HR2267, Betfair and bwin merger

Fredrik | 30 July, 2010 | 0 comments

The American online poker bill HR2267 was debated this Wednesday. A short summary would be that the bill was passed but with some amendments to discuss. The next step for the bill is to hit the House of Representatives before going to the senate and finally (hopefully) be approved by the President of the U.S. The most interesting amendment was Amendment 1 that proposed that companies that did not adhere to UIGEA (hello PokerStars, Full Tilt, Ultimate Bet) would not be able to get a license in the future. That amendment was passed. The second most interesting amendment was the fourth, saying that people who worked for such companies would be blacklisted from employment - pretty tough one if you ask me. That one's not settled yet. PartyGaming is definitely a company that will embrace this law (if it is passed) full on as the company has a strong hold in the U.S. and a good track history with the government. Read this well written summary on HR2276 for more information.

There is a dense cover of grey clouds over Stockholm today, some rain but warm. Wonderful weather. I am actually kind of looking forward to the autumn, in particular to be able to put on a nice pair of monk straps, wear a thicker jacket and sweater and walk downtown for some Saturday lunch. It is also possible to drink red wine again, arrange autumn dinners and have weekend trips. My summer has not really started yet but I am going on vacation next week for a total of three weeks. I'm going to Athens, staying some nights in Glyfada, then to the small Greek island Kea and ending the whole stay with some nights in the centre of Athens. I am probably going to the west coast of Sweden after that to spend some days at our place outside Falkenberg and some days in Göteborg.

Ongame Network launched the British gaming giant Betfair on the international poker network this week. We celebrated with a speech and some bubbly in the Kitchen, picture proof of a happy B2B boss. You can enjoy that picture thanks to our energetic and solid communications manager Zide.

This blog is from now on vacation and I'll be back on the 27^th of August. And yeah, for those who missed it, bwin and PartyGaming announced the merger into the world's largest gaming house today.

Take care,
Fredrik

Spain, poker and German cousin

Fredrik | 23 July, 2010 | 0 comments

Stockholm is warm, dry and full of tourists. We had 1.6 mm of rain in July and the trees outside my window look yellow and tired. The proud bwin office is almost unpopulated and there is an apparent summer slowness. There is always a carafe of water on Kjell's desktop, alongside some vitamin pills that were handed out in the kitchen.

I have continued my work on the pricing models for products and services during the week, and it is kind of interesting. I have also had a look at what's going on in Spain and how regulation and legislation develops there. Spain is somewhat of a mess and the current financial problems in the country affect how our industry will be regulated in the future.

Lately I have been playing a lot of online poker. When playing, I mentally return to the phase when I started playing many years ago, remembering how obsessed I became with the game. I basically consumed everything in print, downloaded old WSOP broadcasts and spent way too many hours on online forums. And I played like a mad man, thousands of hands which I analyzed afterwards. Nowadays I mostly focus on playing and I've gotten some real good pointers from my good friend Jonas from when he's been watching my game.  I have definitely developed and both results and interests are once again on top.

My German cousin and his Freulein are in Sweden and I am going to Gothenburg this weekend to see them, my sister and my dame. Last weekend I was in rehab mode but almost went under from the pressure of not meeting people so I am definitely happy about this trip. I am in the office next week as well but then you'll get rid of my rubbish for three weeks.

Fredrik

Price model and char

Fredrik | 16 July, 2010 | 0 comments

This week I've been working on a pricing model for a product we are about to launch. The product is unique of its kind and can in several ways change the experience when playing online poker. I have taken a close look at development costs, operative costs, integration costs and other running costs. With that, I've added perspectives on reasonable ROI levels, estimated customers over time and looked at the value driving potential of the product. With all background information covered, I constructed a model that will hopefully work on the market. After some management iterations I now have something to present which I will do internally this afternoon. The work I've done is somewhat of a start of taking a better grip on our product portfolio and to productify and sell products and services. To reach that we need a rather high degree of organizational maturity to be able to properly achieve good cost analyses, packaging and development. My responsibility is to take care of that income stream and make sure we can offer attractive products to new and existing customers. Wow I have not written this much about my work in a long time.

