What's happening? About Ace Ace & Media Ace in Videos Rolf Blog & Columns Some Personal Stories Recent results Player of the Year 2008 Dutch Poker Champ 2005 Ace Speaks: Articles Cover Stories Vegas Voyage Tournament Reports Book & DVD Reviews Pocket Aces Ace & Poetry Travel ACE The Dutch Poker Police Potnopine Hold'em           Guestbook Ask Ace Poll Links Contact Ace   September 2, 2010 I am back in Amsterdam. Having enjoyed a fun week in Germany, I was unable to return home with more money than I took with me. However, I did bring a lot of remarkable stories - and they have been compiled in my rather elaborate "Een weekje Warnemunde" trip report on Pokerinfo. Included are a bunch of nice pics - and two remarkable flics. Hints: Highway under water, and yours truly carried on the neck by a poker buddy. In other words - You'll like it! :) In addition to this story, I also produced two 'regular' columns for Pokercity. The first one was about Poker & Legislation. The second one was another hotly debated topic in my home country, Online Poker vs. Addiction. Last but not least, my Holland Poker teammate Ancilla Tilia did an interview with poker journalist Pieter van Klinken on Pokernews. Having been the one that basically got Ancilla into poker, the title of the story "Rolf's qualities are of no use to me" definitely caught my eye. Ancilla Tilia story on the reporter's site (with Holland Poker pics) Ancilla Tilia story on Pokernews(with responses from visitors, plus - now deleted - nude pics) Fortunately (and as expected), the title is a bit misleading, as it is mostly a nice / standard story about her progress in the poker world. Or, in her own words: "You know I mean it nicely. :-) Admiration only!" For what it's worth. :) --------------------------- August 29, 2010 Starting day 2 of the Drei-Lander Tour Warnemunde rather short (half average, just over 20BB, an M of 9); I knew there was a good chance I wouldn't make it to the end of the day. I had a rather fortunate table draw though: three tight players to my left, all with less chips than I, and two light openers to my immediate right. In other words, the game plan was simple: focus on reraising all-in against the light openers. I indeed won one pot uncontested this way. But then I found KK in an unraised pot. From the 800 big blind, I raised to 3500 to see the open-limper call quickly. The flop came AQJ and I now bet small, thinking this players might not read it for what it was: weakness. Again, he quickly called in a manner that suggested an ace - and so I chose to check-fold the turn. Not much later, my rightside neighbor (Jorryt, the same one from yesterday) again opened, this time from the button. With QJ, I reraised all-in, only to get a call with AJ from the 10BB big blind! Not what I had in mind, and I was now down to just 9 big blinds. I did my best to stay alive, but in the end it was Jorryt who finished me off. First in from the small blind, he put me all-in, and I called 10BB extra with 88. Flipping against AQ, a queen flopped - and that was that. Out on day 2 a bit sooner than I had hoped, I still was quite pleased with my overall performance. So, after a little shower I headed back to the casino and enjoyed a nice evening with the Dutch contingent. After some interesting discussions with Armijn Meijer & Mariken Hogenhout, some railing of Sijbrand Maal & Koen de Bakker (who ended up winning a small side event despite some actual betting *against* him from the Dutch railers), and one or two drinks at the Neptun Nightclub with the Everest crew, it was already 5 a.m. - the time that am writing this report. :) I had thought about heading back to Holland early (as in: last night), but instead I have chosen to stick to my original plan. Tomorrow I'm going to check out the Warnemunde city centre (if there even is such a thing), and in addition I might decide to play some cash games. Whatever it is - you will find the results / stories here in my daily report. See you all tomorrow! ---------------------- August 28, 2010 I have survived my day 1 of the 3LT in Warnemunde Beach in typical (read: very much below average) Rolf-fashion. I had a very unlucky table draw, because in a fairly soft field I managed to draw a table with online big gunners / good players Jorryt van Wijk, Siwash Zahmat, Koen de Bakker & Hauke Heseding. Not the best of draws! Despite this, I grinded my way very well from 20k up to 27k by being tight and patient, yet taking advantage of profitable situations that would present itself. Having all three (for a large part loose-aggressive) Dutchmen to my left, I could not open very liberally. But because I knew how they viewed me and how they would respond to my bets, I still had a decent edge – even at probably the worst seat in the entire house. Having started out extremely tight, I started opening up a bit in level 2, with blinds 75-150. I opened to 475 in the cutoff with sixes to win uncontested against Zahmat’s big blind and Jorryt’s button. One orbit later, I was in the exact same spot. Knowing that Jorryt would never fold two consecutive buttons, I knew my JJ was good when he three-bet me to 1400. I reraised to 4100 and won uncontested. Him being down to 12k now, I knew we would clash soon. This clash came in level 5, with blinds 150-300 / ante 25. Jorryt was now down to 8,425, and I had 26k. Eveyone folded to my small blind and with K6o I chose to limp. Jorryt, knowing that I like to check-raise or limp-reraise, decided to check and we saw the flop KJ7 with one diamond. I min-bet 325 with my top pair, hoping to induce a move / float, and he called. The turn was the 6 of diamonds, giving me kings up. I checked, he bet 600, and after some hemming & hawing I made a strange-looking check-raise to 1450. I had tried to make it look a bit suspicious, as I wanted to give him room for a push. After some deliberation, he called the 850 extra, and then a J came on the river. Ugh! My two pair was now counterfeited – and my hand was reduced to kings and jacks, no kicker. I checked, and Jorryt bet 6,800 all-in in the 4375 pot, and in the end I made the call simplly because it was not very easy for him to have a jack here. He would have needed to call 850 extra (more than 10% of what he had behind) thinking there was at least some chance I was making a move. (A king / better kicker was not likely either as he would not overbet the pot this