Thorsten77: I Don't Like Coinflips Deciding the Winner
Winning the EPT San Remo High Roller Event was the first title under the flag of Team PokerStrategy.com for Thorsten77. In this interview he looks back at the victory and talks about his appearance at this year's WSOP.
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| Thorsten77 at the EPT San Remo High Roller Event |
PokerStrategy.com: Thorsten, the victory at EPT San Remo's High Roller Event was your first title as a Team PokerStrategy.com player. How happy were you with your success?
thorsten77: Of course I was extremely happy. The results so far hadn't been that good, or at least I wasn't happy with them.
For example my deep runs in Berlin and Copenhagen, where I was chip leader for some time, but in the end I lost the deciding flips and went busto. But at the High Roller Event everything went well. I never had a real big stack, but I managed to fight my way through the field as a short stack.
PokerStrategy.com: What were the most interesting moments during the tournament?
thorsten77: I think the most interesting phase were the early stage. I had a very interesting table with some aggressive Swedes like David Sonelin, Isildur1, Martin Jacobson and fellow PokerStrategist, Stefan Huber, on my right, so there was quite an interesting pre-flop dynamic. There was also a very loose Russian guy who defended against 4bets, so I could make value bets against him, even with ace high.
PokerStrategy.com: How was your style of play on your way to the final table?
thorsten77: Due to my relatively short stack I had no choice but to play a tight style. In one situation I got lucky when I jammed Q-J from the small blind and got called by A-J but I managed to catch a helping card. I also won an important flip and besides that, everything worked out pretty well.
$45,000 for the first place after the deal
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| Thorsten77 and Liv Boeree at the EPT Prague Main Event |
PokerStrategy.com: With three remaining players, you decided to agree to a deal. From your point of view, what is the big advantage of making a deal?
thorsten77: The idea behind a deal in these situations is that everyone wants to avoid to play a high variance SNG with thousands of dollars at stake. So in order to minimize the variance, all three of us decided to make a deal. The Russian guy probably also wanted it because he felt like he didn't have an edge against us.
PokerStrategy.com: What was your main motivation after the deal? For how much money did you play?
thorsten77: Of course I played strictly for the money after the deal as well. The remaining prize money was $25,000 for 2nd place and $45,000 for 1st place, so there were still significant amounts of money to be won. Therefore, I concentrated more on the money than on winning a prestigious title.
PokerStrategy.com: Let's talk about the WSOP. What are your experiences with Las Vegas and the WSOP?
thorsten77: For the last two years I have been to Vegas during the WSOP and that is why I know how long and exhausting the stay can get there. But on the other hand, Vegas has so many different things to offer, so I am looking forward to it. Hopefully my time there will be successful.
NL tournaments and $25/$50 cash games in Vegas
PokerStrategy.com: What kind of tournaments are you planning to play?
thorsten77: Since No Limit Hold'em is my main game in which I am by far the best at compared to other poker games, I will solely concentrate on NL. However I don't think that I will play only tournaments but also some higher stakes cash games.
PokerStrategy.com: Which limits are you going to play? Will you do some kind of table selection?
thorsten77: Well, it doesn't make too much sense to sit down at a table with just big names if you want to make some money. But if I find a table with 2 or 3 weaker spots I am happy to play it. Generally, there are always players who play worse than on comparable online limits so I am confident to find some interesting action. Regarding the limits I think will play at least NL $25/$50 since you simply cannot play many hands per hour.
PokerStrategy.com: Thank you Thorsten and good luck at the tables at Las Vegas!