Aftonbladet, how to react? The hatred flows inside of me like a volcano on Island. To front a person, not proven guilty, like they did, is just plain awful.

The summer is definitely the season of dance music. I love standing on alcohol dripping deck and just go bust over all fantastic tunes out there. I am currently enjoying the following tunes to the max (Spotify links):

Swedish House Mafia - One (Your Name) [feat. Pharrell] {Vocal Mix}
Sia - Clap Your Hands - Fred Falke Mix
Lady Gaga - Alejandro - Dave Aude Remix
Gossip - Heavy Cross (Fred Falke Remix)
Alex Sayz feat. Evi - Hate To Love - Nervo Remix Radio
Tom Boxer - Morena - Treitl Hammond Remix

I am looking at a rather slow weekend even though the summer offers endless opportunities. I celebrated at the west coast last weekend and probably deserve a red card this week. I will instead focus on exercising, playing poker like a mad man and to finish off a business plan I am working on for a private project. I will also cook some char outdoors.

Fredrik

Gothenburg and Marstrand

Fredrik | 8 July, 2010 | 0 comments

I am working from Gothenburg today and the rain is pouring down like there is no tomorrow. I am partly here to celebrate someone beautiful but also to enjoy some Match Cup racing at Marstrand this weekend. The differences between Gothenburg and Stockholm are quite big but I have to say that the biggest one probably lies in the mentality of the people. Being grown up at the West Coast I was more or less taught that Stockholm is the devil and that people from Stockholm are unpleasant and unfriendly but people from Gothenburg are always welcoming and nice. Such a simplification is of course flawed. Well I like living in Stockholm and love the career opportunities and the ability to grow a professional network, far simpler than in a smaller city. I do also like to visit Gothenburg but to go on and on about how Gothenburg is so much nicer is just a sign of mental blocking.

I have a pretty interesting phone conference in about 2 hours. Some different people with different backgrounds work in the same exciting project and we've reached an interesting position that we will discuss today. Some of the guys are indeed professional and very experienced and even though it can be a challenge to work in a new field with many professionals I very much enjoy it. It is so to say sometimes easy to get stuck in the bubble and a kite rises against the wind.

I gave the special one that I am celebrating today a Nintedo and I have during the day heard so many happy shouts from the top floor. I got the main story about the Nintendo distributor in Sweden, the rise with 8-bit and GameBoy and the deep fall with GameCube. Well I guess they are happy today selling this new machine and I must say I have never seen a video game connecting to so many people at both physical and mental levels at once. I tried some table tennis and watched some Mario, very cool indeed.

Don't forget to mourn the German loss yesterday. Spain deserved to win, still is it very sad.

Inspiration everywhere

Fredrik | 2 July, 2010 | 0 comments

I have had a very nice week. Stockholm is showing the best of worlds in terms of weather, possibilities and optimism. I have devoted to full days to a technical workshop discussing the finer parts of our poker platform. I had the privilege to sit down with some of our top minds for a complete brake down of what does what and where it is happening. I have a background in software engineering and have some knowledge when it comes to system design, architecture and programming and I have to say that we run a pretty tight ship here at bwin. It is not hard to be inspired, inspiration is everywhere.

It is Friday morning today and I am following my usual routine of collecting all news from the week and sending it in various directions. I am also thinking about a mentor session I will have tomorrow with a student from my university. We seem to share the same interests and he is coming to Stockholm for a first session. Exciting to be a mentor and I hope that I can pass on some knowledge and experience

My favorite tune right now? It's gotta be Tom Boxer - Morena.

