Niklas Blomqvist "Won a Bit of Money and Had Fun"
Sweden's Niklas Blomqvist is no stranger to the Cash Game Festival. His first experience at the Cash Game Festival was in Malta in June 2016.
"I won a package to my first Cash Game Festival last June in Malta," shared Blomqvist. "So I went there for five days and it was a really fun five days. So I eventually came back to London and Tallinn last year as well. Now I am back here in Tallinn for my fourth Cash Game Festival."
Sometimes the best experiences come when you least expect them. Blomqvist would have maybe never attended the Cash Game Festival if not for visiting a poker club outside of his hometown in Stockholm, Sweden and winning a poker tournament.
"I won the Cash Game Festival package at a poker club in Stockholm, Sweden," Blomqvist said. "They had a tournament awarding a Cash Game Festival package which included €700 to play with in Malta, the hotel and activity package all included. Also included were some travel money and the prize money from the tournament. So it was a nice package that I won."
Like many that have attended multiple Cash Game Festivals, what brings them back is a combination of the poker and the fun family environment that brings players back to more.
"The Cash Game Festival is a really fun event, mostly because there are actually a ton of fun people attending the event," said Blomqvist. "So I got to know some of the people that come to the festival and we keep in touch. It is fun to get together on these trips, get together and have some fun. So both the Cash Game Festival in itself is a lot of fun with tons of action and there are also a lot of good people attending it. So it is a good mix."
Blomqvist has appeared on the televised feature table during each of his four visits to the Cash Game Festival, including yesterday on a €1/€2 no-limit hold'em table. However, yesterday's experience was the longest he has had at one time under the lights and camera. Thanks to the longer experience, Blomqvist was able to book a small profit instead of a loss.
"It was a bit longer of a TV table than I was used to," Blomqvist said. "It was five or six hours. It was quite long. In the beginning, I was quite card dead. Luckily for me, we played a bit longer and I won €159. I won a bit of money and had fun."
The day began today for Blomqvist with a visit to the shooting range with many others at the festival. This was another new experience for the him.
"It was a lot of fun," Blomqvist explained. "It was the first time I ever shot a real gun. We first tried a regular gun, a small one. Then we tried a revolver, which had a little more power to it. Later we tried a shotgun and an AK-47. There were good instructors that told us what to do all the time. I wasn't the worst one, but I wasn't the best one either."
Like many others at the festival, Blomqvist has a normal daytime job outside of poker.
"I am a semi-professional poker player and play very often," Blomqvist said. "However, I am also a postman back home in Sweden. So I try to play poker as much as I can. Mostly online, since I don't have a casino back home in my hometown. But it is fun to go on these trips and play live. I actually enjoy playing live much more and I try to mix it up between cash games and tournaments. I play a little bit of both."
He got into poker in a way many people can relate to, though watching it on TV and friends having a similar interest in the game.
"At first, poker was just for fun with friends and watching a little bit of it on TV," said Blomqvist. "Then some friends asked if I wanted to join them and play for a small amount of money. So we started playing and it was fun from the beginning. Then I just played a little bit of fun for a few years. Later I started playing some online and tested the casino for a couple of times. Eventually played more and more and now I am playing all of the time. But, it was just for fun with a bunch of friends in the beginning."