A gamer's view of poker: Bergie goes to live events

[d-Bergie]

 Hey everyone!

I'll do a short introduction of myself in case anyone doesnt know me yet. My name is Fredrik 'Bergie' Bergmann and I am a progamer in a game called "Trackmania". I have been a professional for 8 years now and I am a former World Champion as well. 1,5 years ago I started playing poker after having watched a lot of YouTube videos about the game. Watching Tom Dwan, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey and all the other legends play simply baffled me and got my interest. Fast forward to May 2017 and I was invited to Unibet Open Copenhagen. Short version of the whole story: After that event I became an esports ambassador for Unibet. This means I get to stream poker each week and also attend all the live Unibet events. 

You might wonder what this topic is going to be about? Well its simple, I want to share my insight and experience from all the Unibet events that I attend. I think it could be interesting to read how a gamer perceives different hand situations, live reads, pictures, funny conversations and so on. This is also a way of showing gratitude towards the amazing Unibet Poker crew for the opportunity they are giving me. Thus I decided to create this blog and my first one will be from Brighton this weekend. I think i'll post everything once I get home on tuesday or wednesday next week, and it will most likely all be posted in one go (so not one day at a time). If you have any requests from these events feel free to come with them, and all suggestions are greatly appreciated as well. 

PS: Here's a link to my stream if anyone wishes to watch me go down the MTT streets. If you want to watch me to learn new things about poker then I cant guarantee you that, however if you want to enjoy a relaxing stream with some deep runs every now and then, then this is the perfect place to be :D I will stream tonight which will be my last one before Brighton, you are more than welcome to come hang out! www.twitch.tv/dbergie

[pirahn]

Ill try and pop in for a chat. Make sure you have a masala chai ready for me. Im missing Brighton but will be good to catch up in Bucharest.

Vinny

[d-Bergie]

Haha I see i'll need to do some extra cooking today then :D See you in Bucharest!

[d-Bergie]

I arrived home yesterday from an amazing event in Brighton. Without going too much into detail before the blog part begins, I will say it was without a doubt the best UKTour I've attended.

Friday 27th of October - Day 1A - Familiar faces

After a good night's sleep I decided to go sightseeing in the lovely city of Brighton. This was my first time visiting the "beach" city and I wanted to see what it had to offer before the games began in the evening. Brighton offers anything from beaches where you can get a tan, a 360 degrees tower with great view over the city and landscape and lots of shops for those who are into such things (Hello girls). Truth be told I actually did end up doing some shopping myself, figured I had to get some new clothes as I attend quite many poker tournies nowadays 😏 Fast forward to around 5PM and it was time for some food. I am a big Nando's (portuguese chain that only serves chicken as the main protein ingredient) fan and luckily for me there was one located just by my hotel. Everytime I go to the UK I always eat there atleast once, and this time was no exception. 

After some food it was time to get the gameface on and enter Day 1A of the Unibet UK Tour. Shortly after I arrived at the Rendevouz Casino I met all of the fellow ambassadors: Daiva, Dara, David Lappin, Davitsche, Espen (Uhlen), Ian and the Estonian Jesus himself. It was nice seeing them again even though its only been three weeks since I last saw them. Ever since I became an Esports ambassador for Unibet they have been of great support and welcomed me with open arms. I hope to one day be able to repay their friendliness by getting a deep run at a live event. Not long after meeting them I also met a few of the community members. MathrimC, Psycho79, ChapInAChair and a few others. These events are a great opportunity for meeting community members and we always have a good laugh (mostly them laughing at my bad beat stories though FeelsBadMan). We chatted for a while and then suddenly it was time to take our seats for the tournament.