Shale gas and Midsummer's eve

Fredrik | 28 June, 2010 | 0 comments

We all remember "I am not only dentist, I am also a mother" from a TV commercial many years ago. Kjell is not only Business Portoflio Manager but also a hobby trader. Right now, I occupy my thoughts with gas, especially shale gas. Shale gas is a natural gas existing at some different locations in the world and currently traded at a very favorable price on the world market. Two years ago, you'd have to pay $14/mcf but currently sellers only want around $4.80. The price is of course set given supply and demand and did just recently rise from $4 to $5 but has the last days fallen by 8%. What is currently happening is that several big players are taking positions by acquiring a lot of gas reserves. The Indian company Reliance Industries announced two days ago that they are making an offer of 45% of the American company Pioner Natural Resource's gas reserves and bidding a price of $1.35Bn. That offer sets the price of $4300 /acre (1 acre = 4000m2).

The somewhat bored reader might ask himself why this is interesting? It is of course interesting since it is a great way to position oneself if believing that gas can be something for the future. There are several listed companies on the exchanges working in this industry (and one can of course also trade gas directly) and my favorite candidate on the path to success is Questerre Energy Corporation (QEC) traded in Toronto and Oslo. QEC has reserves of about 1M acres and a market cap of $0.8B, meaning that QEC is valued at a third compared to the latest deal on the market. It is of course not that easy to compare companies but it can at least point in one direction. Good to know is that natural gas only accounts for 6% of all gas production in the states but that is about to change. Also, the nestor in the industry is anticipating a price at $8 by fall. Enough about gas.

I am continuing to grind my projects and we're getting there. I revised some cost models and time plans this week and will continue writing reports. We had a bwin internal poker tournament this Monday with the first price of going to Vegas to play the WSOP. I did not win but seeing two Stockholm guys ending in the top made me very happy.

After uncompromised celebrations last Friday/Saturday I closed the weekend books by building on my friend's terrace, going out over a big rock. For all you guys not having built like that, let me tell you that the body feels about 50 years older the following days. I am going at it tonight again, we're making the final work on the foundation to be able to finalize the board. Hopefully it will last for an evening of Midsummer dancing ;)

Some do the right thing

Fredrik | 18 June, 2010 | 0 comments

For some time now I have been monitoring Telia, and from a distance it looks as if they are completely crushing the competition. They have managed to transform a traditional, boring company into an innovation leader, at least in terms of consumer products. It is Telia who first make digital IPTV available in broad scale, it is Telia who launch 4G first in Sweden, it is Telia who have mobile apps to control TV recordings and it is Telia who are streaming football for mobile phones. Telia are of course powered by strong financials and control the majority of the old infrastructure, but it is clear that they also have a number of really clever people working there, following a well laid out strategy. It is not even possible to compare them to the other operators, who show off weak offerings, doubtful quality or unclear brands. Some do the right thing.

Lately, I have been working rather hard with an interesting project, involving ourselves and an external party. On Tuesday we met for an all-day meeting and looked at where we are now and what we want to achieve. Most parts of the meeting were very positive and I am really happy with the results we have achieved so far. Later in the evening we had dinner at Restaurant 1900 who treated us to good food and some nice wines picked out by Martin. We ended the evening by watching the last half of a football game and having a beer. Successful day: future and prosperity.

The weekend is like a big bag of mixed candy, too much to consume without going bust. We do, of course, have the royal wedding on Saturday with mandatory attendance. The evening before, Friday that is, is devoted to oysters before taking a tour on the red carpet in the Stockholm nightlife. Saturday is of course set aside for watching and participating in the wedding celebrations. On Sunday I will help a friend with some work on his summer house. Feels like OK planning to me.

Hurray!

Fredrik

The baguette is sliced by bwin

Fredrik | 11 June, 2010 | 0 comments

I just returned after a very pleasant afternoon hitting the waves in Stockholm. My team had a great kickoff/teambuilding sailing the seven seas and later enjoying sea food at M/S Gerda. It was indeed a very nice experience and sharing shrimp, lobster and crayfish was epic. The weather Gods were on our side and I writing this with a red face and buzzed up hair.

It is indeed insane that it is yet again Friday. The weeks are more than short and the Stockholm nights are painfully beautiful. I just walked from Norr Mälarstrand to City accompanied by a red sky and the sound of the constantly ongoing wedding party preparations.