grossly with that hand, plus any king was rather unlikely for him, given the betting & his aggressive tendencies.) In the end, he turned over J4o, meaning he had just hit a crucial two-outer on the river that had cost me big time. And instead of a nice value bet / call with a 30k+ stack, it was now my dangerous opponent who had the same below average number of chips that I had (18k). It was a big blow, even more because my main focus throughout the day had been to take advantage of my neighbor’s loose-aggressive tendencies and the fact that he likes to run over ‘nits’ like me. With blinds moving up to 200-400/25 and 300-600/50, I could do nothing but grind & hold my own the remainder of the day. All in all, it was a tough day 1 where things hadn’t gone exactly my way. But I am still alive with 17.5k for a 20BB+ stack, as blinds tomorrow will be 400-800/75. In other words: no need to feel desperate! :) Play will resume at 5 p.m. tomorrow, with 80 out of 132 players left. 13 players ITM, first prize of this 4-day event: €84k. Wish me luck! -------------------- August 26, 2010 It is time for my first foreign tournament after my World Series Main Event. This time, I will head to Warnemunde Beach in Germany in order to play the Three Countries Tour, an interesting tournament series hosted by Everest Poker. www.3ltour.com/en I already visited one of these 3LT tourneys before (the stop in Baden, Switzerland earlier this year), and had a very enjoyable time over there. My June 2010 column about this 3LT Baden (In Dutch) This time in Warnemunde, the field may be a bit tougher than in Baden not in the last place quite a few Dutch pros will be heading there (Steven van Zadelhoff, Koen de Bakker, Jorryt van Wijk & Sijbrand Maal, to name but a few). But when it comes to enjoyment I expect at least the same as last time. Of course, the Everest beach party the night before this event may not be such a bad idea to start this trip! As always when it comes to foreign tourneys, I will give daily reports here at www.rolfslotboom.com. In addition, I will be providing live updates through Twitter. And obviously, in upcoming columns you can expect some personal stories, some hand-by-hand analysis (provided I don't get eliminated too early in this event) and whenever possible some good-old gossip. I already mentioned this trip in last week's Wednesday Mail Correspondence, as published on Pokercity. (In Dutch) In fact, my writing partner Gerthein has already responded in rather witty fashion. And finally, Pokercity also carries my latest 'regular' column about some of the most historical moments in Dutch poker history. Anyway, now it's off to Warnemunde Beach. Wish me luck! ---------------------- August 10, 2010 Lots of buzz at this moment in my home country the Netherlands. Famous dutch lawyer Peter Plasman has won the "Van Zadelhoff" lawsuit, meaning that in this specific case poker has been declared a game of skill rather than a game of chance. We had the honor to receive Mr. Plasman as our specal guest in the probably most interesting "Poker Inside" talkshow to date. (In Dutch.) Poker Inside (special guest: Peter Plasman) As a result of this trial / lawsuit, the first 'legal' poker room in Holland has just opened its doors. This has caused lots of concern, enthusiasm & media attention throughout the country. Pokerroom Glane has opened its doors As a result (2), mainstream media are now all over this issue, all linking to either the news items at Pokercity or our "Poker Inside" talkshow. Somewhat sarcastic piece on "GeenStijl" The same news on "Volkskrant" - though without the sarcasm In addition, I have recently released two columns (again, at Pokercity)that were rather newsworthy and created some interesting discussions: "Wonderlijk!" (bi-weekly mail correspondence, every other Wednesday) "Eendagsvliegen" (my regular column, every other Saturday) All in all, no 'international' news this time - but that might be different at the next update. In the meantime, feel free to follow me on Twitter, as this is the fastest way to receive links to all the different things I am involved in - or have opinions about. :) July 25, 2010 I have enjoyed some days of relaxing with my girlfriend, enjoying the fun fair (largest in Benelux) in her hometown Tilburg, and visiting the in Holland just released Inception movie (IMAX). All in all, enjoyable times! In the meantime, I was fortunate enough to win a small (35 player, €100 buy-in) tourney at a homegame hosted by a friend, my third live tournament victory this year. And two days later, I added a fourth to that, by winning another small €100 tourney - this time officially splitting, though taking more than second place. Of course, this is all just smalltime business, but it is still nice to win events rather than merely participating. :) Enjoying the merits of summer time, we are now slowly moving towards the final tournaments in my home country: Breda, Valkenburg & of course the annual Master Classics in Amsterdam. Holland Casino has just released a brand-new pic on its site - a pic of me in full poker attire. Nice! --------------------- July 19, 2010 Right after my return from Vegas, I went to Venlo in order to play the ViP Days - as if there's no such thing as a jetlag. :) Unfortunately, I was unable to book any kind of results over there. From now on, things will start to slow down a bit. I will be laying low by having a good time with friends, playing online + some small live games, and simply enjoying this summer. Of course, you guys should continue to check out my Twitter (just click on the link above) for all of my recent activities / fast updates on my endeavors. In addition, there's always Pokercity for all my latest columns / flics. ------------------- July 15, 2010 On day 4 of the WSOP Main Event, I've been eliminated. 