producer tells you about his job at PokerStrategy, his hobbies, the epic battle "Nightmare vs Siegfried" and quantum field theory amongst other things.

The interview was lead by funmaker

PokerStrategy: Hello hasenbraten! Many members who diligently watch your NL coaching sessions already know you. Nonetheless, please introduce yourself briefly.

hasenbraten:
Hello community! In real life, I am called Lutz, I am 21 years old, and I am studying physics for the fifth semester in Darmstadt, Germany. I am closing in on my Bachelor degree, and I already have a professor from the theoretical nuclear physics with a very interesting specialization who looks after me.

Apart from the campus and poker, I naturally spend a lot of time with my girlfriend (Hello darling :)). Furthermore, I live together with good friends in a shared flat - so I don't miss out on any partying!

PokerStrategy:
What was actually your reasoning when you came up with your nickname? I guess the day you signed up was a holiday, and you had roast rabbit for dinner?

hasenbraten: Someone had to come up with this question eventually! The nick is from sixth grade, back when we always played Half-Life in school in the "Netzwerk - AG". One guy started with names, and I called myself hasenbraten. A day later, I installed ICQ. Naturally, I also picked the nickname there as well. Since then, it has accompanied me more or less exclusively.

I like it, even though it's a bit weird when people ask me: "Aren't you the guy, who does this stuff at PokerStrategy - this hasenbraten?", and other people are nearby who don't know what's going on...

PokerStrategy: Please tell us a bit more detail about the other jobs you have at PokerStrategy!

hasenbraten:
What do I do for PokerStrategy: Everything :-). I have a few coaching sessions which cover pretty much everything (FR, SH, public private coaching, sample hand evaluation and bankroll building).

In addition, I also do session reviews, user session reviews and also theoretical videos. Furthermore, I've helped with the creation of several articles, and behind the scenes, I am also responsible for a few organizational trifles.

PokerStrategy:
You work as a coach for both the German and the English community. In what ways do the two communities differ?

hasenbraten: First of all in the size. The German community has far more members. In the English coaching sessions, you get to know the people more who you explain things to - simply because they are present more often and participate more actively.

That is something I'd also like to see in the German community - I do reach many more potential players there, however I have the overall feeling that the English community is more active and takes things more seriously than the German one. Maybe the German community simply comes up with one or another over-hyped player due to its size, who knows...

PokerStrategy: You have been with PokerStrategy since 2006. A lot has changed during this time. What would you like to point out that has changed most of all?

hasenbraten: PokerStrategy has developed from a very small and assessable community to an international company. When I joined, there was exactly one NL sample hand evaluation forum. Content was hardly available for quite some time. Then a few single videos and coaching sessions popped up, for instance from sammy - and that was pretty much it more or less. If you look at the NL section today, it describes the development quite well I think.

For me personally, it was naturally also an enormous change to become a staff member. When you start working as a coach, you also begin to identify yourself with the whole concept, and I enjoy the whole thing. It does make you somewhat proud to be able to say: "I have participated in this" or "Some of my videos were watched by over 10,000 people".

PokerStrategy: What do you enjoy during the video production, what is interesting?

hasenbraten: I really enjoy making videos. Not only session reviews, but also theory videos. You're able to really communicate the "matter itself" and you have the necessary time. Quite often, decisions in live games include deliberations which need several minutes to explain. You simply cannot do this in live videos as you don't have the time.

In the session review, I can really go into detail about the basic making of decisions, and thus supply some deeper knowledge. Nonetheless, the live game shouldn't be neglected as you still always have to know how to put the theory into practice.

Personally, I consider theory videos to be very interesting, as you are able to just deal with one topic through the whole video, and thus secure a certain basic knowledge in this area. Unfortunately, the suitable topics for this are rather limited, as the game flow is completely missing at the table.

PokerStrategy: You also work on user session reviews. What's the deal with those?

hasenbraten: The community member makes a recorded session available - and I turn it into a session review. It is a very interesting kind of video, as you often notice more things in someone else's game than in your own. First of all, other people don't necessarily play better or worse, but simply in a different way. Here, two points of view come together, which are also used in the partner coaching sessions and the new partner videos. I think it is a good idea that players, who might have similar problems than the player in the video, are confronted here with examples of their own mistakes, and are able to learn from them.

PokerStrategy: On Mondays between 7 and 8 PM CET, you have a BSS coaching for newcomers together with Paxis. On Wednesdays between 4:30 and 6:30 PM CET, you have a NL BRB coaching together with Berliner1982. What differentiates co-coaching from coaching on your own, and which do you enjoy more?

hasenbraten: Both can be quite enjoyable. In general, you do need some sort of "partner", however. This doesn't necessarily have to be a co-coach. During the coaching sessions I held on my own back then, it often helped as well when members participated actively. For instance, I remember one PokerStrategist who visited my bankroll building regularly, and always helped me a lot with his huge database. That was very cool, and I haven't had this in the partner coaching sessions to date. It's probably because you simply have less time to care about the members. Overall, however, I do enjoy the partner coaching a tiny bit more!