I am still working on the same projects as described last week. It is a mix of business operations, strategy and cost models. I have this week gone in-depth in specific hardware details, discussed server indexing and carefully monitored the French regulation. Bwin was as the first non-French gaming house granted a license and we're already up and running. It is an amazing triumph for the company and for all colleagues being active in that project.

I am writing this blog post in panic with fingers smelling of sea food to be able to meet the Friday 0800 deadline. I would really prefer to write something that moves me more deeply than just telling all of you about my week but my ambitions fall parallel to the time I have. Anyway, let me just bluntly draw the conclusion that it has never been more interesting times than now and that I am looking forward to an exciting next week.

I wish you a nice weekend

/Fredrik

Conan meets Conan2

Fredrik | 4 June, 2010 | 0 comments

Most things spin rather fast at the moment. Last weekend's social interaction bonanza was followed up by a dinner and a night out on Friday, a birthday party and night out on Saturday and a well visited brunch at my girlfriend's place on Sunday. I also had time to try out floating (cool!), actually managed to buy a new spring shirt and do some private requirement specification for a new project.

It has been full speed at the office for quite some time. My projects are in full bloom and I have seriously started to think about pricing of different models and services. The strategy assignment I am participating in is of course ongoing and we've been blessed with yet another Vienna resource (let's call him Conan2). It is still Conan swinging the axe but the swords now ring from more directions. To be part of all this is a treat and utterly educational.

I and four friends are leaving for Jönköping on Friday afternoon for an annual get together. We will focus on what all men around the world want to do; drink beer, have a barbeque and play football. Enough for now, thanks for reading.

/Fredrik

Downgraded

Fredrik | 28 May, 2010 | 0 comments

Well I’ll be darn. I have been downgraded from the feature spot on the website. I have moved from being first to fifth position – the scroll location! Since there is obviously no conformity between the Swedish and English version I have ended up at third place on the English site. How to interpret this signal? After two years blogging (I started May 9th 2008) it might be time to step aside, not to become the grumpy old guy in the corner. I am not sure, I have to discuss that with myself.

I am sitting here trying to figure out whether I should write about my week or something else. I have my usual pattern which is a free opening, expressing an opinion, moving on to describing the week and ending by serving a weekend menu. I wonder which part that is most interesting? Please send a comment and let me know.

Allow me to say it has been a fun week. I have had nothing but late evenings and if you know me you know what gets me going. I have mostly worked on a big textual delivery but also participated in a seven hour long strategy workshop. It is yet again late Thursday evening and I have just recently pushed the send button on the email containing the mentioned delivery. I am alone at the office, writing this post and pumping dance music on my weak, but not useless, internal laptop speakers. We have nice equipment at bwin Games, modern, black and fast.  I have two complimentary black screens connected, one black specialized keyboard and a black phone. Not an iPhone, a more masculine phone with a physical keyboard, the kind one can drop on the ground without breaking it.

Reverting back into old habits, let me tell you I am going to a Chalmers after work at Hotellet on Friday, doing Floating on Saturday and a birthday party at Robert’s on Saturday. We’re also inviting to brunch on Saturday. I might also try to resurrect what was once a living closet but now a failed project of heavy sweaters and winter pants.

I wish you all a nice weekend,

Fredrik

Your city, your paradise

Fredrik | 21 May, 2010 | 0 comments

Stockholm is probably one of the most beautiful capitals in Europe as of now. The trees are just about to burst into full bloom and warm winds extend the evenings. I walked down Hamngatan the other day, past all the construction sites where they are building the new city tracks on my way towards Strandvägen. I was heading in the direction of Dramaten when I suddenly stumble upon this amazing little oasis visible through a big gate. I see an inner courtyard fit for a king and an amazing building, straight ahead is the Hallwyl Palace. There are so many nice things to see in your own city and I am happy I found this little nugget. Check out the picture and you’ll see what I mean.