747 players in the money, but I couldn't get any further than place 836. After losing a QQ vs KK hand where I may have taken a bit too many chances, I was short on the exact day where we would reach the money. I struggled along very well, avoiding necessary risks and having to survive no all-in calls. On one of my rare shoves with just 10 big blinds left, my AT of spades ran into KK of the same player who had also crippled me in the QQ vs KK hand - and I was out. Hand-by-hand report part II (in Dutch) Hand-by-hand report part I (in Dutch) All in all, no fourth consecutive cash - but having been faced with quite a bit of adversity, I was still quite pleased with my overall performance. ------------------- July 13, 2010 I'm still in! After two very tough days of grinding & fighting, I am still an active participant at the Main Event of the 2010 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. Around 1200 players out of the initial 7300 are left, if I am not mistaken 747 will be in the money. On day 2 and 3 I had to fight back many times to stay alive, and Lady Luck hasn't exactly favored me thus far. I can honestly say that I am playing to the best of my abilities though, and I am very happy to come back to day 4 with a 119,800 stack. Blinds tomorrow 1200-2400 with a 300 ante. After this Series, I will try to write a detailed report in English. Until that time, updates in Dutch are available at Pokernews. ---------------------- July 11,2010 Rolf in De Telegraaf (In Dutch) ------------------------- July 10, 2010 Good news from Vegas: I have survived day 1d of the Main Event. After a long and grueling day, where I suffered some very bad luck early on, I made a miracle come back. I was down to just 3,700 from my initial 30k after a very well-played hand, where I did *not* go all-in on the river with my full house (66 on K647K board, heads up against a loose cannon) in a situation where I was probably 95% sure to have the best hand. After that hand, I stayed calm and playing super-tight and picking my spots, I ended the day with 15,400. Full report / hand-by hand analysis (in Dutch) Gerthein's flic from Vegas (My voice mail messages from Vegas at the end of the flic) --------------------- July 7, 2010 I'm in Vegas! At the exact same time when Marcel Vonk surprised the poker world by capturing the third Dutch bracelet and Holland's soccer team battled its way to a remarkable World Cup final, I was in an airplane trying to find my way to the Nevada desert. As before, I am staying at the Rio. Unlike other years, I will be playing day 1d instead of 1a. Pavilion White, table 7, seat 8. It will be much tougher than in previous years, I'm sure. Still, I've been told that yesterday there were already 6,800 sign-ups. So, tough as it may be - I guess there are a few dollars up for grabs. :) Wish me luck! --------------------- July 4, 2010 Lots of interesting stuff recently. In random order: 1. My latest column at Pokercity. (In Dutch) 2. The latest poem at my monthly poetry blog. (In Dutch) 3. The remarkable developments in the ongoing "Skill vs. Luck" discussion in my home country. At the exact time when Holland won its match against Brazil at the World Cup, famous Dutch lawyer Peter Plasman won a historic trial that could very well change the Dutch poker landscape. Peter called me right after this trial, and 'my' site Pokercity instantly dubbed the information provided by the lawyer as Breaking News. Not much later, we provided our visitors with an exclusive interview with Peter Plasman, and later that day leading Dutch TV show NOVA had an extensive story about this case. (Poker starts at 6:55. As you can understand, all the interviews, stories + flic are in Dutch.) But perhaps most importantly: at this very moment, I am packing to leave for Vegas. Just like last year, I have chosen to play just the $10k Main Event of the World Series. No side events for me, just the Main Event, hoping to continue my series of good results from the previous years. Thus far, I have cashed in all of my three Main Event attempts, and I have made it my goal to improve this rather good 3-out-of-3 to an even more remarkable 4-out-of-4. (For more info, just check out the column mentioned above - where I also provide links to my detailed hand-by-hand analysis from my Main Event cash last year.) Of course, it won't be easy - but in typical Rolf style, I will give this my all. For live updates, simply start following me on Twitter by clicking the button above, and time permitting I will also provide you with daily updates here at rolfslotboom.com. Wish me luck! June 24, 2010 After a short break (both here and at Twitter, both with the same reason: spending some quality time with my new girlfriend), it is time to provide you guys with my latest media activities. Yes, all within the Netherlands - but that doesn't make them any less important! :) I was pleased to find myself in a special edition of the "5 Years DWDD" special, being in a small pic at page 28 of the save edition of this glossy magazine. ("De Wereld Draait Door" is one of the most popular talkshows on Dutch TV, where some two years ago I was present as a guest - together with famous Dutch lawyer Peter Plasman.) Funny that - apparently - people still remember me! Of course, even more flattering was the latest episode of my 'own' Internet talkshow "Poker Inside", where my idea for a one-time special episode (a special, extra long edition on one specific subject) received quite a bit of praise. Nicky Roeg & I recorded this special (4-part!) in-depth analysis of Poker, Law & Taxes in what we dubbed "Poker Inside Financial". Our guests: Justin Franssen & Frans Duynstee, two leading authorities on this specific subject. Responses / feeback / additional questions & answers can be found in the comments below. Poker Inside Financial part 1: Dilemmas + Questions From Viewers / Visitors Poker Inside Financial part 2: Poker & The Law Poker Inside Financial part 3: Poker & Taxes Poker Inside Financial part 4: Fantasy Poker League & Luckbox Of The Year In addition, my 'regular' (bi-weekly) column continues to appear on Pokercity every other Saturday; click here for a full list of all these columns. And of course, I also still do my weekly e-mail correspondence with Gerthein, every Wednesday at the same site. Also here, a full list of all the episodes thus far: weeks 1-25. Enjoy! --------------------- June 7, 2010 No results from me in the two closing tournaments of the North Sea Poker Classic. In both the €1k Main Event and the €200 bounty I was unable to get close to a cash, let alone a final. No real mistakes or very unfortunate situations, and I was not all that unpleased with my game - but in both tourneys, it was not enough to get me into the money. All in all, the NSPC was just mediocre when it comes to results (just one cash, and a small one), but I had a great time nonetheless. My new girlfriend was present, and she joined me in the Kurhaus as well