An exclusive PokerPlayer interview with EPT Deauville champion Moritz Kranich
Young German online pro Moritz Kranich recently took down the Deauville leg of the European Poker Tour for a staggering €851,400. Kranich had to overcome a huge field of 645 players to capture the title for the biggest payday of his career so far. The win also shoots Kranich up to 4th in the all-time German money list.
Paul Cheung recently caught up with the elated player in an exclusive www.InsidePokermag.co.uk interview to talk about the tournament, his background in poker and just what on earth he is going to do with all that money!
This was easily the biggest result of your career. Has it sunk in yet?
A week later and it is finally beginning to sink in. Being at the final table was a huge score already, but winning a tournament of that size is just amazing.
Is it strange coming into so much money? Have you decided what you’re going to do with it yet?
2008 was already a big year for me financially. Thinking about my goals for
2009 I doubted I could repeat this. Now with three weeks gone in 2009 I have already made lots more money than last year! You’re right, it is strange. Very Strange. My wife and were are already looking for an apartment, so most of the money will go towards that.
A few days prior to Deauville, you went pretty deep in the $ 4,800 event at the PCA. Did you feel you had a big result coming?
After busting out from three EPTs on Day 1, this result certainly gave me some confidence. And especially because this tournament was packed full of great players.
Tell us about the first two days in Deauville. Were there any big names on your first table? Did you build you stack through a few big pots or was it just consistent building?
On my first table, the Italian winner from Prague (Salvatore Bonavena) and the runner up were both seated on my table. But no real superstar players crossed my way the whole tourney. On the first day I played pretty tight, got my chips in good and ended with about 50.000. Day 2 started as best as it could, with a flopped set and turned quads.
From there on, I never looked back, won almost every race and finally won a huge pot preflop all in with K-K against A-K for the commanding chiplead at the end of day 2.
How would you describe your playing style? How has it changed since you became a pro?
Usually, I play a tight aggressive style which hasn’t changed much in the last two years. But since playing more and more and getting more experience, I think I have got a lot better at changing gears. I try to get a feel for the table, and adjust my style accordingly.
You went into the final day second in chips. Did you feel that you had a great shot at winning the whole thing?
When you are among the chipleaders for two or three days consistently, sure, you think about winning the tournament. But with an average chip stack of 30BB at the final table, anything can happen. All it takes is two stupid hands, and you are out in 8th.
Who was your toughest opponent at the final table and why?
In my opinion, the best player from those left was the Dutchman Jorn Waldhaus. But he didn’t have a lot of chips and he was seated on my right. I had a lot of respect for Andrea Benelli’s game, who is really aggressive and fearless. I didn’t play with Tristan Clemencon in the first three days, but he played an impressive game at the final table. Fortunately though, he made one big mistake and that was the end of him.
What do you feel the key hand was at the final table?
First, when I got all my chips in with J-8 and got lucky against Benelli’s A-K, which brought me back in the game. And then, of course, the huge hand against Tristan, when we were 3-handed. I flopped trips and got almost all his chips for a 5/1 chiplead going into heads up.
What was your most difficult decision of the entire tournament?
I always try to stay away from difficult decisions, which worked pretty well in Deauville. No hero calls and no huge bluffs. The most difficult task was to stay calm and patient for about three hours at the final table, where I didn’t catch any cards or good situations to get my chips in.
Where do you play live poker when you¹re back home? What stakes?
I don’t play a lot of live poker, and I don’t play cash games at all. If there’s a decent sized tournament taking place here in Hamburg or in Schenefeld, a little casino just outside from Hamburg, I’ll be there.
Do you play much online? And if so what do you play, cash games, tournaments or sitngos?
I play a lot online, basically only tournaments. I started with sitngos and build my bankroll with them. But I hardly play them anymore and switched to MTTs about a year ago.
Is this result going to change the stakes you play at?
No, since I only play tournaments and already play the highest buy ins there.
This result puts you fourth on the all-time German money list. Is that important to you?
Actually, one goal for 2009 was to get into the Top 100. Now, I’m fourth with one big score. And a player like Michael Keiner is in fifth, although he has had consistent results over many years. All in all, it’s fun to look at the ranking right now and I made a screenshot of it, but it’s not really important.
What’s the next step? Will you be playing a lot more of the live circuit?
I’ll be playing EPT Dortmund, San Remo and Monte Carlo. In the summer I’ll be at the WSOP for the first time, I’m really looking forward to this.
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