My work week has been relatively intense and I am working on some different exciting topics. My biggest success this week has been presenting a SEO analysis to partner and it was very well received. My biggest setback is that I have not yet started working on a pricing model I had planned to fire away. Out of office hours I have been working on a new business idea in e-commerce together with the Hypochondriac and the Telecom guru. We make a pretty good team when it comes to ambition, contacts and drive.

Kjell is rolling down to Kalmar this weekend to participate for a wedding on Öland when the Salesman is getting married. Soundtrack to this exercise is hopefully the amazing song Natteravn performed by Rasmus Seeback. Have a good one!

Fredrik

You are replaceable

Fredrik | 12 May, 2010 | 0 comments

I have lately been thinking about how replaceable everyone is. A lot of colleagues and managers have left the building since I joined. It is quite easy to get the idea that "oh no, now everything is going straight to ..." but that is rarely the case. In a healthy organization the place is refilled and sometimes it is for the better in the long run. It is wise to leave when you're on top. It is good to do something else. Without focus and energy you are not a good employee in my opinion. Someone might argue "How can you say it's good to do something else?". Well, think of it the other way around - it is not that common that companies want to hire someone without experience. Movement on the labor market is important for development and growth.

During this short week I have worked on two items. The first is a SEO analysis of a partner's website where I have spent some time looking at how it performs in Lynx, the text based browser. My second task has been working with the strategy team in a second workshop. Our strategy champion Conan has taught me a lot about models and theories and it sometimes feels like being back in school. Pretty often you read about clever stuff but it's quite rare to see it being applied to the own business environment. Developing.

Kjell is now on long weekend vacation. On Wednesday it's Football night (Elfsborg - AIK) with dinner afterwards, followed by a poker night on Thursday with some festivities. We will most likely host some kind of dinner on Friday and do something nice on Saturday. On Sunday I follow the Big guy's words and take a day off. Oh yes, I might pay Church a visit, it's in all fairness the Ascension weekend.

Thanks for reading,

Fredrik

Conan swings the axe

Fredrik | 7 May, 2010 | 0 comments

New ash cloud, a Greek collapse and a new financial crash. Hm..new? Was it ever over? Hello double dip, now you’re here. The million dollar question is always if we’ve reached the bottom and if the market can find any strength to bounce back upwards. If that is your theory, enjoy some stocks on sale. If the answer is no, then we all stand corrected once more.

My week has been pleasant. Our exit from Madrid was amazing and the blow out on the Walpurgis eve was one worthy the most experienced oil driller. All festivities came down hard on me Saturday and waking up with a broken voice and a black eye was probably what I deserved. After a couple of easy going days we had a Thursday beer at the office yesterday that went really long. Tonight there’s a dinner and a bachelor party on Saturday and I guess (hope) there’ll be room for some time to rest on Sunday.

I am involved in a strategy project in which we review our B2B operations. The work is lead by Conan from Vienna who just like the famous barbarian swings his axe whenever we don’t deliver. Our session yesterday spanned over 6 hours and there are 4 more sessions to go. I am right in this moment preparing something else called “Kjell’s update” which is a market/industry/product update to some parts of the company. Later today I am having a call with a guy in Denmark to discuss the legal development and the ongoing regulation. Mentioned activities are examples of what I have been up to this week and I have to admit I like when it is dynamic.

Next week is a short one, hence the blog post will be published on Wednesday. Have a nice weekend and duck the axe,

Fredrik

Welcome spring

Fredrik | 3 May, 2010 | 0 comments

In Madrid. I am sitting in my hotel room on the fourth floor looking out at Gran Via which is turning hundred years after being established by Alfonso VIII. While writing this, I am enjoying a cold local beverage by the name Mahou and listening to The National. Recently arrived in my room I watch the sun slowly losing its abilities while trying to prepare for tonight’s dinner and conference party.

Since Wednesday I have participated at the iGaming360 and the World Poker Congress. The turnout has so far been a bit disappointing but my earlier frustration concerning the messed up registration is luckily gone. The conference has touched on subjects such as regulation in Europe, status and believes of gambling in the US and future opportunities. Some parts have been great, others meaningless.

