Omar Eljach Shares That "It Was Fun" to Guest Commentate
Sweden's Omar Eljach joined Brandon Allen in the commentary booth for the latter part of the first televised table on Day 2 of the Cash Game Festival Bulgaria.
The 26-year old is originally from Stockholm, Sweden, but spent about half of his life in Berlin, Germany, which he also considers to be home.
"I was born and raised in Stockholm, and I also spent about 12 years in Berlin," explained Eljach. "I moved there for school when I was 11 years old. Now I moved back to Sweden and have once again been living in Stockholm for three years."
While he enjoyed living in Berlin, Eljach's heart was in Sweden where he headed back three years ago to further pursue his studies.
"I came back home to Stockholm primarily to start studying again, but I also just missed being there," shared Eljach. "It feels good to once again spend some time back in Sweden. I also feel very at home in Berlin, so I can't tell which one actually feels more at home."
Eljach was more of a casual poker player while living in Berlin explaining that, "In Berlin, I was mostly just playing recreationally along with some online tournaments. Occasionally I took some shots at the casino, but that's about it."
However, it has been a different story for the Eljach as he now plays poker professionally, spending most of his time playing cash games in the local Swedish poker clubs.
"I have been playing poker full-time for almost three years mostly live at the clubs in Sweden," Eljach said. "I play mostly cash, but sometimes dabble at tournaments as well. I also sometimes play at the casino, but prefer the clubs."
It was at the poker clubs where Eljach originally learned about the Cash Game Festival. There were some special events where he won a package to Malta in June where he got his first taste as to what the Cash Game Festival is all about.
"I originally heard about the Cash Game Festival from a local poker club in Stockholm," shared Eljach. "They hosted some tournaments where you could win some packages to Malta and that was the first time I heard about it. This time I bought a package, but for Malta I won one."
Eljach is here for Omaha, but is happy also playing hold'em depending on the action.
"Basically I will play any hold'em or pot-limit Omaha game that is running anywhere from €1/€2 to €5/€10," said Eljach. "I prefer Omaha, but don't mind playing hold'em at all."
This will be a change of pace from his experience in Malta where he spent most of his time off the felts. After all, the Cash Game Festival is not just about 120+ hours of nonstop poker, but also about enjoying a great experience away from the tables.
Eljach, who just arrived yesterday, basically hopped into the action right off the airplane. Today he enjoyed some fun in the friendly - yet competitive - mini-golf competition.
"I played a short session yesterday just after arriving and then went to play mini-golf with a the Cash Game Festival group earlier today," said Eljach.
"In Malta, I was more on vacation than playing since I went there with my girlfriend," shared Eljach. "I liked everything around Malta as it is a nice location with nice weather and nice food. I mostly just spent some quality time away from the felts. This time in Bulgaria, I came to play more."
In Malta, Eljach was on the televised feature table, an experience he plans to repeat here at Platinum Casino. However, he quickly hopped in the commentary booth during the first televised feature table to chat with Brandon Allen, which is also a new first for him.
"This was my first time behind the booth, and it was fun!" Eljach proclaimed. I played on the TV table once in Malta, but that was my only experience both in the booth and on the feature table with no other TV poker experience.