The German handball team recently and surprisingly won the European Handball Championship. Managed by Füchse Berlin Boss Bob Hanning, who also manages the German National Team. He brought along the former Füchse Trainer Dagur Sigurdsson, who coached the young team into a frenzy of success. The root to this highlight surely lies in Berlin, where handball has risen to a public standing comparable to the omnipresent football game (soccer).

My workplace and the Füchse Berlin (the Berlin Foxes) handball team have a longstanding partnership with mutual support and events. Including, of course, a golf day we host for the Füchse and their sponsors once a year on our premises. Much liked by the Füchse players themselves, quite a few of which are avid golfers. But the yearly calender also includes the Füchse Sponsors Poker night. Which was taking place at Spielbank Berlin yesterday, with most of the handballers participating, along with their sponsors, all adding up to more than 100 guests, 91 of which entered the poker tournament.

Usually, one of the professional handballers, mostly goalkeeper Silvio Heinevetter, wins in the end, last year I think manager Bob Hanning made the final table, ending up in second place. However, guess, who won last night? It was me. So, this is one of the rare occasions I get, to write a brag post.

My set goal, as every year, was to beat my sweetheart, who plays a lot better poker than I do. This, I always was able to achieve during the last few years, with him dropping out quite early, whereas I usually ended up at the 40th to 30th spot.Which is great for someone like me, who rarely plays poker at all, and if so, only on the computer, usually losing the 50 cents I bet per game. Yesterday, my sweetheart stayed in the tournament a littler longer, dropping out around 50th place. Which won him a 25 Euro voucher for the Füchse Fan shop.Well done, Darling!

As for me, there wasn’t anything I could do wrong last night. The luck just glued on every move I made. On the final table I had trouble handling the stacks of chips in front of me, clearly being the chip leader on the table of ten. Boy, do I wish, I could have just swopped that plastic money to real money. The chip wall stacked in front of me represented way over a hundred thousand Euros.

As I tend to be a rather passive player, only betting with good hands, and noticing the fed up expressions on my 9 last opponents, whenever I passed a hand albeit having all that chip power, I even bet on a 2 and a 3. With a three showing up at the turn, winning me another fifty odd thousand in chips, reducing the field of opponents down to eight. Next I hold an Ace and a King (a hand often called Anna Kurnikowa, after the tennis pro – looking great but rarely winning anything), and of course the river gives me another Ace and King for two winning pairs. Thus, new Füchse coach Erlingur Richardsson was taken out of the field. Second last hand, now only three players left at the table, surrounded by many onlookers, I even get a pair of Aces, would you believe it, winning again.

So, in the end, it was just my last opponent and I and I got a crap hand, a 10 and a 6 or something. But, as I said, luck glued on my hands and the 10 turned out to be the high card. Thus, I ended up beating the entire field to win the title and a nice trophy to take home. Which slipped right out of my hands and broke, when I tried to pack it its box. That was the one and only bad luck thing happening to me last night. It would have been the first trophy I ever won. But as a member of the players making the final table, I also received a pair of kitschy sunglasses framed in neon green plastic, which I will keep treasured and wear with a stylish attitude making them look chic on me, I am sure.

Plus I got the first choice to pick a price off the table full with sponsored goodies for the best ten players. As my sweetheart, who beamed with pride at me, and I didn’t fancy any of the hotel vouchers, concert tickets and watches on offer, I went for an entry ticket to a Triple A poker tournament, this time a real tournament for money to be held at Spielbank Berlin next winter. I intended to give it to my sweetheart first, but sleeping it over, I am not so sure anymore. Maybe, I’ll play the three day tournament myself. We shall see.