It is my first time in Madrid and my high expectations proved to be true. The architecture is bombastic, the food is great and the city is oozing of pulse. Our hotel is modern and nice, the weather is terrific and the evenings are very nice. Tutti fanutti, it has been a great experience with good discussions and great leisure time.

We are going home tomorrow and I expect to land in Stockholm around 19. I have to rush home, get a shower and then I am off to a nice Walpurgis Eve bbq party. I will help me girlfriend to move to a bigger apartment on Saturday and then do my taxes on Sunday. The picture shows the view from my hotel balcony.

Enjoy the weekend, Fredrik

Stoked

Fredrik | 23 April, 2010 | 0 comments

What happened to Spring this week? What a backlash! Well anyway, it was sunshine this morning when I walked to work, hope the weekend stays that way as well. I met the telecom guru and the hypochondriac last night at Salongen but we had to redirect to Berns due to limited seating. Being able to choose between these nice places is something I love about Stockholm. Walking home later that evening I a thought of all the country people who only experience these places by watching TV or listening to Alex Schulman on P1 Sommar. Anyway, we met to discuss two new business ideas and it was a great evening. The first idea is about a new way to search for travel arrangements and the second about e-commerce. All in all, I think we might have something this time and discussing business is always something that makes me excited and happy.

What a week we had at the Castle of Gaming in Stockholm. I have occupied myself with three different projects and two are to be delivered today. We received a battery of questions yesterday from a prospective customer and decided to collectively answer all of them within the day. We had a high tempo, made a combined effort and a good outcome, just how it should be. I have also done a cost calculation of integration and operation of customers and worked on four APs (action points) from the B2B strategy work. I, Jonas and some other great colleagues are part of a newly formed team to work out the B2B strategy for bwin and it feels very exciting.

The weekly award to most valued lunch goes to Coffee House by George and their goulash soup at the price of 60 crowns - you'll find the place at Centralen. This week's favorite song is definitely Niclas Kings' Remix on "This is my Life" (Spotify).

I'll be in Madrid next week for the iGaming 360 conference but I'll try to scribble down a few lines then as well. Have a really nice weekend and don't waste the whole paycheck at once - you know it is possible to be king of beer more than once a month ;)

Fredrik

Online life

Fredrik | 16 April, 2010 | 0 comments

I am today coughing like a Chinese mine worker. Oh China, I told you I’d go there this week but that never happened since the trip got cancelled. Instead of trying to look like a business man in China I am at home being sick, coughing, sneezing and the rest. I have been sitting in my apartment in quarantine because of my health status but I have at least managed to continue performing my duties. Looking forward going to the office tomorrow.

I have during evenings and nights worked a bit on creating a web page about myself. The idea is to create a mashup containing all information I am creating online alongside some facts about me. I use Blueprint CSS as framework and PHP for the clever stuff. I have integrated my Twitter stream, my bwin Games blog posts, my posterous posts and added some quick facts and links to my online life. The general thought behind this page is to control the public information about myself online.

Well, that’s it boys and girls.

Ciao! Fredrik

German heavy metal in Göteborg

Fredrik | 9 April, 2010 | 0 comments

Dear readers,

I am like a resurrected Jesus full of energy and hopes for the future. It has for sure been an interesting week at Stockholm's castle of gaming; bwin Games. But first, let us rewind and iterate the recently passed free days over Easter. Last Thursday I went down to Göteborg and arrived in the evening after a fast but safe car trip. The entry in my former home town was made with high collar and enthusiasm. It was autumn on the West coast but at my Operafriend Bolgeidon's was warmth worthy a colonialist. He invited to a dinner featuring pasta and truffle, with wine never running out. (Is Bolgeidon Jesus you might ask yourself? I have no good answer, but it is not impossible). The evening turned to morning before conversation as well as plates was empty. The sun was at zenith when we woke up the following day and I painfully realized I had forgotten all shirts in Stockholm - what a panic! I was picked up by my parents in law, looking like a German heavy metal man in a two-day dirty shirt and a vest. We luckily managed to kill that look after visiting some clothes shops and I saved the weekend. The rest of the visit was terrific with a big nice Easter dinner Saturday evening, a small lamb the following day and a visit at my sister's.

