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Danish Dynamisk

“Dynamisk” Frederik Hostrup uses online wins to put Danish Poker on the map

When people talk about Danish Poker, they will almost invariably come up with the name Gus Hansen. “The Great Dane” is of course a true poker star, with a resume that most other players can only dream of. However, because he has a mansion in Monaco and usually plays in Vegas, Gus has fairly little resemblance to Danish Poker anymore – other than that he was born in Denmark.

One of the persons who has been very active in putting Danish Poker on the map is Frederik Hostrup, probably better known under his online handle “Dynamisk”. As the chairman of the Danish Poker Federation, he is the brains behind a successful Team Poker competition, has big plans for CardPlayer Denmark, and is part of the Poker Team Denmark that features no others than WPT France winner Christian Grundtvig and 2005 WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic winner Rehne Pedersen. Plus, Frederik has also won the Party Poker Sunday Tournament no less than seven times. Time to have a chat with this 42-year old from Copenhagen.

By Rolf “Ace” Slotboom

Fredrik, for those who don’t know you – can you please introduce yourself?

My name is Frederik Hostrup Pedersen. I used to have a lot of different jobs before I turned poker pro in 2001. I actually call myself an “online poker pro”, as I make most of my money on the Internet. I make my living playing the relatively big multitable tournaments; say the $200-$1,000 buy-ins. I try to restrict myself to playing just these types of events, because in all honesty I am a losing ring game player. In addition to playing, I have recently taken on a few endeavors outside of the table, more than anything things that could help Danish Poker grow.

Can you tell some more about these endeavors?

Well, for one I am the chairman of the Danish Poker Federation. We’ve got eight poker clubs that we run in a strictly non-profit way. We only charge a small membership fee, and right now our organization has grown to 3,600 members. We limit ourselves to hosting just tournaments for our members, no cash games. The clubs are free to organize things the way they see fit, as long as it’s within the framework of our federation. Keep in mind that live poker in Denmark is still not entirely legal, and that for instance many of the problems we are faced with still revolve around the old issue “Is poker a game of chance or a game of skill”. In order to promote poker as a responsible and skillful pastime, we try to maintain a laid-back atmosphere, and we play with fairly limited prize pools. This of course to avoid a situation where the government thinks “we should need to protect our citizens against all this gambling”.

But that’s not all I do. As you are well aware of, I am now in the process of launching CardPlayer Denmark – or, to be more accurate: the negotiations seem to be going in a rather successful manner. Even though there are two poker magazines in Denmark already, we are convinced that there is room for another one. We wanted to focus not necessarily on international poker or American stars, as these two other magazines mostly do, but rather on things that happen within Denmark. And in combination with the expertise and professionalism within CardPlayer, we expect that the magazine will be a huge success.

I heard that you are involved in a series of Team Tournaments throughout Denmark. Is this a series of events for high-stakes players or what?

No Rolf, quite the contrary. The prize pools are fairly small. The first year, Ladbrokes guaranteed the $20K prize pool, and for the second year this has been $50K or $60K – still very cheap for them in relation to the exposure they get. Many of the prizes include trips to poker events, holidays etc. rather than money. It is a competition where teams are formed consisting of members of the Danish Poker Federation, who all score points based upon their results. Of course, no two team members can ever play at the same table, to avoid collusion. All of this leads to a nice and skillful team competition – so skillful that in fact our own Poker Team Denmark has not even been able to make it into the final round. Things are going so well that next year we will have one Major League, leading to a true “Danish Team Championship”.

You mentioned the Poker Team Denmark. Are you the captain, or just one of the players?

I am simply one of the players here, Rolf. Yes, the team has been created by the Danish Poker Federation, but there is no economical bond. The team consists of some talented young players, and I am one of the old guys. We especially have some great Internet players among us.

How about you in this respect, Frederik? You are known as one of the better multi-table tournament players on the Internet, yet in live events you don’t seem to do all that well. How come?

Well, you are right. I noticed this myself too, and right now I am working very hard to become as good live as online. For instance, at the EPT in Deauville I made a great call against John Kabbaj with a mere pair of deuces, and as a result I ended day one as the clear chip leader. But then on the second day, I simply gave away my chips with an ace-queen. An Englishman had made a huge overbet before the flop. I read this for weakness and came over the top with my AQ – only to lose all my money against his pocket aces. Next time I know that I should not risk my stack with a fairly marginal hand when there is no real need to.

I also remember the pot-limit Omaha tournament at the 2004 Master Classics where you did the reporting, Rolf. I got aces no less than four times at the final table – but the fourth time I had them turned out to be my last. I even flopped an ace for top set, and on the turn I still had the nuts. It was Simon Trumper who then actually made a big all-in bet, with what proved to be a big draw. With over 50% of the total chips in play in the middle, this was without a doubt the hand of the tournament. Unfortunately, Simon hit his draw on the river and then went on to win the tournament. Ah, well – such is poker. You also have to get lucky to win events, and obviously I cannot complain about my results in recent years.