as our meetings with poker friends. We enjoyed nice lunches at my favorite beach club in Holland, Peukie (at Scheveningen Beach), joined by the likes of Nicky Roeg & Berney Frankfort. And we had an excellent closing evening with a whole bunch of poker players at Twins, another nice beach club. Together with Sijbrand Maal, Mariken Hogenhout, Sven Polarski & Boneca Verhagen we then went on a triple-date (does this word actually exist?) to a nice Japanese restaurant. All in all, an enjoyable time - though in all likelihood, not the most lucrative of the year. :) It probably was one of the most lucrative weeks of the year for my webmaster Kees Aerts, who made the final table at the Main Event. After a nice 5-way deal he ended up in fifth place - an excellent achievement. In the meantime, I produced another (for once, strategic) column for Pokercity, and updated my montly Dutch poetry blog. And of course, my weekly e-mail correspondence with my poker buddy Gerthein is also still running. Our stories from the past four weeks, including some hotly debated ones: Week 22 Week 21 Week 20 Week 19 -------------------- June 3, 2010 No results at the NSPC in my last two tournaments. In the €400 freeze-out, I had built a more than decent stack, but played two consecutive pots in a way too optimistic manner - and ended in 40th. In today's €250 event, I didn't even last 30 minutes! With just AQ for top pair / top kicker, I went by my read and decided to commit fully. Having check-raised on the flop Q42 with two diamonds, my opponent flatcalled, having threatened to move in on me. Given the multiway nature on the flop and having just flatcalled the small c-bet of the preflop raiser, 44 and 22 seemed highly unlikely, and given this was a raised pot where my opponent's position was quite bad, Q4, Q2 and 42 were all impossible. And knowing that my opponent (who is a decent & capable player, but who for whatever reason likes to get involved with me & push me off my big hands) would definitely move all-in on the turn if I checked to him, both with the hands that beat me as well as the hands that were beat, I checked. And indeed, after a J on the turn, he overbet all-in. The only realistic holdings that had me beat were 44 and 22 (both would not have flatcalled on the flop) and QJ (would not have called my flop check-raise on this relatively dry board), and given the unlikelihood of these holdings I decided to make this big call. 150bb deep with just TPTK... and I was right! I caught my opponent with just the Jd9d - but a diamond on the river ended my day. As you are reading this, I am enjoying the Scheveningen boulevard & the lovely weather. So, don't worry about me too much - and expect to see me back at tomorrow's Main Event. :) ------------------- June 1, 2010 It’s busy days! Starting day 3 of the Main Event in Baden (Switzerland) rather short, I was happy to turn things around. First I sucked out, reraising all-in with AT suited from the button against a loose open raiser, only to see the small blind wake up with kings. One ace and one ten later I was almost back at average. And when I induced a move from a too-active Vietnamese player, he obliged, four-betting my kings all-in with just an 87 suited. I suddenly was way above average! But then, with 24 players left, 20 in the money, I tried to go for the kill – and failed. My rightside neigbor Matthias Kurschner (sp?) open raised to 13k from the cutoff. With AQ, I reraised to 33k from the button, and after some deliberation, Matthias moved all-in for 187,500. I took my time to analyze things. Having played with him in the past two days, we had not been involved in one single pot together, yet I had observed him carefully. Despite the fact that his bet was very substantial (average stack was just 160k, with rather deep money, and I had Matthias just barely covered), something just didn’t smell right. I decided to make the call, and was right: I had my opponent severely dominated, AQ vs AJ suited. Winning the pot would have me at no less than 425k, with just 160k average! But the board came AJxxx, and suddenly I was short. When I then lost KQ vs A9 (BB vs BTN), I was out even before the money – when I had come rather close to going after my goal: winning this thing. That same night, Koen de Bakker, Sven Polarski & Tim v/d Zwet drove back to Holland – and both Sven & I were just in time for the opening event of the North Sea Poker Classic in Scheveningen. Despite almost no sleep, we followed up our good performance from Baden with a decent one in this €300 crapshoot. We both cashed, and had my QQ vs AK flip with 16 players left worked out a bit differently, I may have done a bit better than my eventual 13th place finish (€576). Still, I was rather pleased, and situated in the lovely Kurhaus, I hope I can follow up this cash with a final table somewhere this week. Possibly tomorrow – when the €400 freeze-out takes place. Live updates of the €300 event. Of course, tomorrow (just like today) there will also be a live stream of the televised table at www.pokercity.nl. May 30, 2010 I have also survived day 2 of the Main Event of the 3 Countries Tour in Baden, Switzerland. (For the detailed Everest blog with its live report + interviews, please check the May 28 links below.) But it was a much tougher day than I would have liked! Starting the day with 41k, I lost chips when I three-bet with AK in what-looked-like-a-squeeze-with-position. No less than two players called me, and after a donk-bet + raise on a raggedy board I had to fold. Getting excessive action on my hands, I was lucky to have both QQ and JJ hold up after my UTG raises got faced with all-in shoves from shorties (AK vs my QQ, KT & 99 vs my JJ). Moving into a tough new table with my buddies Sijbrand Maal & Sven Polarski, I touched the 100k mark for a way above average stack. But I lost a big pot against Sijbrand where he did get lucky on the river, but where I made a bad river call with top two against his rather obvious straight. In other words: I lost a bit more than I needed to! And when the short Polarski then doubled through me with 88 vs my AK (shove for 10BB), I was suddenly short myself. I plodded my way to the end of the day, and with a total stack of 43,900 I may return tomorrow. Way below the average stack of 107k, but with the blinds starting at the still fairly modest 1500-3000/300 (in fact, a few minutes