You've seen him at the cash tables and in the YouTube streets for years. Now, Alexander "Wolfgang" Seibt, better known as Wolfgang Poker, sets his sights on tournament poker as his next challenge.
Wolfgang has captured the attention of the vlogging world for good reason; his high-quality videos feature plenty of fun hands, enlightening commentary, and great cameos. Play across from him, and you might get a "BANG" sticker when he gets the best of you in a pot.
When I saw Wolfgang sit down at the table for this $3,800 WPT Choctaw Main Event, I had to do a double take. As well-known as he is in the cash streets, he's not known for getting in the mix in tournaments. That may be changing. I had the chance to sit down with him and get the scoop.
Hungry like the Wolf
TJ: Day 2 here at Choctaw. Wolfgang, you're in a tournament? What's the story?
Wolfgang: Yeah, it's like a foreign language, I don't know what I'm doing. But, we're going to be patient and try to have the goods when I need to.
TJ: We're used to seeing you at the cash tables and in the YouTube streets. Social media is blowing up these days. What made you come out for the WPT tournament?
Wolfgang: The notoriety, the interviews, the first-place money. I want to do a giveaway if I make a deep run. Going to Vegas would be fun, I'm going to go out there either way. And just getting my feet wet. I'm playing this summer in Vegas a bunch, so I have to start getting comfortable in weird tournament spots.
TJ: So, are you a tournament grinder now? Is this the new life?
Wolfgang: It might be. I don't know if I can do these multiple nine-hour days for four days straight that often. I think I'll pick and choose the big tournaments I want to go to at fun locations. If I'm going to sit there for 36 hours over several days, it has to be worth it. I need the thumbnail to say 'I win $100,000,' at least.
TJ: What's the story with the Pokémon on top of your stack?
Wolfgang: This is Mudkip. He's been with me for a few years since a dude named Aaron gave him to me from Austin. In Austin, they put them on the cash game stacks, and if you stack someone, you get their Pokémon. I never lost him, but I also never won another Pokémon. He's too valuable now, he's not up for sale anymore.
TJ: I used to do the same in Austin. If you win this thing, I'll give you a Pokémon. I've got a Jigglypuff for you. I've got a Charizard, but he's not for sale either.
Wolfgang: That's a good deal. I'll take a Jigglypuff. I'd snap-take a Charizard, too. He's the nuts.
TJ: Back to poker, what have been your goals for the last few years for poker and social media? Have you reached them?
Wolfgang: A lot of my goals have been recently checked off. Last night, during a live stream, I hit 100,000 [subscribers] on YouTube. That was a huge goal, and today we're up to 112k. Other big goals have been to play with all my idols; Brad Owen and Andrew Neeme especially. Playing with them and playing bigger live streams, not being scared of the $50/$100 stakes. My heart does pump, I'm not numb to the money yet. But, moving up and being humble is important to me. Also, now playing tournaments and hopefully making a deep run and never stopping with the content. The next goal is a million on YouTube, we're going for it.
A couple of tough spots for Wolfgang
Wolfgang ended up busting later in Day 2. He talked us through a hand he played against the red-hot tournament professional Bin Weng that cost him a big chunk of his stack.
Bin Weng opened from middle position. Wolfgang looked down at J❤️J♦️️ on the button. He three-bet to 3x. Weng called.
The flop showed up A♦️️10❤️9❤️.
Wolfgang: "I make a 33% bet on the ace-high board. I think I still need to bet it.
The turn was the 2♦️️.
Wolfgang: The turn brought in the second flush draw. I thought about betting, but I ultimately checked back. I know what that opens the door for, thought.
The river fell the 8♠️.
Wolfgang: He took advantage of my turn check and rips it in my face. He takes these four green [25k] chips and throws them in. I don't have any green chips. Yeah, he's all in effectively for my stack. The river brought in the straight draw. But, the two flush draws do brick off. I double block the queen-jack. I feel like in a cash game, I call there pretty often. At that point, if I fold I have 87k left, but if I call I'm busto. I feel like I could find a better spot. That being said, if you want to win the thing, you have to make those calls sometimes.
That hand obviously left Wolfgang shorter than he would have liked. However, he looked poised to get it all back a few orbits later.
Wolfgang got all the chips in the middle preflop with Ace-King against the King-Queen of his lone opponent. Unfortunately for Wolfgang, the queen hit the flop to send him to the rail.
Welcome to tournament poker, Wolfgang. You make a big fold to find a better spot, then you find that spot and don't get rewarded for it.
Even if he didn't make the deep run he hoped for, we're confident we'll see Wolfgang back in a tournament in the near future. In the meantime, he's got a job to do.
"I'm going to go grind some cash," he said. "I'm going to make a vlog of this, so I need a few hands."
The man is always grinding. He's crossed off many of his goals, so new ones make the list. If the last few years have proven anything, Wolfgang accomplishes what he sets his mind on. I'm sure a big tournament score won't be any different.
Oh, and by the way Wolfgang, we talked to Weng about that hand. He said he was bluffing with a busted flush draw.
All photos credit WPT
