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min read

Meet Tobias Eichenseher - Grindhouse 3

Milko van Winden
Head of Digital Media @ Pokercode

Over the upcoming weeks we will introduce the Grindhouse 3 participants to the public. After introducing Pokercode community coach Grzegorgz Kozieja, and high-flying paragliding pilot Bhushan Sohani, we talk to someone familiar to Pokercode. Stream Team member Tobias ‘Tobsen_TE9’ Eichenseher is the third Grindhouse 3 participant.

As with many of the younger generation of poker players, Germany’s Tobias Eichenseher found his love for poker through the rising popularity of Twitch live streams after his uncle introduced him to the game. He started playing the game himself and quickly turned on the camera to live stream under the nickname ‘Tobsen_TE9’. Early 2021 Eichenseher joined the Pokercode Stream House project and after he became an official part of the Stream Team. But make no mistake, the young German streamer earned his spot just as the others.

Pokercode sat down with him to chat about his path so far, and what motivated him to join Grindhouse 3.

Meet Tobias Eichenseher

Eichenseher has always been a big fan of sports, and when he was 16 years old he was watching a football game together with his uncle who’s been playing poker for over 20 years.

“During halftime he showed me poker and I loved it from the start. Since that point I’ve been almost obsessed with it. I started watching Twitch streams and when I turned 18 I started playing.” Growing up in the poker world with names like Jason Somerville, Jaime Staples, and Parker ‘TonkaaaaP’ Talbot, it was easy to be motivated to learn and crush the game, but what looked like a smooth start, turned out to be a nightmare beginning.

“At the start I thought I had a little bit of talent. I was playing a lot of low stakes games but then I won $22k in a tournament. Afterwards I fucked up big time. I lost about 80% of that money and I realized it takes a lot more than just talent to be successful in poker. I wasn’t ready for all of it yet so I quit! For 2 years I did an internship and didn’t play poker at all, but I wanted to give myself one more chance. I started with $1,000 and it was make or break. Either I can do it, or I will lose it all and give up on the dream of being a professional poker player.”

Meet Tobias Eichenseher - Grindhouse 3
Tobias Eichenseher at Stream House

Back to Poker

Despite giving up on the game initially, Eichenseher kept studying to improve on his skills. His efforts showed when he crushed the micro stakes from the moment he started playing again. He focused on the morning schedule, and the dream of becoming a professional poker player seemed alive and well.

“I made about $30k from the $1k investment in my first year. It was a good year! That's when the Stream House project came around. After the project I noticed a lot of improvement, but it never really showed in my results. I couldn’t move up in stakes and it was actually pretty frustrating. It was a good period though, because I had a ton of motivation to improve. That year helped me to be where I am.”

And as with many poker players who pour so much effort into their game, results will follow eventually. The big score Eichenseher was chasing kept waiting, but having swaps with his roommate always saved his bankroll. And then it happened after countless deep runs without the result he wanted. It all started with two deep runs netting the young German streamer $8,000 and $7,000 respectively. Two weeks after he won the $25 Monster Stack on GGPoker for $10,000 continuing the momentum. With his roommate winning a bounty builder tournament twice for $40,000 and Eichenseher having a piece, the bankroll kept going up. Grindhouse 3 participant Samuel Mullur also contributed to Eichenseher’s bankroll when he won $30,000 and Eichenseher had a piece of his action.

Shortly after, the big break that ‘Tobsen’ was waiting for happened in April 2022. A deep run in the $800 GGPoker Deep Stack Spring Championships happened. On a final table featuring crushers like Anatoly Filatov, Kevin Martin, and Joao ‘Naza114’ Vieira, Eichenseher battled himself to a second-place finish worth $140,000.

Meet Tobias Eichenseher - Grindhouse 3

Grindhouse 3

After Stream House and the year after, Pokercode announced Grindhouse 3 and Eichenseher knew he wanted to join.

“The biggest thing for me is that the Stream house was such a great experience, that I wanted to be part of this again. I wasn’t sure if I was eligible, but this project is so awesome. I saw who was already admitted and I thought it was an amazing group with a lot of experience. I think we can benefit from each other and it will just be awesome. The grind together and sharing the successes. The adrenaline moments where someone has a deep run. There’s nothing better in poker, I think.

It’s just another world if you click buttons alone or with a group. You can always have a positive mindset if someone in the group is winning. It helped me a lot.”

But it’s not just about playing in Grindhouse, where the focus will be on growth and improvement. Having an interesting mix of people from different backgrounds is something Eichenseher said he’s also looking forward to. When he was asked about his personal skills and how that can benefit the other Grindhouse participants, he had a clear answer.

“I think that one of my strengths in poker is knowing what is valuable to learn. I’m not the guy who knows all the GTO sims and I don’t play perfect stats, but I’m very good with BRM, knowing how many tables to play, game selection. There are so many other things that influence your win rate, and if you miss quality there the theory isn’t going to help you further. There might be players with more theoretical knowledge than me, but knowing these off-the-felt skills helped me a ton personally.”

After Grindhouse 3

When Grindhouse 3 gets wrapped up it’s not clear what is next for Eichenseher. “I don’t have exact goals for after Grindhouse. In poker or in real life. I hope that after the Grindhouse I can create some new goals again. The last 1.5 years have just been trying to chase that big score and the money. Now that I have the big score I kind of lost my goal. I’m studying and playing, but I don’t know what’s next. I don’t think it’s bad to not have a goal. It’s good to have a chill time to focus on other things, but in the long run it’s vital for improvement, and it’s awesome if you reach your goals!”

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