DBerglin(aka Dennis) is a new member of the 2CardsCollege‘s coaching team. He is #53 in the PocketFives Rankings and has $1.78 million in tournament cashes.

In mid-September, he took the fourth place in the Bigger $162 ($18,000) and won the Sunday 1R Challenge in the end of last month ($20,000). His all-time profit is $350,000 and he’s… young.

Dennis, you are so young! Have you been playing tournaments for a living since you were 18? Is it a regular thing for Swedish poker players? Tell us how you got into poker.

I just turned 22 in October. Most people I know who play full-time are older than me. I guess I’m one of the youngest MTT regs in Sweden. I started playing MTTs full-time when I was 18. I didn’t even have a bankroll at that time, but I loved the game and was ready to work really hard to become successful.

I couldn’t see myself studying for 5+ more years and then work at a boring 9-5 job where I would earn enough money only to survive, so I decided to quit my studies to focus on poker. I got lucky to get a staking and coaching deal very quickly, so it helped me improve my game and I managed to build up a bankroll.

In Russia, where 2CardsCollege training program was founded, they think poker is gambling. If you are 18 and you tell your parents that you want to be a poker pro, it would be a family tragedy. Do they treat it any better in Sweden?

Poker is not very popular here in Sweden. Most people think it is gambling. If you say you’re a professional poker player, they will either think you’re a multi-millionaire or a gambling addict. I guess it’s because of all the writings about Viktor Blom in the news, haha.

The Sweden poker community is one of the strongest in the world. Do you communicate with your compatriots, the top regulars?

Yes, I discuss hands regularly with the top regulars, which helps me a lot to improve my game. There are not that many MTT pros in Sweden, but most of us are really good.

What was your overall goal for 2015?

Since I started playing MTTs full-time, my average monthly income has been around $10k. So my goal for this year was to make $120k, but in order to make that profit, I would have to put in many hours and good volume, so it was also a goal to play at least 1000 MTTs a month. I’m very happy to have my goals reached already in October.

Making the top 50 of thePocketFives Rankings is a solid achievement. Where do you see yourself on that list by the end of this year?

I’m most likely going to take a three-week vacation in December and also going to play some live tournaments, so this will probably be my high for the year. I will save being #1 for next year!

You regularly talk to the representatives of 888 and PokerStars to suggest various changes to the tournament grid. Give us an example of a change that was made. Why do you put the effort into it?

Yes we’re at least trying, but it is taking time. The high-stakes offerings are really poor on PokerStars and there is definitely room for improvement. 888 is doing a great job and has grown a lot lately because they have listened to their players. The Big $75, Weekender, and Thursday Thrill are all tournaments suggested by us.

How did you decide to become a coach? It looks like you are going to be the youngest mentor on 2CardsCollege! The average age is 25 to 35 and some of the coaches are in their 40s.

A friend of mine referred me to 2CardCollege. I got offered a coaching deal and I thought, “Why not?” I can remember how important it was to have a coach for me when I was new to the game, so I am very happy to be able to give something back.

What are the advantages of coaching for you?

It is good for my own game to review and discuss hands regularly and hear other opinions; to earn money by doing it is a nice bonus.

What are you going to teach in your training sessions?

I will mostly go through hand histories, which I think is one of the best ways of finding leaks. It is very important to have a more experienced player review your game or you will be making the same mistakes over and over again. It is so easy to blame downswings on bad runs because in MTTs it’s hard to know what your EV should be.

Where do you live in Sweden?

I live in a small city called Ostersund.

The only good thing about living here is that it’s bad weather 90% of the year, which makes it easier to put in good volume online. My plan is to move to a new place in the near future, but I haven’t decided where yet.

How did you like Barcelona and the live play at the EPT? Were you impressed by the field of the $10K tournament?

I think Barcelona is the best EPT stop of the year. All tourneys have huge fields with great value. This was the first $10k I had ever played and I was surprised how soft it was. I am looking forward to playing it again next year.

Do you plan to visit more poker series? Malta?

I have not decided if I’m going to Malta. I played EPT Malta in March, but the fields didn’t seem to be that soft and Malta is not one of my favorite places in general. The next planned poker trip is to Vegas in the summer. It will the first time I’ll play in the WSOP and I’m looking really forward to that.