It is hard to miss Swedish poker pro David Grabinski whenever he is standing in the poker room as he towers over just about every player being over two meters tall. Grabinski shared about some of the fun he has had both on and off the tables along with a little bit about himself.
Grabinski is no stranger to poker, getting his introduction to the game about a dozen years ago. "I am from Stockholm, Sweden and I started playing poker while I was in the military 12 years ago or so and have played ever since," Grabinski explained. "I play about half the time in the poker clubs and casinos in Sweden and the rest of the time while on the road. Mostly it is really in the states, but also some time in Asia and Europe. I play almost only cash games, about 95 percent or so."
Despite Grabinski often traveling away from home to play poker, it was playing in his home country that brought him to Bulgaria for the Cash Game Festival. One of the clubs where Grabinski is a regular was hosting a tournament where the winner won a package that included travel and some cash to play with for the festival.
"I won a package at one of the clubs and Stockholm, so I had no choice other to come here as I had some money waiting for me," explained about why he attended his first Cash Game Festival.
If Grabinski did not win the tournament he likely would not have come to Bulgaria, but sometimes the best things in life come when you least expect them. Grabinski shared his emotions about the Cash Game Festival stating that, "I am happy that I am here, and it has been worth my while."
Additionally, the Cash Game Festival may have added another regular to the tour. While Grabinski does not plan to head to London when the Cash Game Festival heads there on September 28, he did share that he plans on joining back in the fun in November in Tallinn.
Obviously poker is one reason that Grabinski loves the Cash Game Festival, but he also mentioned that the festival also should be considered to be a social event.
"You can play whenever you want and there are games 24/7," Grabinski stated. "There are tons of cool activities including pool parties, mini-golf tournaments, and VIP parties. It isn't just only cash games, it is like a social event as well."
Unlike many poker pros, Grabinski sticks to live play for the most part. He laughed when he shared that, "I play online poker once every six months or so, however, I consider myself to be an 'internet fish'."
The clubs in Sweden, however, appear to provide Grabinski plenty of action while he is at home. He shared that the players are similar, but they can be considered to be 'juicier' as well.
"The games in Sweden are similar to the rest of the world," shared Grabinski. "The characters are like anywhere else where some maniacs and some tight players, etc. The main difference is that there is a lot of money in Sweden, so the games can be much juicier."
Grabinski shared that he typically splits his play between pot-limit Omaha and half no-limit hold'em stating that, "My mix is about half pot-limit Omaha and half Texas hold'em depending on what the casinos and clubs can offer and how the games look like."
However, this doesn't mean that Grabinski isn't also proficient in other forms of poker as well. In fact, he was a champion a couple of years ago in Sviten Special, a game invented in his home country.
"Two years ago, I was the champion in Sviten Special and that was my second tournament ever I played in that game," shared Grabinski. "So I like my results and I don't mind playing Sviten at all. It is an amazing game with nice dynamics."
Grabinski also shared with us a little bit about the origins of Sviten Special, which involves both pot-limit Omaha and five-card draw in the same game.
"The game is named Sviten because it was invented in a club now closed bearing the same name," shared Grabinski. "The game was invented by Anders Bengtsson. I don't know how, he must have been bored and you have to do something."
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Cash Game FestivalDavid Grabinski