are still left at the current 1200-2400/200 level), I don't feel as short as I may appear to be. 36 players left, 20 in the money. Stacks for the Dutchies: Polarski 42k, Rolf 43,900, Sijbrand Maal & Koen de Bakker both 130k (approx.) And the live reporter at the feature table tomorrow - none other than Mariken Hogenhout. Nice! I have just seen tomorrow's draw: Sijbrand, Sven & I are again packed at the same table - and this time also with the two chipleaders of the event! A remarkable draw, given that four tables are still left, and one can rest assured that for tomorrow's live stream the feature table will be this one. In all likelihood the correct link for the stream can be found here; if not, just go here. Starting time: 6 p.m. Amsterdam / Switzerland time. ------------------ May 28, 2010 I am in Switzerland! Convinced to go by Sven Polarski, Mariken Hogenhout & Sijbrand Maal, I decided to head over with them on a direct flight from Amsterdam to Zurich. A little cab ride later, we arrived in Baden - host of the Everest 3 Lander Turnier (three countries tourney, 3LT from now on). After we had installed ourselves in our very nice & clean hotel, we decided to head over to the casino in order to check things out, and say hi to organizer Olaf Schimpf and the other people from Everest (Martin, Rocco & Paloma, to name but a few). Sven, Sijbrand & I had all planned to start this €2,000 buy-in tourney at day 1b. But having noticed that the field at day 1a seemed exceptionally weak, while day 1b would have a bunch of top pros (including Everest players Steven van Zadelhoff & Koen de Bakker) we decided: "What the heck; let's play now." In a well-structured tourney (very deep money) we have all maneuvered into day 2 quite well. With almost half of the day 1a field out (the expectation: total entries about 225), Sven, Sijbrand & I all have about average stacks now. Sven & I without any problems (small-pot poker, just chipping away), while former Belgian Champ Sijbrand needed a one-outer on the river in order for his outdrawn AA to chop. (Against someone who grossly overplayed a 93 suited, yet who on the turn 6524 had Sijbrand by the balls - only to see a trey on the river counterfeit his straight). All in all, with 41,825 I experience a situation of luxury: ending my day 1 with an above-average (37k) stack. And those who are familiar with my play, know that this doesn't happen all that often! :) Today, we have a day off, so all the time to check out the Swiss gastronomy and relax a bit. Saturday, play will resume - and good or bad news, I will provide you with the end result here. Of course, if you want more frequent updates, simply follow me on Twitter. Or visit the excellent www.everestpokerblog.com for more general info, for live updates and for a few interviews here & there - not in the last place with yours truly. Updated chip counts can be found here. Wish me luck! ------------------- May 19, 2010 The Twente Classics are over! No luck for me in the Main Event, as I got eliminated on day 1. But according to the good-old Rolf Tradition, I focused to the max on exactly that tournament that everyone always tends to forget: the closing one. (In this case, the €300 bounty tournament.) In the end, I finished in 11th place, for a decent €890 payday (including four €75 bounties). So all in all, I had a decent week with two cashes in six tries. Not the big money that I was aiming for - but overall I was rather pleased. The next stop: Scheveningen. -------------------- May 14, 2010 I have played four tournaments thus far at the Twente Classics. One final table: 7th out 220 in the €200+20 freeze-out (€1450), after a few crucial suckouts in the shortstack phase & no more luck in the end. In the €100 rebuy and €500 freeze-out I played very well but was very unfortunate, and in the €500 Team Event with Ancilla Tilia I didn't play too well at my (incredibly soft!) PLO table. All in all, a decent start! Tomorrow is the start of the €1000+80 Main Event. Live updates via Twitter, and also Pokercity provides live updates (plus live stream; commentary in Dutch). ------------------- May 10, 2010 A final update before today's start of the Twente Classics. Basically to just provide you guys with the links of two recent columns: Column Rolf: "Oldschool!" De Week met Rolf & Gerthein: Week 18 (by Gerthein) From now on, I hope you guys will check out this site and / or my Twitter on a rather frequent basis. I hope you will support me on my goal: My second final table this year in one of the Holland Casino "Series of Poker" tournaments. By the way: My first result of the year (2nd place at the €300+30 freeze-out for a bit more than €9k) is not yet listed on the Hendon Mob. I hope & expect that the Holland Casino Rotterdam will still come up with this info - as all HCSOP tournaments are expected to do this. ------------------- May 6, 2010 A new month! I've got some busy times right now, enjoying spring time with friends. Been to the Liberty City festival in Amsterdam yesterday, and will go to the Alicia Keys gig in the Gelredome this Saturday. So, while the SCOOP is going on, I am taking care of my social contacts mostly. I did win my second Monday Night Poker tournament at a friend's place - but as this is mostly for fun, it cannot exactly be called any kind of real accomplishment. :) In the upcoming week, I'll be playing the Twente Classics. Last year, my teammate Ancilla Tilia & I performed quite well by taking a fifth place in the Team Event. This year I'll be going after another final - whether it's in this same Team Event or in any other 'regular' tournament. Updates as always via this site and also at www.pokercity.nl, where you can find live reports, live stream on the most important days & of course interviews on the side with me & Ancilla. Detailed reports about my own progress / performance of course via my Twitter account. Just click the "Follow Me" button at the top of this screen, and you won't miss a thing. April 28, 2010 In the past two weeks, I have mostly been relaxing. A few home games here and there, where I played some small NLH cash games - and in fact, where I won my first live tournament of the year. (For, at least in poker terms, pocket change. But of course it still is nice.) While everyone was heading to Monte Carlo for the EPT Grand Final, I decided to just skip it. Last year, I intially planned to not go, but in