But what I am most proud of, more than any tournament win I've had, is the success of the Danish Poker Federation. It really feels like my “baby”, and nothing pleases me more than to see the current poker boom in Denmark – knowing that this federation has played at least some part in this growth.

POKER TEAM DENMARK MEMBERS SUCCESSFUL

Huge win overseas for Rehne Pedersen

Rehne Pedersen, also called “Carlos”, booked a huge win in December 2005 at the WPT Bellagio Five Diamond World Poker Classic. Heads up against no other than fellow Scandinavian Patrik Antonius, Rehne won a crucial pot. All-in before the flop, he was dominated with the Ad4d against Patrik’s AsKs. The flop came 7h6s5d and then the 3s on the turn, giving Rehne a straight, for the outdraw that he wanted. However, Patrik had picked up a flush draw now, and lots of people in the audience started chanting, “Spade! Spade! Spade! Spade!” However, a blank came to give Rehne a massive chip lead - and just a few hands later, he was able to finish things off. All in all, a $2,078,185 first prize for the Dane, a gold-and-diamond bracelet, and a $25,500 entry into the season-ending WPT World Championship.

Seventh victory for Dynamisk in the Party Poker Sunday Tournament ($750,000 guaranteed)

Having already won this Sunday Tournament six times (buy-ins between $200 and $500, and usually around 3,000-5,500 entrants), Frederik Hostrup won it a record-breaking seventh time in the spring of 2006. Having gotten shortstacked, he tripled up when his pocket fives held up in a three-way pot against AQ and AJ. Not much later, he went all-in from the small blind with QQ, and got called by the big blind’s AK – who was unable to improve. With less than 20 players left, Frederik then successfully came over the top of his opponents’ reraises on two occasions, to make them lay down there and then. Both times the Dane had just a moderate holding, AT and QJ. But because he was aware that his opponents knew that he could have made the initial raise with a wide range of hands (being so aggressive), it was clear to Frederik that his opponents’ reraises didn’t need to mean any big hands either. This read proved to be correct, as Frederik’s opponents couldn’t stand the heat and folded. Once Frederik had gained the chip lead through these two hands, he simply cruised his way to a seventh win – for a $150,000 first prize.

Christian Grundtvig takes only WPT on European soil

With four aggressive Scandinavians as the final four, and on top of that very high blinds & antes, the final table of the WPT at the Aviation Club de France was much more aggressive than any final table I have ever witnessed. Christian had been lucky to even stay in the event the day before, when his pocket kings managed to outdraw Kenneth Strandli’s pocket aces. At the final table, Christian got in good shape when he first eliminated Henrik Witt in fourth place (with AK versus AQ), and then also Thomas Wahlroos in third, when his queens proved good against his opponent’s A7. Grundtvig, who had made final tables in major tournaments before, but who had never won one, started the heads up stage with more than a 2-to-1 chip lead. He simply kept the pressure on the strong Jani Sointula. Once he had 80% of the chips in play, he called with sixes against Jani’s all-in raise with A5. The best hand help up to give the sympathetic Dane his first major title – and also a €712,500 first prize.

FREDERIK HOSTRUP – FACTS & FIGURES

Full name: Frederik Hostrup Pedersen
Date of birth: July 22, 1964
Place of birth: Copenhagen, Denmark
Current residence: Copenhagen, Denmark
Marital status: Unmarried. Girlfriend is expecting first child (a boy) around October 29th
Education: A four-year study for social worker, right after college
Former jobs: Social worker, real estate, private entrepreneur
Current job/Turned pro in: Chairman of the Danish Poker Federation, online poker pro since 2001
Favorite game: No-limit hold’em multi-table tournaments
Least favorite games: Online cash games
Strengths: My timing, and my psychological (more than just the technical) side of the game, for instance in the battle between players. In multi-table tournaments also my End Game, more than anything because I have been there so many times – while for most of my opponents it is usually a fairly new situation.
Weaknesses: My concentration and my stamina. Also, I am simply a bit of a gambler, and I sometimes go out to play a little blackjack or roulette when I should be preparing for a tournament the next day.
Words to live by / Mantra: Enjoy – and don’t regret things.
Most influence on career: My mother. She has had the most influence on the person I have become – and as a result, also on my career.
Most respected players: Christian Grundtvig, Rehne Pedersen, Patrik Antonius (”Always accumulating chips”), Theo Jorgensen & Mads Andersen. Also, I loved the way Chris Moneymaker won his title – by playing the game to the max. & by following his good luck.
Online nick: Dynamisk (means “Dynamic” in English)
Sites involving Frederik: www.holdpoker.dk (site about the Team Poker event), www.pokerteam.dk (about Poker Team Denmark), www.pokerforbundet.dk (about the Danish Poker Federation)

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