Duco Haven: "Often your bad beats are not bad plays"

The GGPoker World Festival has been over for a while now. And the Dutch players have posted great scores again. Some of these scores can be found on our social media. The one with the biggest success during the GGPoker World Festival is Duco ten Haven (GGPoker name: Duco Haven). He scored no less than 3 titles during the first World Festival on GGPoker. We spoke with him after this series.

Who is Duco Haven?

Real Name: Duco ten Haven

GGPoker Nickname: Duco Haven

Community Member since: October 2021

Favorite tournament type: $1,050 GGMasters High Roller

Stakes: High

Largest Cash $: $1,179,576.99

Ha Duco, how nice of you to give this interview. Would you mind introducing yourself to the readers?

My name is Duco ten Haven, I am 30 years old and live in beautiful The Hague. And have been playing for about 11 years now. In terms of poker, I only play NLH and am really an MTT player. I played cash games for a while, but I think cash games are too slow. Other than that, I don't play anything else, like PLO / Short Deck. I don't know the strategy, so when to raise, sizing etc. In short deck I sometimes hear that people raise with 20-30bb. I wouldn't know what I should do in that position. Am convinced that it is better to be good at one type of game rather than multiple types. It also takes too much energy to be good in every game.

"If not, the NLH expert can surrender his title."

You also have players who are good at mixed-games. So do these players put too much energy into all types of poker?

These players will indeed be good at different games. If you pit an NLH expert against a mix-game expert, it should be the case that the NLH expert will outplay the mix-game expert. If not, the NLH expert can hand in his title, haha!

Clear language, Duco! Previously, you were not "Duco Haven" on GGPoker. Your username was WouldIlieToYou. Where did that name come from?

It comes from an English show called "Would I Lie to You?". With poker you also bluff against your opponents, so I thought it was a nice name for a poker site. So I was very surprised that no one had caught that name yet on GGPoker. And the rest was history!

What do you actually like about poker?

The best thing about poker is improving your technique and strategy, and how to play better as a result. Finding spots and setting nice scores, that really makes you feel good when it works. I also prefer to play online rather than live. Live poker is a different way of looking at the game. I don't think I'm good enough live yet, because I don't prepare well. I don't know how to improve myself in this area either. But then I focus more on online poker, than live. And as I just said, it also takes more energy to play a new kind of poker. Poker is easy to learn, but hard to master.

Last time we spoke, you had won a WSOP ring in the WSOP Spring Circuit. What memory do you have of this win?

I won the WSOP ring in the $525 Monster Stack Bounty NLH with a nice prize of $85,456. This score is in my top 20, but I actually like the ring best. Win a million (reference to Super MILLION$ winnings), you get nothing. Win smaller amount, suddenly you win a ring with it! Physical prizes for online tournaments? May happen more often from me!

During the GGPoker World Festival, I also enjoyed collecting those badges. The feeling you get when you win a tournament, with a nice amount of money, really gives an adrenaline rush. But that you then also get a badge like that, I think is a nice addition.

"Physical prizes for online tournaments? May happen more often from me!"

Nice to hear you like collecting badges on GGPoker! You grabbed 3 titles during the GGPoker WF. How did the World Festival go for you?

In the end, I managed to make a reasonable score, in my opinion. I think I made around $200K up at the GGPoker World Festival. However, I feel that, since November last year, I have been at my C-level level. In fact, I have been very lucky during this festival, winning a number of (important) flips. In any case, I am not playing my A-game at the moment.

How come you have been playing at your C level since November? What does your A level look like?

In May, I had the GMMillion$ (formerly the Super MILLION$) title (prize $1,179,576.99) and had achieved one of my poker dreams. Namely, I wanted to become a millionaire before I turned 30. And so then I had succeeded. I didn't have a goal anymore and then the kick went away and I started studying less because of that. I think that kick is very important to get your A game game.

I am a player studying and looking for ideas that I can use, apply and adapt to the players at the table to exploit. When I study less, I am less aware of what I can do against certain players. Then I don't feel good about myself and then I'm not going to play the most optimal plays make.

In my A-game, I am much more focused on the game. Something I don't do because of fear, think for example a bluff catch that I normally don't do.

"I didn't really start playing well until I started studying with my friends."

What tips do you have for poker players?

You obviously have a difference between recreational players and players who want to go pro, or be pro. The biggest mistake I had made is that I isolated myself. I didn't really start playing well until I started studying with my friends. This makes it more fun, and most important: You get insights you don't see for yourself. You may not have friends who play poker. I also participated in various forums in the past. In these forums, I would share certain hands and they would discuss them.