My table draw gave me mixed feelings. I only knew one person at the table but that was none other than Daiva. To my luck (not really) she was seated on my direct right, so atleast I had position on her. The few live poker events I have played so far have taught me something very valuable about the first 3-4 levels of the tournament: Don't get involved in too big pots early on! Sadly thats exactly what I did on lvl 2. Here is the hand:

Blinds are 50/100, UTG raises to 300. I am in Middle Position with TT and I decide to just flat call. This is a hand I would sometimes 3bet with, but vs UTG 3x and this early on (plus I have position), I decided to flat call. Folds around to the SB who decides to pump it up to 1400. UTG tanks a bit and folds, which makes me wonder what hand he decided to open-fold UTG with. I tank for a bit as well since this woman has been very active so far (lots of limping) but now she suddenly 3-bets from the SB which in my opinion makes her look quite strong. Its difficult to put a range on her in this spot, but I would say any monsters and AK/AQ/AJ+suited/99+ hands are reasonable here. I ultimately decided to call and see if I can set mine. Flop comes T Q K, two clubs. I flop bottom set but with no redraw to a flush. She leads 2,5K which makes me believe she has AK or AQ with one or two clubs. There are a few other hands she could have as well, such as JJ which has outs for the nut straight and possibly KQ (tho very unlucky she 3bets from the SB with KQ after an UTG raise). Here is where I did the biggest mistake of the tournament: I 3-bet her. I 3-bet to 8K and now the pot was massive for a level 2 hand. In retrospect I should have just flat called for many reasons, one of them being keeping pot control. The woman calls and we go to the turn: A Jack. Board shows T J Q K and she shoves after pretty much 5 seconds. I instantly puke and tank for almost 2 minutes. In my head I had already decided to fold once she shoved, but I thought through the hand just to make sure it was the right decision. I folded, showed the set of Tens and she showed AK for a turned straight. I was happy to see I made the correct decision by folding, even though it was a simple one, but I was frustrated with the way I played on the Flop.

After that I was down to around 12K (starting stack 25K) which is safe to say was a terrible start. Nonetheless I still had 120BB's so not a crisis by no means. I just had to get that hand out of my head and refocus. Being a pro gamer I am used to resetting and focusing on the next task, which is an attribute I cherish having. Fast forward to level 4 and after a few small pots where we dont hit anything, we get AK UTG. Blinds are now 100/200. I raise to 500 and get flat called by the button. Everyone else folds. Flop comes 247, two diamonds. I hold the Ace of diamonds. I decided to check here as I think villain will think im weak often and bet pretty wide. I also dont think he should have too many 2x and 4x in his range, even though he certainly can have A2 and A4 (suited) in some cases. The fact that I raised UTG makes it less likely though, same goes for 78 (possibly suited). He does bet around half pot and I call. I believe this is a good flop to float with AK on, especially since im holding A of diamonds. Turn comes Ace of clubs. I check again as I dont see much point in betting, with the only one being to protect my hand vs flushdraws. I plan to call any river unless it is a diamond, where I then have a tough decision to make. He bets 1/4 of pot now and I call once again. River is the T of hearts and shouldnt change much really. He shouldnt have any TT, T7, 24 etc. The only hand he maybe could have is AT (diamonds mostly), but he should have lower pocket pairs or bluffs often in this case. I check again and he fires 1/4 pot once again. I'm getting great odds to call and so I put the chips needed in and he shows TT for a rivered set. I discussed this hand with Daiva at the next break and she said I played it perfectly fine and was just unlucky that his bet 3 streets line worked. In my opinion his line is not optimal since I open UTG I will very often be dominating him, especially when the Ace falls on the turn and I call. I would also call JJ QQ KK on that turn, but I truly wonder what he believes I had on the flop when I called him.

At the break I was down to around 5K and coming back to 150/300, I needed a double up soon. Fast forward to lvl 7 or 8 and I still hadnt found a double up. I managed to get some blinds and min raises through all ins, two of them being with AQ and AA (sigh). The AA was especially disappointing as I had only 11 BB's then, but noone called me. Later on I get KQo on the button with 13BB's. UTG open limps, +1 does the same. I squeeze jam and UTG+1 calls. He tables TT. Flop comes J94 so I have additional outs. Turn and river brick and i'm out. Ultimately this was a tough day for me as I didnt get anything going really. I quickly figured out my table was very soft apart from 2-3 players so I knew I could take advantage of that, but it was difficult when I never hit any boards (and those I did I got sucked out on). Afterwards I decided to go to bed as it was around midnight to get a good night's rest for Day 1B.