Right! I forget I am supposed to write about work in this blog. I have this week done a lot of different things, including some comparative studies, had a poker school for a couple of female students from KTH, performed an industry update to some teams at the company and done strategy work. Tempo has been high which I appreciate.

I will end this week's post with a list of my 10 favorite songs (not including dance/trance/electro). Maybe this list will spark a discussion leading to some comments? The whole shebang can be loaded into Spotify using this link:

1. Bruce Springsteen - The Ghost of Tom Joad
2. Eldkvarn - En kärlekshistoria
3. Burt Bacharach - Make it Easy on yourself
4. Franke - Drunknandets färg
5. Tom Waits - Ol' 55
6. Renato Carosone - Tu Vuo Fa L'Americano
7. Mauro Scocco - Den 11:e
8. Neil Young - A man needs a maid
9. The National - Slow show
10. Neil Diamond - Sweet Caroline

I will be in China next week, hence no blog post. Have a nice weekend!

/F

Tales from an idiot

Fredrik | 1 April, 2010 | 0 comments

Dear readers,

I  am sad to start this post by sharing a tragic event. My close friend, work mate and globetrotter has for the second time since we met let me down. The oh so beloved and hated Dell D430 chose to end his days at the Windows login screen at a very bad timing this Tuesday. I was not able to get any life out of him despite several resurrection attempts and my pain is infinite. Kjell ought to know better, but believe me when I tell you; I am a hack with double degrees from the School of Idiots and am now writing this text on a temporary machine with a very empty hard drive. I did of course have most of my data stored locally. My latest backup was of course several months ago. I do of course know better. I bend over and except the beating from the whip of life.

I made my first entry in Vienna after coming from my longer stay about a year ago. Many times I’ve disliked the city so many love to visit and maybe it has been of unfair reasons. Coming back was joyful and pleasant. I stayed at the nice Savoyen hotel , not far from where I used to live, and was also able to meet the energetic @Robert_Buetof. He like me has a passion for internet related business models and ideas and we discussed everything between social media, Zappos and Boing. I was also fortunate enough to be able to bring home a couple of bottles of the excellent dessert wine from Kracher, an Easter tradition. The lottery of life has also just recently rewarded me on my flight back to Stockholm with a nice salad and a glass of dry Austrian white wine. I take my hat off.

I am going to Göteborg for Easter and will stay four days on the west coast. I wish all of you a nice Easter break and a splendid weekend,

Fredrik 

Burn baby burn

Fredrik | 26 March, 2010 | 0 comments

Yesterday I listened to a webcast from Disruptive and their Social Cash conference here in Stockholm. Some was good, others not. What I react against is that fairly many are self-proclaimed experts in some kind of mix-up of "new communication / social media / interactive communication" without knowing that much more than what is written by Guy Kawasaki and Brian Solis. Having a blog and Twitter account managed in the iPhone and having started a webpage with payment functions is not good enough. I might be a bit mean now but I get angry listening to when an "expert" can't even give a concrete example when a listener asks a fairly basic question. The expert in the hearing I listened to said that it only takes 2 hours to technically setup a web shop and the rest is spent on marketing and integrating the users of different platforms. Blaha blaha. I can also deliver an A4 telling people what to do but it is not that easy to put the money where the mouth is.

I attended a breakfast seminar at Bergh's School of Communication yesterday morning and listened to when @bakelit talked about "Interactive communication". It is always fun to listen to someone else and to get some new inspiration. Yesterday's buzz word from that session was "attention economy" and site for sure http://www.pleaserobme.com/.

So what's new? I've been working on my ProjectX like a devoted squirral in a nut factory. I have except from that done some work on COTS (Clash of the Staff) which is the bwin group's internal poker tournament. We are soon ready to launch this years' edition with a lot of players and some nice prices. Fun!

