It has only been the second time that I visited Morocco for a live tournament and the initial connection came through a friend from Belgium via Facebook - who said that this social platform was always a waste of time anyways? The first time back in March I visited Tanger for the first time, it went pretty well since my French is not that bad and I could interact a lot with the people.
A few months ago I was asked to also report on their next festival but had to decline during the summer as the World Series Of Poker was calling. For the sixth edition of their Poker Festival, my schedule allowed to head over again and as usual, the trip from my little "middle of nowhere" was an adventure in itself.
Since no trains were running very early on to catch the flight from Munich to Madrid and then Madrid to Tanger, I had to take the last one the previous night and then spend a few hours waiting at the airport. Fortunately, the battery of an iPad mini lasts quite a while if you only listen to music and the weird thing called bookbook also still exists.
The flights itself were rather uneventful even though I somewhat dislike airlines (such as Iberia who I had picked) that don't even offer their passengers complimentary drinks. For 2-3 hour flights it is bearable though and on most airports you will find something cheap to eat and drink.
As far as the festival with € 225,000 in guaranteed prizes was concerned, both guarantees for the DeepStack and the Main Event were met. What you definitely have to keep in mind is, that the structure may not necessarily have the same quality as on the European Poker Tour. Furthermore, the culture in general and the mentality of the locals is far different from what you are used to. There is only one way to "conquer" this: Accept it as a fact, adjust and show the necessary respect.
Whether or not the standard of play is by far more creative and people like to rebuy and re-enter a lot should have on influence on your game, in fact it should be far easier to make a deep run in the tournaments as well as at the cash tables. The quality of day-to-day things may not be as high as in central Europe, but I actually embrace it to break out of the ordinary routine. Well, and I can practice my French and Spanish further, because a lot of players come over from the nearby Spain and Portugal.
That being said, situations at the table can escalate quickly and the locals may very well shout at each other in Arabian. If there is any problem, you have to stay patient and calm, otherwise the drama will always come back to haunt you. Sure, there was a hiccup here and there as well as heated arguments and penalties to calm down everyone. One can even reach the final day as chip leader after receiving two penalties of seven hands each the previous day.
This melting pot makes it even more interesting for me and the indoor pool at my hotel didn't hurt either. The Casino de Tanger also offers sandwiches during lunch time, soft drinks and a dinner buffet to everyone for free. Quality-wise the food is pretty good and staff is always very helpful if you have any request.
In the DeepStack, "Poker Gentleman" Marcel Luske made it to 11th place out of 264 entries and Pierre Neuville did the same in the Main Event in a field of 274 entries. Both are pure class, very polite and professional all the way. They also show all the young guns that age doesn't matter and should never be underestimated.
The festival lasted five days and except for a short final day, I never got out of the casino before 4am. Still, I only missed the breakfast buffet the next morning once and was swimming five out of six days - they cleaned the pool one day and I had to leave for work before they were finished. It is important that you do some exercise every day during those live events, otherwise the long hours will get at you sooner than later.
On my way back home in Germany, the flight to Madrid was late and I just made the boarding for my connection on the final call while running for 10 minutes. Of course the second flight was also late and so were both trains in Germany,. It was somewhat embarrassing to call my parents to pick me up half an hour from home, because the train would not even go as far anymore at 1am. Now you may understand why I call it the middle of nowhere. ;)
All that being said, will I decline another invitation to Morocco? For sure not when my schedule allows it and the flights are not too expensive. Someone has to deliver chocolate to the female dealers and waitresses anyways. ;)
A few months ago I was asked to also report on their next festival but had to decline during the summer as the World Series Of Poker was calling. For the sixth edition of their Poker Festival, my schedule allowed to head over again and as usual, the trip from my little "middle of nowhere" was an adventure in itself.
Since no trains were running very early on to catch the flight from Munich to Madrid and then Madrid to Tanger, I had to take the last one the previous night and then spend a few hours waiting at the airport. Fortunately, the battery of an iPad mini lasts quite a while if you only listen to music and the weird thing called bookbook also still exists.
The flights itself were rather uneventful even though I somewhat dislike airlines (such as Iberia who I had picked) that don't even offer their passengers complimentary drinks. For 2-3 hour flights it is bearable though and on most airports you will find something cheap to eat and drink.
As far as the festival with € 225,000 in guaranteed prizes was concerned, both guarantees for the DeepStack and the Main Event were met. What you definitely have to keep in mind is, that the structure may not necessarily have the same quality as on the European Poker Tour. Furthermore, the culture in general and the mentality of the locals is far different from what you are used to. There is only one way to "conquer" this: Accept it as a fact, adjust and show the necessary respect.
Whether or not the standard of play is by far more creative and people like to rebuy and re-enter a lot should have on influence on your game, in fact it should be far easier to make a deep run in the tournaments as well as at the cash tables. The quality of day-to-day things may not be as high as in central Europe, but I actually embrace it to break out of the ordinary routine. Well, and I can practice my French and Spanish further, because a lot of players come over from the nearby Spain and Portugal.
That being said, situations at the table can escalate quickly and the locals may very well shout at each other in Arabian. If there is any problem, you have to stay patient and calm, otherwise the drama will always come back to haunt you. Sure, there was a hiccup here and there as well as heated arguments and penalties to calm down everyone. One can even reach the final day as chip leader after receiving two penalties of seven hands each the previous day.
This melting pot makes it even more interesting for me and the indoor pool at my hotel didn't hurt either. The Casino de Tanger also offers sandwiches during lunch time, soft drinks and a dinner buffet to everyone for free. Quality-wise the food is pretty good and staff is always very helpful if you have any request.
In the DeepStack, "Poker Gentleman" Marcel Luske made it to 11th place out of 264 entries and Pierre Neuville did the same in the Main Event in a field of 274 entries. Both are pure class, very polite and professional all the way. They also show all the young guns that age doesn't matter and should never be underestimated.
The festival lasted five days and except for a short final day, I never got out of the casino before 4am. Still, I only missed the breakfast buffet the next morning once and was swimming five out of six days - they cleaned the pool one day and I had to leave for work before they were finished. It is important that you do some exercise every day during those live events, otherwise the long hours will get at you sooner than later.
On my way back home in Germany, the flight to Madrid was late and I just made the boarding for my connection on the final call while running for 10 minutes. Of course the second flight was also late and so were both trains in Germany,. It was somewhat embarrassing to call my parents to pick me up half an hour from home, because the train would not even go as far anymore at 1am. Now you may understand why I call it the middle of nowhere. ;)
All that being said, will I decline another invitation to Morocco? For sure not when my schedule allows it and the flights are not too expensive. Someone has to deliver chocolate to the female dealers and waitresses anyways. ;)
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