28th of October - Day 1B - Earplugs needed

I woke up early for a nice breakfast and I felt more than ready to play again. I watched the Manchester United vs Tottenham game in my hotel room and I was very happy with the result (1-0 win for United). I hoped this was good omens for when I played later that day. I attended Ian Simpson's seminar before playing where he talked about how to exploit limpers. Ian's seminars are free to enter and are very informative especially for poker players whom arent too experienced yet. I checked my table draw shortly afterwards and I had an even tougher one than the previous day. Dara on my left and Daiva in the next seat. This meant I have been on same table as Daiva (and close positions everytime) for 3/3 straight UKTours (Glasgow, Nottingham and Brighton). I hope this doesnt repeat in Manchester as she seems to bring bad luck! The rest of the table was tough as well as it included a few people with decent live results.I was involved in a hand with Daiva very early on, I think it was lvl 1 actually. Daiva opens UTG 2,5x. Two people call before its my turn in the SB. I have KJo and I decide to call as well. Dara in the BB folds. Flop comes K46 rainbow. Daiva continues, the other two fold and I call with top pair. Turn is an offsuit 9 and Daiva slows down. I decide to check as well in position. In retrospect I think I couldve bet small here to get calls from any middle pairs or even A9s. Daiva is a very good player with amazing knowledge so I dont expect her to open A4, 44, 66, A4 and A6 UTG which makes it tough for me to get value on that turn card though. Thus I think my check back was alright, even though I could also do a small bet. By leading on a rainbow flop there it might also make it look like im on a weird straight draw or a small pair that I want to protect, so if she has something like a middle pair she might be induced to calling. Either way, river comes and its an 8. She thinks for a bit before she bets close to half pot. I snap call and she has 88 for a rivered set. I almost felt like a deja vu from the previous day. I think with the hand she had, its unlikely she's gonna fold to a small bet on the turn unless she strongly believes I have a king in my range. Pure unlucky river though.

Next level, Daiva is moved to my joy to another table. I wasnt filled with joy when I saw who sat down in her seat though. None other than Will Kassouf. Most people should know by now who he is, and if you havent I advice you to search for "will kassouf vs griffin benger WSOP" on Youtube. I attended an event in Coventry last year where I could hear him from many tables behind me, talking and talking, but ive never been on the same table as him to experience it first hand. He is a very nice and friendly guy (when he's not in a hand with you) and I taught him how to say "9high like a boss" in Norwegian. Kinda regret that now though as he might use it against me one day. 

 I only played one hand against Kassouf but it was an interesting one. I opened T9ss in the cut-off and got a call from him in the SB. BB folded. Flop comes J88 two clubs one heart. I c-bet 1/3 of the pot and he calls. Turn is another offsuit J. I decided to slow down here and he checked too. River is an offsuit 4. I check and he bets close to half pot. In this case I thought he could easily have any 8, J, flushdraws, overs with gutshots, lower pocket pairs and maybe even T9 himself. I didnt see much point in calling with Ten high at this stage of the tournament so I decided to fold. The story from day 1A (and most of my live events) continued for many levels and missed boards. This has been a trend for me and even though I have a small sample size to show from, it is slightly frustrating as Im used to doing pretty well online. The volume online is obviously much higher so I know I shouldnt compare it to live, and this is something I will work on when it comes to mindset. I still have a lot to learn.

Level five just started and I get T9o on the button. There's a minraise from Middle Position, Hi-Jack calls, I call, Dara calls and Kassouf calls. Flop comes 9TK two diamonds. Dara and Kassouf check, MP checks, HJ bets 1/3 pot, I call and everyone else fold. I was thinking about raising here but to avoid the same mistake I made with the set of T's previous day I decide to just flat call for pot control. Turn comes and its an offsuit Ace. He bets half pot and this is where I had to think for a while. He can have some A9/AT that he flat calls pre with, also KT is in his range as well as diamond draws. I decide to call again and make a decision on the river. River comes 7 of diamonds (puke). Flush gets there, QJ was already ahead and now J8 gets there too (unlikely hand unless diamonds). He bets half pot and I fold. I dont beat enough to justify a call there and I doubt top pair Ax or Kx are going to bet 3 streets there. Especially by leading on every street.

