He plays in the largest games, has close relationships with some of the biggest stars, and has proven himself to be one of the top European players. Yet, he has been a pro for less than three years, and is just 25 years old. This is the story of a "relaxed" and "easy-going" guy who in no time has worked his way up to the top: He's Noah Boeken.
Rolf Slotboom: Noah, you come from a "Magic" background. If my information is correct, you already had won quite a few major events there before you shifted to poker. How good were you?
Noah Boeken: Well, Rolf, just as has happened in my poker career, I had played Magic for a relatively short time before I became very successful. I became European Magic champion when I was only 19 years old, which netted me $11,000, and not much later, I won $20,000 in Japan during a team tournament. Because of my Magic travels, I had been all around the world at a very young age, including Australia twice and the U.S. many times. I was considered one of the best Magic players in the world. This pleased me, because I was not particularly talented when it came to sports. I always wanted to be an athlete, and this was the closest thing to it. Maybe the combination of strategy, mathematics, and knowledge of people that is so important in both Magic and poker is something that simply suits me. As is the case in my current poker career, I sometimes had Magic weekends when everything simply went my way, when I felt like I could beat anyone. It is still like that: When I feel it is going to be my day, I know there are not many players can beat me.
The good thing about Magic at that time was that the players didn't need to put up any of their own money, as is the case in poker. Sponsors took care of the prize pools, and for players as young as we were, these prize pools were substantial. Of course, at a certain time, you wish to play for higher stakes, and this is probably the reason why so many Magic players have shifted their attention to poker. It is not just me; players like my lifelong buddy David Williams, Thomas Keller, Jordan Berkowitz, and Eric Fröhlich are good or even very good Magic players. In fact, because so many Magic players also proved to be more than decent poker players, I decided to follow their path.
RS: Your first major tournament win was in January 2005 when you won the EPT Copenhagen. Can you talk a bit about that victory?
NB: I cannot tell you how happy I was when I won that event. It had always been clear to me that I had the ability to win big events. But, being capable of winning and then actually doing it are two different things.
Being rather low on chips early on, I managed to double up and fight my way back into the tournament. I took some calculated risks, and once my stack grew, I started taking more and more chances in order to give myself the best shot at capturing first place. I was more interested in winning than in sneaking up the payout ladder.
The heads-up phase against Ram Vaswani was extremely long - 80, maybe 90, hands. I was fortunate that the day before, I had played at Ram's table, and he remembered that on that day, I had played extremely tight. On this final day, and especially at the heads-up stage, I was able to take advantage of this notion that he had - when in reality, I had already moved into an entirely different gear. On the final hand, I was already more than a 3-to-1 chip leader. On the small blind/button, Ram limped in. From the big blind, I raised it 90,000 more, and he moved in on me with an A-J. I instantly called him with A-Q. The flop of J-10-2 gave him the lead, but a king came on the turn - earning me the title.
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So, yes, obviously I was very proud of this win. But I was also very pleased when I won the $200 tournament at PokerStars, in a field of no fewer than 4,300 players. I played that event on Marcel Lüske's "El Capitano" account after I took over for a friend, and collected about $127,000. I had always been playing that tournament, even from the very start when I was in fact still a losing player. Winning a tournament with such an incredibly large field is just an amazing feeling. By the way, nowadays these events have become even bigger, and fields of more than 5,000 entrants are not unusual.
RS: You are known in the poker world as someone who likes to play in the big games and for high stakes - the bigger the better, it seems. Is this assessment that people have of you correct, and is your bankroll big enough to play for this much money? Aren't you afraid that just a little bit of bad luck or bad play can wipe you out and force you to start all over again?
NB: Well, I don't
always play big games. Quite frankly, I have some kind of system that I play big games for just a certain period of time. When things go well, I immediately cash out a significant percentage of these winnings before things can turn sour. Then, I simply go back to the smaller games to work my way up again to the big games, cash out my winnings again, and so on. I do this because I know that I am not particularly good at fighting back from behind, and I don't want to risk blowing my bankroll because of an extended streak of bad luck. I have never been broke, but if it ever happens, I am certain that some of my friends will help me get back on my feet; I have no doubt about that. In fact, it is one of my friends who helped my bankroll to
become this big. When David Williams became runner-up at the 2004
World Series, I had a 4 percent share in him - and this netted me $140,000. This enabled me to move up in limits much sooner than I had expected.