the end still went. (When my former girlfriend could work there as a dealer after all, and I decided to join her - resulting in me winning the live supersatellite & attending the Main Event.) This year, she stayed at home. So, not wanting to go by myself & obviously because of the awful tax situation for those who need to buy-in themselves (taxes on all prize money rather than just profit, no deductions on hotel, travel costs or buy-ins), I declined the event - and went to Ajax instead. Also nice! In the past few weeks, I have been rather active writing new columns. I would say, some rather interesting and at times controversial issues, written in Dutch. Direct links: De week van Rolf & Gerthein: week 17 De week van Rolf & Gerthein: week 16 De week van Rolf & Gerthein: week 15 Column Rolf: Kritiek op internet Column Rolf: Misinterpretaties Column Rolf: Poker Inside On a side note: The two interviews from below turned out to be the end of the weekly poker page at the popular (free, Dutch) newspaper Metro. It appears that the Dutch state had considerable problems with the commercial advertisements on these pages (courtesy of PokerStars). As a result, the paper decided to simply skip the entire page. ------------------------- April 13, 2010 Rolf in Metro magazine (In Dutch) ------------------------- April 12, 2010 Good news from the Easter Series of Poker in Rotterdam. I was able to get my first live tournament result of the year, taking second place in the €300+30 closing event. I chopped with eventual winner Siema Chedoe. We chose not to play any more hands heads up, but instead split - me taking €9,050 and Siema getting €10,390 plus the trophy & the flowers. PokerCity provided a very detailed live report (in Dutch). I was fairly lucky at two crucial stages in this closing event, being all-in with the worse hand both times. Still, I was rather pleased with my overall game this week. The day before, at the €1,000+80 Main Event, I had been at the feature table all day, and also playing quite well. But unfortunately, I busted at the last hand of that day 1, when my shove with 88 ran into KK. A short after-elimination interview from that day. The day that I chopped the closing event, my Holland Poker teammate Nicky Roeg & I also recorded a new episode of our talkshow "Poker Inside". This episode was rather special. Not only was it recorded live from the ESOP, it was also the first time we had two female guests: Oanh Bui & none other than Ancilla Tilia. Enjoy! ------------------------- April 6, 2010 Rolf in Metro magazine (In Dutch) ------------------------- April 1, 2010 My first post in April - mostly to inform you guys about my recent activities. In the past week, I have logged in lots of hours online. Mostly to accumulate FPP's that I can use for FPP qualifiers for the only 'other' tournament that I desperately want to play: the EPT Grand Final in three weeks from now. But in addition to a whole bunch of small PLO ring games that I played for this exact purpose, I have also played in some rather big ones: my former 'bread and butter' games the $10-20 and $25-50, and also the $100-200. Results were not very spectacular, but it was nice to be playing regularly again in some fairly big games. The main reason for this April 1 post lies elsewhere though. In the past week, I have not just played a lot - I have also been active outside of the green felt. I had no less than two new columns this week: the first one was about my qualification for the World Series, and the second one about the most memorable moments from the Dutch talkshow that I host, Poker Inside. And coincidence or not, in this same week we had the most recent episode of this show with our most famous guest to date, Marcel Luske. Very interesting, and also our longest show in history: rather than our usual 30 to 45 minutes, this one lasted no less than 1 hour 20. March 29, 2010 Good news - I have qualified for the World Series! Playing a 108 player $500+35 supersatellite at the site of my sponsor Holland Poker, I managed to grab one of the four $13k packages. In all honesty, with a bit of good fortune, because I needed three outdraws, including one for my tournament life. (With 98 versus AQ.) Nice - because now I will head to Vegas for sure this summer. (I had some doubts, actually.) And I can now go after my goal: Cashing at the Main Event for a fourth consecutive time! In addition to my playing activities, you can also expect recordings of our talkshow "Poker Inside" from over there. Another new 'normal' episode will be released soon at Pokercity, with a very, very special guest: Marcel Luske! The show will be available next Thursday probably, so make sure that you check this out. By the way, my latest column also happens to be about this same Poker Inside talkshow that Nicky Roeg & I host - with a selection of our most memorable episodes. Enjoy! And to close off, a final tip: If you guys want to ask me a question or are looking for a response of any kind, please use "Ask Ace" instead of the Guestbook. The Guestbook is post-only, and as I don't collect your e-mail or IP addresses, I simply cannot get in touch with any of you who post there. Just so you know: It's not because I don't give a shit. ;) Until next time! --------------------- March 21, 2010 My new hobby, Twitter, is developing quite well. Initially, I started up this thing merely as a means to promote my Dutch poetry. But, as it has turned out, I now do all kinds of stuff over there: stay connected with my (new) friends, exchange the latest info, and provide updates about my latest flics, columns & results. Of course, I still do all this stuff over here at rolfslotboom.com as well - but if you are really interested in what I do, make sure you also follow me on Twitter. I am very active - so you won't be bored I guess. ;) The year 2010 has a remarkable pattern thus far. In contrast to my flying start of 2009, this year I am rather unfortunate when it comes to tournament cashes / qualifications. The past two weeks, I was quite close to qualifying for both the EPT Grand Final and the WSOP Main Event online, but both times Lady Luck didn't exactly favor me. Of course, I know how things work and I am never worried about any good or bad short-term results. Also, my cash games happen to go very well this year, especially the no-limit hold'em cash games - so I am not worried at all that this