PokerStrategy: Have any friendships evolved due to your job at PokerStrategy?

hasenbraten:
Of course you also develop some private relationships. Simply due to the small talk in and around the coaching you also participate in some kind of way. Some certainly also know a few of my flat mates - the one "who plays NL2" or "the guy with the snake" - or "the one with the loud music". In the coach-coach relationship, it's naturally even stronger, as you deal with each other considerably more often, and also chat with each other off the tables and between duties.

PokerStrategy: Usually, you also provide private coaching sessions (NL 25-100). These days, however, you don't have much time for those, unfortunately. How come?

hasenbraten: Currently, I simply don't have much free time. Girlfriend, friends, university and last, but not least, the job for PokerStrategy take up a lot of time, so there simply isn't any left for regular private coaching sessions.

As I also get some requests, I simply think it is better if I don't offer anything in general, as I might only have time for one coaching per week at the most, and would have to put off five other people on a daily basis. However, when I have more time again, I definitely want to offer some again, as I really enjoy these coaching sessions a lot!

PokerStrategy:
You are a very popular coach. During my research, I also read member posts - especially from newcomers - who thanked you a lot and pointed out that they wouldn't have come this far without your coaching. How much do you enjoy such praise?

hasenbraten: Very much. As a coach and video producer, you get a lot of negative feedback. On top of that, you often forget those who learn quietly, without letting anybody know about it.

These acknowledgments reflect the goal of my work, and also my personal goal: I want to improve the players. If someone confirms that they have achieved this, it provides enormous satisfaction for me. That's also pretty much how the incentive works.

PokerStrategy:
If you watch one of your own videos, are you surprised to see how well you play or how you are able to read your opponents, or rather how many mistakes you still make?

hasenbraten: Both. There are some spots, especially in session reviews, in which I pause the videos to explain what I will do next because I deem it correct after a long analysis.

Then I resume the video and did something completely different. That is taken for granted, but doesn't surprise me either. It is probably the same for every player. Whoever disagrees, probably lies :-).

At times, I am also positively surprised about myself when I stop a video, in which I no longer remember what happened, to explain a marginal spot and am relatively sure not have used it, and then I did so after all. Naturally, I enjoy things like these - however, it happens just as often that I didn't use such a spot.

However, the members should also pull out an enormous added value from the self-criticism of a coach. So in that sense, it is  good for everybody after all. The viewers learn something, and so do I.

PokerStrategy:
Let's get to your game. Currently, you play NL50 /
NL100 SH. Did you also take trips to other poker variants, or do you plan to do so?

hasenbraten: I played a few FL and PL Omaha Hi hands. However, without any major ambition for moving up the limits, nor with too much success. I personally consider FL Hold'em
to be extremely interesting, as I enjoy the mindset there more than in NL. It is also simply very good to think outside of your own box. Myself, I have learned a lot from,  for instance kobeyard's videos and coaching sessions. He has a genuine way of communicating knowledge and is also an exceptional player.

PokerStrategy: Is there a certain goal you want to reach in your poker career? Where will the hasenbraten stand in five years?

hasenbraten: No.
I don't play with ambitions to rise up in the limits or similar, so there aren't any major goals for me to achieve either, unfortunately. I still try to improve myself on the theoretical level, but not with direct expectations.

PokerStrategy: Do you have a role model in poker? Which world-class player would you like to be coached by?

hasenbraten: Greenstein
- in my opinion the most composed pro. In-depth insight paired with long-term experience. I think you can learn so much from him, especially on the psychological level, and I think he is somebody who would be very good in communicating knowledge. To have the knowledge and to also be able to hand it out to others are unfortunately two completely different things. I think he is capable of both.

PokerStrategy: You have already mentioned that your schedule is very ffull. What kind of hobbies do you have besides your commitments?

hasenbraten:
I spend a lot of time with my girlfriend, and apart from her also with my flat mates and fellow students, naturally. We often do things in our shared flat, but we also enjoy going out quite often. Mainly clubbing in Darmstadt or Frankfurt, preferably at the moderate Electro.

A different issue to be pointed out is the always on-going battle between Nightmare and Siegfried
on the PS3 in SoulCalibur IV. One of my flat mates and I must have played at least a million duels already, and it's always a lot of fun to do it again!

PokerStrategy: If you had three wishes for your private life - what would you choose?

hasenbraten: Honestly, I'm quite content these days when it comes to my private life... But I will come up with something. I would like it if my days had 48 hours instead of 24, and that I wouldn't have anything to do anymore.

It would also be cool to grab the Nobel prize for the merging of general relativity with quantum field theory with my Bachelor, or the Master thesis at the latest. The third wish would then obviously be an infinite amount of wishes, as I might come up with more stuff later on. 😀

PokerStrategy: Do you want to add anything for our members to bring this interview to an end?

hasenbraten:
First of all, thank you for the interview! It was a lot of fun, and I hope you - if you made it this far - had some fun as well!

And don't forget - long-term and so on (mathematics is a b*tch, at least in poker!). Keep your chin up! Patience is probably the most important virtue of a poker player! Good luck at the tables, except when you are playing against me - and have a nice day!

PokerStrategy:
Thanks a lot for this interesting interview, and for the time you took for us. We wish you good luck and a lot of success in the future!