I will never advise anyone to quit their job and play poker full-time. You do have to have something besides poker. As a beginner it is best to have one or two poker sessions a week playing poker and build a bankroll from there.

If you want to play poker seriously, it is really important that you start downloading your hands and then analyze what you are doing wrong and right. Again, do this with your friends as well. Improving your game is not everything, because you also have to work on your mental side. I have a mental coach, so that works heartily. Of course, not everyone has a mental coach. A good start is:

Good night's sleep
Eat healthy
Drink plenty of water
Enough sports

Another way to strengthen yourself mentally is to do writing exercises. Just write down what you feel and where your mind is. If there are negative emotions, then they are on paper and have been released, in part. Then these emotions affect your game less. Emotions are part of the game and it is actually not possible to remove this completely, but this is different for each person. A balance in your life is important and this is no different in poker.

Another tip: Playing too much is really not good. This is because you can get tired and then start making bad choices more often, which also means you end up losing more money than you win. Each player should see what works best for him or her. On the contrary, I think players should learn how to listen to their own emotions.

Being competitive is good, but within certain measures. Poker is also a "patience sport. You have to be really patient, because it can take a very long time to do well. You will encounter a lot of bad moments and difficult moments, but of course also good moments. It is also a piece of discipline to start playing lower stakes when things are going badly.

You mention that poker requires a lot of patience and that you have to deal with a lot of bad moments (badbeats), but also good moments. How do you deal with this?

During the GGPoker World Festival series, I got very lucky in certain spots, but also plenty of bad beats.

For example, I lost AA against KK on the bubble. This was about a chip lead pot, with 10 left. And the board was 2k6. Another example is losing with AA against k8o. It was a 40 bb pot with 3 left in the $525. Well, what do you do then?

Of course, I've also had spots where I crack AA myself, with KQ, for example (GGMillion$). In the end, I finished 5th in this tournament.

All of this is part of the game. Just talking about badbeats will only have a negative impact on you. Analyze the bad beat, and move on to the next one. Often your badbeats are not bad plays either, but just stupid bad luck! If those negative thoughts linger, then this also affects your entire session!

"Often your bad beats are not bad plays."

You mentioned earlier that you advised as beginning players to play about 1-2 poker sessions per week and no more. Do you have any tips on what these players can do in terms of preparing for such a poker session?

This is hard to say because what works for me does not mean it will work for others. Per poker session, I set goals. I always do a warm-up and a cooldown.

At the warm-up, I write down what goals I have for this session. It is important to find for yourself what is good for you. Is different for every player. An example of goals I write down are:

If someone bluffs too often, start calling a lot.
If someone calls too often, don't bluff.
If someone never bluffs, never call.
If someone never calls, always bluff.

At the cooldown I review how I feel, did I achieve my goals, why they were, or were not, achieved. In between the various poker sessions, I study for a few hours (between 5 and 12 hours per week). While studying, I look at hands I could have played better. Again, do this with friends. It makes it much more fun, and this actually applies not only to beginners, but I think pros can benefit from this as well.

Thanks for the tips, Duco! I think many players will find this useful. Who are actually, according to you, the best Dutch poker players?

I think Jan Arends is the best analytical player, and Johannes Straver follows at number 2. Teun Mulder and Tom Vogelsang cannot be forgotten in the list of best Dutch players. These are more the feeling players, and I would then put myself at number 5. On GG you also have Gaby Blaaspijp, also a very good player. Just no idea who that is, haha! And that Asian is also a good one!

Oh yes, and Joris Ruijs is also very good, but he doesn't play very often anymore.

You've been playing poker for over 11 years now and you've basically made your poker dream come true. What are your plans for the future?

I think I want to play poker for another 5 or 10 years or so. In fact, I also want to start focusing more on other projects. For example, think about investing in start-ups that are ethically responsible. So far, I have an investment in the company Sommalife. This company focuses on rural communities in Ghana and Burkina Faso. Namely, they produce Shea butter here. I also want to start investing more in my own personal development, for example by going back to college.

In the future I might want to do something in terms of coaching or streaming. Maybe I want to do a $50 to $50k challenge so I can help players in the micro, low and mid stakes. Poker is not a bed of roses and I think it's important to give something back to the community as well. I don't need a big following either, but really want to help poker players get better at their game. That's why I think it would be a nice idea to combine coaching and streaming.

I'd like to give back, because I know how it feels when you're in the shit.

Then we have something to look forward to! Got another shout-out to someone?

My own family and friends, of course. They have always been there for me. My parents used to be very skeptical about this (career) route. But they have always given me shelter, in good times and bad. I am very grateful for that.

Thank you dad and mom!

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