trend may continue for very long. For now, I am simply enjoying spring time in Amsterdam. I don't play any of the EPT's (given that I am a sponsored player within the Netherlands), even though I will try to qualify for Monaco. The next live event for me: The Easter Series in Rotterdam, early April. ------------------ March 9, 2010 Nothing spectacular from me in the past 9 days. Just when the poker world was severely shocked my the armed robbery at the EPT Berlin, I was playing the calm-and-cosy ViP Days in Venlo. Unfortunately, with no results - meaning I have now played 11 official Holland Casino Series of Poker tournaments, and not a single cash! A rather large contrast with my flying start from last year, when I had no less than four tournament victories during just three months of play. Up to me to change this rather bad pattern in my upcoming live tournaments, the Easter Series in Rotterdam (April 7-11) and the Twente Classics in Enschede (May 10-15). As you are reading this, I have just finished two new columns that will appear on www.pokercity.nl/poker.aspx, this Wednesday and this Saturday, respectively. So, make sure you check out this site. And in the meantime, feel free to follow me on Twitter, or add me on Facebook / Hyves. Those who want to ping with me on Blackberry: Just send over your PIN, and if I know you I will add you. -------------------- March 1, 2010 It looks like the winter in my hometown Amsterdam has come to an end - and this means that I may start leaving my home a bit more often than in previous weeks. ;) Because in February, not all that much has happened except for some social activities, a few small / cosy home games, and of course... lots of new material! Since my latest update, I have produced two new 'regular' columns . Also, three new episodes of the e-mail correspondence with my poker buddy Gerthein are now online. Possibly because of all the publicity I have generated through my Twitter account (with already 300 followers!), all these columns have gotten a lot more responses than usual. And about this, I can say only one thing: I like! As I am writing this, we are busy completing the latest edition of our monthly talkshow "Poker Inside" with special guests Jasper Wetemans & Jaimy van de Sande. All of our previous episodes can be found here, including the remarkable / newsworthy episodes with Constant Rijkenberg, Rob Hollink, Fred Teeven and Fatima Moreira de Melo, to name but a few. A final addition comes from my monthly poetry blog where I release one new poem every first day of the month. Of course, this has nothing to do with poker, and it is not nearly as positive / optimistic as my poker writings tend to be - but I still hope you guys will enjoy it. As one can see, more and more my activities seem to be focusing on the Dutch market. This is simply because poker is still very much alive in my home country - and of course because I am still a sponsored player for Holland Poker. February 10, 2010 My new hobby (Twitter) is developing quite well. After only seven days of operation, I am already at 150 followers. And obviously, it is always nice to have an audience! I expect to be at about 250 followers at the end of the month, and that seems fairly solid to me. In the past week, I have already been able to provide these followers with sneak previews of my work at two occasions, I have been able to inform them about all of my upcoming projects, I have shared a few jokes, and I have even met one or two nice / interesting people that I would not have met otherwise. So, the harvest for just one week is not all that bad, I guess! ;) Now online at Pokercity: part 6 of my weekly e-mail correspondence with my poker buddy Gerthein, this time about cheating at cards, golddiggers and lots of other stuff. ----------------------- February 5, 2010 After my disappointing tournament results at the annual Dom Classics, it was time to focus on some new stuff. (Disappointing, because also in the last tournament I was unable to cash - despite being the chipleader all throughout the event, even with just 22 players left.) Either way, this new stuff obviously included some new articles / columns at Pokercity, like my bi-weekly column or my weekly, gossip-style e-mail correspondence with a poker buddy. In addition, I have handed over my PokerCity Unibet Player of the Year 2008 trophy to the New Champ Pieter de Korver. Of course, in the previous days I was mostly busy with setting up my new Twitter account. More than anything, this account was created to promote my latest Dutch poetry blog, where I will be releasing one new poem every month. Not all that surprising, in the end the Twitter bug really caught me, and now I keep myself busy every day with updating, gossiping, spamming and needling. What a life! ;) Obviously, everybody is free to add / follow me. Just click on the Twitter button at the top of this screen. DAILY UPDATES DOM CLASSICS 2010 Day 6, 7 & 8 (Jan 29, 30 & 31) No good tournament results from the Dom Classics. My last three tournaments, including the Main Event, I was unable to cash - through a combination of some questionable decisions & bad luck. So, only one tournament to go this week: tomorrow's closing event, the €200 limit hold'em (where I defend my title). Despite no cashes yet, I am still having a rather good time here in Utrecht. Yesterday night, we had a nice cash game in the hotel lobby with some friends, and every day at 1 p.m. Nicky & I host a live edition of our talkshow Poker Inside. Tomorrow the last broadcast at Pokercity, with as special guest Bart Spijker. ----------------- Day 5 (Jan 28) My first piece of good news from the Dom Classics tournament series: I have won the supersatellite for the €1500+90 Main Event. There was just one crucial pot I played, getting my 17BB shove with TT called by 99. For the rest, it was just grinding & maneuvering, and in all honesty it was a rather easy qualification - despite the fact that I never had a lot of chips. Tomorrow is the €1000+80 NLH, and then the day after it's the Main Event. Wish me luck! ------------------ Day 4 (Jan 27) A rather uneventful day at the 2010 Dom Classics. I booked no result at the just-100-entries-and-lots-of-good-players €300+30 PLO / PLH mix, getting eliminated after a slightly overplayed marginal holding. I then switched to the cash tables, and was in a nice and very deep-stacked €5-5 PLO