Player interview: dmmikkel (Part 1)

A young Norwegian guy called Dag Martin Mikkelsen aka "dmmikkel" has been dominating the Sit 'n' Gos (SNGs) on PokerStars for a while now. Poker Verdict caught up with him to find out what his story is and why he decided to concentrate on this format of the game. Log on to Poker Verdict tomorrow for Part Two of this interview.

Name/age/location/poker nickname and why you chose it?

Dag Martin Mikkelsen, 20 years old from Stavanger, Norway.
My nick is "dmmikkel" at most sites. My dad uploaded a picture of me on the web when I was like 11-12 years old or something. He called the file "dmmikkel.jpg" and it just kinda stuck, really don't know how it happened, but whenever I've signed up for stuff I've usually used it. It's not the nick I would have chosen if I knew it would be "well-known" but it does the job hehe.

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What do you currently play now?

I do well in Sit ‘n’ Gos (SNGs), no limit cash games and MTTs, but I'm going to focus a lot more on SNGs in the future. Whenever I play SNGs I'm "dmmikkel", whenever I play like 5/10 or 10/20 NL I'm just another grinder, or at least that's how I feel. SNGs is what I'm specialised in, known for and enjoy the most. So at the moment I'm playing the $200-$1,000 turbos on PokerStars.

When or what started you off in playing poker? And how were your early experiences in learning how to play?

When I was turned 18 I suddenly found myself old enough to register at online bookmakers. I used to have a lot of fun betting up to $10 each week on soccer with a friend of mine, and had to try it online. I registered at a well known bookmaker in Scandinavia and this is where I discovered poker. They had a prima-client where I started off playing the 0.05/0.10 limit games for fun.

I started to experiment a bit with different types of holdem, still at micro-micro-stakes, of course. I read some strategy articles online and after a while I ordered some books. During the first six months I played some poker, read some books on strategy, and lost a few hundred dollars while learning how to play.

How did you start off your online bankroll?

In January 2005 after six months of losing, I deposited $100 in a Neteller account and played micro-stakes limit while grinding away for bonuses at different sites like PartyPoker. I slowly built my way up and was soon beating the 3/6 limit games at Party. After maybe four months I discovered SNGs for real. I had been experimenting with them a lot and learned a lot of SNG strategy. With something like $5,000 in my bankroll I started grinding the $100 9 SNGs at Eurobet. I did extremely well and after 700 SNGs or so I had an ROI (Return on Investment) of around 20%-25% (after a good run obviously). I had what I considered to be an insane bankroll.

The last 200 SNGs I was about break even and I started to really feel my bankroll was at stake. That's why I, after turning $100 into well over $15k in six months, decided to cash it all out except for $1k and "start over".

After this, four months of bad luck and some bad play followed where I was only able to build my bankroll back up to $2-$3k. I might have been bragging or showing off a bit during my good run at the $100s, and now a lot of players on the Norwegian forum where I used to hang were telling me how it was all luck etc.

Me and a few friends didn't lose faith, however. I knew I could beat them and beat them hard. Then it all turned very quick. Two months later I was a regular at the $200 turbos at PokerStars.

This was about a year ago. This last year I've been doing military service in Norway (which is mandatory) and established myself as a winner at the highest level SNGs, but haven't been able to play as much as I wanted for obvious reasons.

So what factors/skills /attributes got you to that level?

I've always been good at logic and maths, kept a good bankroll and practiced good table selection. I've also been able to limit my losses during periods of bad play as well as keeping those periods as short as possible.

More than I need, but not as much as I would have wanted :o)

Which sites do you play on?

95% PokerStars due to their volume and their awesome VIP-programme. A little free advertisement there, I guess.

Do you play STTs/SNGs and, if so, which ones are your favourites?

SNGs are what I mainly play, but I also enjoy MTTs and no limit cash games. I have decided to not play limit anymore because it just isn't as fun as SNGs, and the variance sucks.

What are your golden rules for STT/SNG play?

Mostly I'm a standard pushbot, playing tight early and pushing a lot in the late stages. Never be afraid of doing a good call/push even though you're running a risk of busting. It's better to be too aggressive than too passive. I've never had anyone telling me I play too passive in SNGs.

Do you play offline, and if so, where/when did you play?

Hardly anything yet. I did qualify for the EPT Barcelona this year and got leave to go and play. I ended up about 70th out of 500. I sat with Phil Ivey to my left the entire first day. Being a bit nervous and inexperienced at the start I didn't play too well, but on the second day I played very well. Luca Pagano, Juha Helppi and Andreas Hagen were all on my table that day. The blinds were just perfect for my game since I'm an expert in all-in and shortstack poker. It was a very positive experience and I'm looking forward to EPT Copenhagen this January. I'll be going with three other very good players and I wouldn't be surprised if one of us cashed big.

Has there ever been a time when things just weren't going right for you while playing poker? What was your worst run ever and what did you do to get through these times?

As I said earlier I had a very bad run after cashing out my original roll. During that run I played 500 SNGs at $30 3 and ended up down 20 buy-ins. I haven't really had any major downswings. Not that I haven't run bad, it's just that my definition of a really bad run is different from most players.

Obviously poker hasn't just been fun. During these losing months it's hard to keep the spirit up as well as the confidence, but good bankroll management keeps you playing well and good table selection increases your win rate which in turn decreases your downswings.

Who is your favorite professional poker player and why?

Live it has to be Phil Ivey. The way he picks up on everything and analyses every situation is beyond me. Though I'm not a huge fan of his money management, but I base this on stories I've heard. His play I have first hand experience of and was better than I thought he would be when I played him.

As far as online play goes I would have to say my favourite player is Annette_15. She always plays her best and her bankroll/money management is second to none. I knew her before she became "famous" and the fact that she was outplaying most people even at the age of 16 is just so impressive. [For more info on how to play Annette why not read David "thekid08" Gross' blog]

Which five adjectives best describe you?

As a poker player:

• Aggressive (Who isn't?)

• Calm

• Confident (maybe too much)

• Paranoid (I keep thinking everyone wants to outplay me every time they raise me. This has led to some very good calls - and some embarrassing and expensive showdowns)