But please don't think I am always splashing around money, or that I have lost track of what it's worth. Indeed, I enjoy life and I like to spend a lot of money, but always within reason. And, of course, I spend a lot of money on my friends and on my mum and dad. They have always been there for me, and I feel it is not more than normal for me to give back something in return now.
RS: In relatively little time, you have worked your way up to being a player with lots of "credibility." You hang around with some of the biggest names in the poker industry, and many - especially young - players truly
adore you. What are your thoughts on this?
NB: Hmm … I don't know, I don't think much about those things. I am who I am. Basically, I see myself as a good guy, relaxed, positive, and someone with whom people like to hang around. Yes, I like to surround myself with interesting people, but just because they are cool guys - not because they are famous. Of course, especially for the young guys, I am someone with whom they can easily identify - being their age, liking the same kinds of things that they like, and so on. Just as all these kids do, I enjoy parties, the good life, and all.
But I am also someone who takes the game seriously, and who wants to play absolute top poker. Therefore, I know that I cannot take things too far. For instance, I sometimes have a party late at night when, on the following day, I have an important tournament. I know that in cases like this, I will need to become a bit more "serious," if you will, in order to come to the game 100 percent prepared and focused.
RS: Final question, Noah. What are your goals for the future?
NB: Well, obviously, trying to become the best player I possibly can. Quite clearly, I would like to win many events, and I would love to win some bracelets.
Having said that, it is not my intention to just play and play for the rest of my life. I have always found the business side of things quite interesting. After all, five years from now, who says that online poker will still exist? Rules and regulations may get in the way, people may start liking things other than poker, and so on. For this reason, I want to develop myself in more ways than just the poker-playing way.
Of course, it pleases me to see what I have already achieved. At school, I always wanted to be the best in all kinds of sports, but I never truly excelled in anything. Then, Magic came my way, and from there, it was poker that helped my life in the exact way that I wanted. I have turned out to become one of the very best after all when it comes to competitive games like Magic and poker - and that is something that makes me both proud and happy.
Noah "Exclusive" Boeken … Facts and Figures
Full name: Noah Boeken
Date of birth: 06-01-1981
Place of birth: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Currently resides: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Marital status: Single
Turned pro: Late 2003
Regularly plays: Tournaments: Any buy-in
Cash: Limit hold'em up to $300-$600, pot-limit Omaha, $50-$100
Favorite game: Tournaments: No-limit hold'em
Cash: Limit hold'em ("Allows me to focus a bit less")
Least favorite game: Triple-draw
Prefer Online or Live: Live ("Especially live and televised")
Prefer tournament or cash: Tournament
Strengths: Knowing opponents; good "feel"; logical thinking; math; and probably most importantly, not afraid to lose
Weaknesses: Doesn't always concentrate or focus enough; doesn't always take small tournaments seriously; isn't always fit or prepared enough because of lack of sleep, going out, and so on
Biggest win ever: EPT Copenhagen (€150,000)
Biggest loss ever: About $150,000, as part of a percentage in Patrik Antonius; other than that, wins or losses of about $50,000 in one day or one session are not uncommon
Most influence on career: Marcel Lüske ("Even though I was playing at a pretty high level already when I met him, he taught me all the little things that I needed to know get to the absolute top."); also Patrik Antonius and Robert Mizrachi ("Who is at least as good as his brother Michael")
Poker friends: The players mentioned above, plus David Williams and Dutch buddies Jordy Veenboer and Justin Bliek
Online nicknames: Exclusive, Who Is Next (UB), Doekoe (Party)
Favorite book/writer: Not much of a reader ("When facing the choice between playing online or reading a poker book, the choice is usually quite easy.")
Favorite casino/event: Barcelona ("Because everything is so close: the casino, the beach, and so on."); also Vegas, especially during a large Bellagio event ("However, a night out with friends in Vegas costs at least $3,000, as opposed to just €400 or so in Barcelona.")
