Meet Unibet Online Qualifier: Hans de Hond
With our live Festival Series, we strive for perfection based on players’ needs. To create an event for players, with players, and for poker as a whole. Our ion for the game, with everything that comes with it, such asUnibet, for just €10!
Melvin TF: Hi Hans, it is very nice to meet you finally! How did you end up playing poker? What was your first experience?
Hans: ‘’Hi Melvin. Thank you for having me here. About fifteen years ago I came in touch with poker because of my son. He told me I had to focus on something useful after he had bought my companies of me. One of them, called Searchdog, is a company specializing in doing purchases for its many business partners in the telecommunication sector. I also have my nickname as Searchdog on various poker sites, for example on Unibet. I started off playing online at first, cash games were the thing at the beginning. But after having donated enough ‘’learning money’’ to the tables, I switched to tournaments.’’
Melvin TF: You already won a package for our stop in Malta, May 15-21. You like to play qualifiers a lot?
Hans: ‘’My first real live event abroad was one in Monaco, back in 2011. I qualified online for that event and met a lot of great people there such as Steven van Zadelhoff, which then was a sponsored poker player at that time. I always try to qualify myself for live events, long before Corona appeared, I played like 5-7 events per year and made nice mini-holidays from such trips. Many of them were Unibet Open events, but also a couple of others. Now It’s The Festival Series.
I qualified myself all the way from the bottom. Started off at the 10 euro satellite, which got me into the 50 euro step, which then resulted in a 250 euro ticket. At the end of last month, I played the 250 euro event on Thursday, where I managed to get myself a package. Not bad for a 76-year-old, right? Was quite a close call, as I was down to a short stack at some point.’’
Melvin TF: So, it’s quite routine for you. Qualifying yourself for live events. How did you end up with the idea of aiming to go to The Festival Series Malta?
Hans: ‘’To be honest with you, I didn’t know the Series before. But lately, I saw this event ing by more often, so I decided to give it a go. Had two 250 euro tickets in my at Unibet, and I like to go to Malta a lot. So why not, I thought. It worked out well in the end.
Malta is a very nice island to go to. I like it very much. But I’m not that much of a cultural expert so to say. If I had to give any advice to other poker players, take the hop-on/hop-off bus and go to Gozo as well. I like to completely relax so that’s what I will do in Malta! A little too old for active holidays 😊’’
Melvin TF: What are important aspects for you when going to live events? What do you like to see there?
Hans: ‘’I like the human element of it; the excitement of the variations in regard to bet sizes. Trying to estimate bluffs of hands of other players and trying to recognize tells. But also having a beer with familiar people is a key aspect!
It is important to me to see poker as a game, like any other game you have. Otherwise, you build up too much stress, which is not good for anybody. Once I list a hand for a 160k pot in a big tournament with Ace-King against King-Queen, when a Queen landed on the river. It’s rough of course and hard to digest sometimes, but you won’t see me jumping off a hotel roof for that.’’
Melvin TF: Last but not least, Hans. How would you describe yourself as a poker player? It’s always nice to know what drives people to the game we like to play so much.
Hans: ‘’All I can say about myself is that I am not someone who plays poker for the need of money for example. I play this wonderful game purely with the ambition to win. That’s why I enjoy it evenly by playing a free online competition in The Netherlands for amateur poker players, as I will play a bigger buy-in event online. There is no difference for me in that.’’
As can be seen in the case of Hans, it is possible to win a package for just 10 euros. Today, everyone has a similar opportunity, where from the sub-satellites (flips incl.) that take place during the day, you can win a ticket to the 250 euro final. And there, it's all about your skills and a bit of luck, whether you will be our next festival package winner or not. See you there!
