Friday, 29th March 2024 12:40
Home / Uncategorized / EPT9 Prague: Slow grind, free fall and back again – the Lodden story so far

Earlier this week Team PokerStars Pro and former World Series main event winner Jonathan Duhamel talked about how, on the first day at least, it’s important not to roller-coaster your way along, soaring high on the chip count page one minute before plummeting at high speed into a dip the next. Better, he said, was a constant grind, adding to your stack methodically and thinking long term.

We didn’t ask about how that system changes (or is taken out of your hands) in the latter stages, but Duhamel’s fellow team pro Johnny Lodden is in steadfastly in the rollercoaster camp with 38 players remaining. But then you sense this is where he belongs.

If you follow Lodden on Twitter you get an idea of his method, never fearful of situations that can win large numbers of chips, or lose similar amounts in the space of a single hand. Like a pendulum swinging from one side to the other, it’s hypnotizing.

To get a better perspective on this we used some state of he art technology to emphasise just how volatile the “Lodden-Swing” really is, using his post on Twitter for the numbers:

graph (3) last.jpg

The Lodden Graph

As you can see, the drops are as rapid as the inclines. Admittedly, it doesn’t take into account the average chips at each stage, as that option was not available using the “Kids Zone, Learning with NCES ‘Create a Graph'” software. Regardless, the effect is quite clear. Lodden starts each day well and then freefalls, presumably with his arms in the air. Then he begins the process of rebuilding again. This week it’s proving successful.

johnny_lodden_ept9pra_d4_2.jpg

Johnny Lodden on the up (note: arms not in the air)

It’s not the first time we’ve encountered this remarkable Lodden effect. As early as 2008 we wrote about the Lodden-o-Meterâ„¢ designed specifically to record the fluctuations of the Norwegian.

It may be time to dust off the old o-Meterâ„¢, plug it in, stand back and watch the dials spin. Lodden is in the ascendant. For now.

Let the final word be from @johnnylodden himself: “Trust you instinct! Call à raise with 78 off on button. Flop 1096 allin vs 109 and hold!!!”

Follow hand-by-hand coverage, plus latest chip counts, in the panel at the top of the main EPT Prague page.

Study Poker with Pokerstars Learn, practice with the PokerStars app