game, with a decent result. Tomorrow: the supersatellite for the €1500+90 Main Event. ----------------- Day 3 (Jan 26) No results at day 3 of the Dom Classics. In the €200+20 NLH with one rebuy, I was quite unfortunate. With 100BB deep, I got everything all-in preflop with KK vs an overplayed JJ, only to see a horrible jack come on the river. I lost another pot when I called a totoal bluff on the turn from a no-pair-no-draw J4, to again see a jack on the river improve my opponent. I then had to lay low in order to even make it to the add-on, but the consequence was of course that I was shortstacked throughout the event. No problem for me, because that's just the way I like it. But in the end, all I won in this tournament was two uncalled shoves, and the fist real all-in was an all-out for me. Following my regular pattern of moving into the cash games later, I couldn't find a really good one. Settling for a €5-5 NLH, I made two big folds (one time TPTK and one time an overpair to the board in a three-bet pot), but in both cases I didn't know whether I was right. In the end, I took a decent loss to go home early and write a new column from my hotel room. And of course to prepare for tomorrow's tournament, the €300+30 PLO / PLH mix... a tournament that I am going to win. Just so you know! -------------------- Day 2 (Jan 25) A rather exact copy of day 1, this January 25. Just like yesterday, I went off to a very good start in the tournament. I had a twice average stack early on, and had collected two €100 bounty's. But once the blinds & antes got substantial, I was fairly unlucky. So, after a 29th place out of 220 yesterday, I was now 55th out of 210 - and again, no official prize money. (Except for the bounty's.) But as before, the live cash game went well. In a rather tough €5-5 PLO game with some of Holland's biggest players, I had a more than solid win, despite two fairly unlucky pots where a) my decent draw couldn't improve against dry and announced-too-early aces, and b) where I flopped top full rather than the AA than people probably read me for, only to see an ace come on the turn to kill my action. So, at this moment I am up quite a bit for this week, and that is nice. But I hope that tomorrow I am going to reach a final table at the €200 NLH + one rebuy & add-on. Because performing at the tournaments, *that's* the reason why I'm here. Wish me luck! ------------------- Day 1 (Jan 24) The opening event of this week was the €250+25 NLH freeze-out. For once, I was off to a very good start, making a great play to raise all-in on the turn as a semi-bluff after my opponent responded to my flop raise by flatcalling and then betting into me on the turn. (I got what I wanted: A fold.) I was twice average early on, but it didn't matter much in this crapshoot opening event. I made a bad call with AJs against a light three-bettor (failing to outdraw against KK), and was in trouble from that point on. In the end, I got eliminated just before the money, shoving with garbage and getting called by KK. Playing some cash games afterwards, I plodded for four hours in two rather bad games. (€5-5 PLO and 5-5 NLH.) Once the game suddenly got good, I quit my shortstack approach in favor of a full buy-in, and I got rewarded with a very big win - after some remarkable plays by my opponents. Tomorrow: the €400+40 bounty NLH. ---------------------- January 23, 2010 It's time for my first major live tournament week this year. Starting today, I will be in Utrecht for the annual Dom Classics. Seven days of poker, including one €1500 and one €1000 tournament, both with an estimated 200 entrants. Last year, I won the €200+rebuy tournament at this same Dom Classics event, so I've got something to 'defend' if you will. Daily updates will be provided here, and live updates as always at www.pokercity.nl. Here, you can also find the most recent episode of Poker Inside (guests: reigning European Champion Pieter de Korver & Holland Casino Player of the Year 2009 Thijs Wessels), and part III of "De Week met Rolf & Gerthein", my weekly e-mail correspondence with Gerthein Boersma. ----------------------- January 14, 2010 I have a new blog! At my new "Rolf Slotboom" weblog I will be publishing one Dutch poem every month. It's going to start out as a small blog, again (just as this site) an ad-free environment. And obviously, the information there is a lot more 'personal' or even 'senstitive' than all the poker information you can find here on rolfslotboom.com - but I sure hope you guys like it. I will be starting the promotion of this blog only next week, by opening up a Twitter account. Either way - kind responses are appreciated! Also, the second part of my weekly e-mail correspondence with my buddy Gerthein Boersma is online now. In this piece, I discuss my remarkable online results from the previous weeks, gathered in a mishmash of online PLO games - varying from games as small as $.5-1 to as large as $100-200. And if you don't happen to speak Dutch... well, time to start learning it, I guess! ;) ------------------------- January 6, 2010 It's a New Year! Looking back, I can only say that 2009 was a pretty good year for me - say, at least 7 or 7.5 points out of 10. I signed with my new sponsor Holland Poker, won no less than five tournaments (including a rather inportant one, the $200+15 6-max PLO with rebuys medium SCOOP), relased two new books (Secrets of Shorthanded Pot-Limit Omaha and Pokerface II, a collection of my Dutch columns), hosted an online talkshow (Poker Inside) and had my third consecutive WSOP Main Event cash. Not bad! To start off the New Year, Pokercity & I have agreed on a new article series: a mail correspondence between me & the guy who is so good at impersonating me, former editor-in-chief of the site Gerthein Boersma. Our first piece of art is available here. Also, I still have my regular column over there, and the latest one ia a recap of the previous year, including the things that were not so good. Of course, everything is in Dutch. But as this may be the language of the future anyway, it may be time for you guys to just start learning that. ;) Enough for the chit-chat. Time for the only thing that is truly important: Best of luck at the tables - I wish you all a great year! Rolf More happenings current 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003

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