Dara and me both struggled with getting much going on this table. I told him during lvl 7: "Looks like we might have a blind vs blind war soon to end one of our dreams". He laughed and said "I genuinely just had the same thought haha". Great minds think alike, right?? Fast forward to level 8 and I get AKo UTG. I raise 2,5x with 32 BB's behind and I get a call from the SB. Flop comes 556 two clubs, I have none in my hand. This is where my inexperience showed from the decision I took. I decided to lead-jam. My reasoning was that he's never gonna call with ace highs (unless flushdraw), he will fold some lower pocket pairs and maybe 66/77/88. I will also have most likely two overs that can improve my hand to a winning one. The biggest problem with the line I took here is that I would never do such a thing with a premium. I would much rather cbet small to keep him in the pot or get him to check-raise some draws, middle pairs etc. With 99 TT or JJ I would maybe decide to jam, but never with QQ/KK/AA/AQ-AKcc. He tanks for a bit and says "im pretty sure im supposed to call this" and he does. He tables AQcc for nutflush draw. Turn comes a club and im dead. I discussed this hand with Dara for quite a while the next day and he agreed that while the line I took is reasonable and its a close call, he believes it wouldve been slightly better to just cbet small and get it in even to a check-raise or on the turn. AK is too strong to fold on that board and that makes sense. 

Sunday 30th October - Community games and a new pro dealer arises

Sunday was Day 2 and even though I didnt make it, I was there to rail the ambassadors who did. Community members like nmpfan and psycho79 made it as well which was nice to see.  I wont go into detail too much of Day 2, however I will give an honourable mention to Estonian Jesus whom made his 2nd final table out of 3 appearances at the UKTours. Impressive display of performance, boss! Sunday is also well known for hosting the Community Freeroll and this time was no exception. Due to so many of the ambassadors still being in the main (poor Iany), I was asked to be a dealer for the freeroll. I accepted the responsibility and I think its safe to say I was the best dealer in the house (shoutout to MathrimC and all the swedes). Jokes aside we had a blast and the atmosphere was great. Darkangel had brought a cake to the event which the community members could enjoy whilst playing. Such a nice gesture from her! Later in the evening there was a ladies event as well which attracted enough women for three full tables! In a male dominated sport it was nice to see so many ladies enjoying the game (and also crushing it). Props to Unibet and Daiva for arranging this.

I decided to play a side event in the evening, 37£ Turbo rebuy. It was a fun and fast paced event where I finished 10th out of roughly 60 entrants. Two off the money, but I was happy with my play and performance and it was nice to finally hit some boards again. I had one tough spot in a 3ways pot with Psycho and a local guy where I puked once again at the river (i've gotten pretty used to that by now :D ), but other than that it was a nice event and I believe Hensiepensie ran pretty well in it too. 

This has been a very long blog and if you stayed untill the end then I hope you enjoyed reading it. I atleast had fun writing my experience and thoughts from the event. Unibet are a fantastic group of people whom know how to take care of their players, and I think I speak from everyone at the event when I say it was the best UKTour event so far in every aspect. You might be wondering whats next for me. I hope to be attending Bucharest and Manchester for the UO and UKTour in 4 weeks time. In the meantime I will keep grinding online and streaming atleast once a week, and hopefully keep improving and ultimately maybe cash live in the near future. I have only played poker for 1,5 years which makes me a newbie still, however I am working hard on improving and I will appreciate any form of feedback whether it be on stream or here in the blog. 

Thanks to all the ambassadors, community members, Unibet Crew and all the locals for making this a memorable event!

[Darkangel7]

Great read and was good fun.

[d-Bergie]

Good day fellow poker players!

My next event will be Unibet Open Bucharest where i'll ofcourse do another blog entry. I hope to see as many of you there and maybe we can even take some pictures to show off the amazing community :D This thread is not to be used as a "general poker blog", so I wont go too much into details regarding my MTT results, however I'll mention that in the past 8 days I've totaled a profit of 900€ in tournaments which includes four wins and 15 final tables. Cant be disappointed with that :D See you in Bucharest!

[d-Bergie]

Hi!

As some of you might know, last week I attended UO Bucharest. It was a fantastic event and experience, however i'll talk more about it in my blog entry. Speaking of, tomorrow im flying to Manchester for the UK Tour and last event of the year! This means I will have to delay my next blog entries till next week. Hope thats alright, atleast you'll get two in one week then. :D See you in Manchester!