I ended yesterday evening with an after work at the office then on to the same activity at Berns. We are a group of people from Göteborg/Chalmers who meet once a month over some drinks. It was a long time since I attended it even though I only stayed one hour it was good fun. Going home I picked up some sushi and looked back at a successful day.

This week's achievements
- Registered for the conference iGaming 360 end of April in Madrid
- Been selected as beta-tester for Bredabandsbolaget's new TV-service (pdf)
- Made reservations going to Vienna next week
- Good spinning session with my buddy Malm
- Put up the site http://www.registercodomain.com/ on how to register a .co domain

Looking forward to next week,

Fredrik

This week

Fredrik | 19 March, 2010 | 0 comments

This week I could have written about that I should have been in Poland, that we during last weekend had this year's so far best party, that I've focused all my energy on a new project at work, that I've ordered four new business related books, that I've seen Elfsborg tie against Gefle in the premier of the football season, that I've purchased a new compact digital camera, that Spring is slowly approaching us in Stockholm or that I've discussed corporate communication. Such a post would however be far too long and uninteresting.

This week's post kind of ends here. I have little time and too few ideas to elaborate. I can all though reveal that I will go see Green Zone at the movies, swim in a pool and try the new brunch at Stockholm fisk.

Ciao, Fredrik

First time in Malta

Fredrik | 12 March, 2010 | 0 comments

Friends (and foes),

I have recently returned to Swedish soil after a trip to the gambling and Party Mecca Malta. Working there must be like a paid long charter vacation.

Coming there we were routed through Manchester and enjoyed Air Malta's epic old food boxes with 150 British senior citizens. The price for a taxi to our lovely Preluna Hotel was paid with 20 EUR and a little bit of our life at stake. The served beans and eggs for breakfast and many were those who curious looked at the two business dressed Swedish men focusing on bread and Yoghurt instead. By the way, I managed to get a photo of the nice sea view - check it out in the end of this post.

So why did Kjell go to Malta? You may ask but I can not tell. I urge you to either fantasize yourself or ask me, first option might be more fun.

We went home two days later and Lufthansa was kind enough to bring us Frankfurt. Hanzi is my favorite airline for trips in Europe and I was yet again pleased with everything. We had a great sausage and beer in Frankfurt and some time to explore the tax-free opportunities together with the rest of the Swedish travelers. We did the mistake of assuming departure to Stockholm on time but SAS again managed to crush the dreams of a cup of tea and some relaxation at home before midnight. SAS claim they are the most punctual airline in Europe, I have my doubts.

Anyway, Thursday again and I am tonight looking forward to a nice dinner together with the Tie-king Christian, the Americano and my Italian colleague Fabio. We are going to Tranan at Odenplan for some typical Swedish food. Big things are happening on Saturday as we are having the annual big party KAFFEKALAS.10. We have invited 170 persons and are expecting about 80 people to show up. Congrats us! Congrats neighbors!

Fredrik

Your time is valuable

Fredrik | 5 March, 2010 | 0 comments

The location of the bwin Games office in Stockholm is one of the major benefits for us salary earners. [The Swedish version of the blog now features a paragraph discussing a ridiculous system to steer Swedish economy and distribute wealth. I will not rewrite that part in English since I do not want to spread any stupid ideas on the international arena].

Alright, back to benefits and location. My take is like this - it is hard to neglect the perks of being centrally located. Commuting to a far away office somewhere in the suburbs easily consumes a couple of hours every day. Sure, you can use that time to do something productive but I'll be bold and say that the outcome of that work will not match your top capacity. To value ones time, is that anything you've thought about? Well, not many people have truly put a value on their hours if they're not poker players counting free time in BB/100 or consultants. So, should I spend one hour in the bath tub or should I iron my shirt? Having a bath is for sure nice, but looking respectable at the office might be good for my personal branding. Or, should I pay someone else to iron my shirt and use that hour for recreation? Feeling well and being well balanced with a nice looking shirt will probably yield better than the other way around.

Think about how you value your time and how nasty you can be towards yourself. It is easy going mad. Our red & green friends over at the left wing are hoping to regain power this fall. If that happens, they want to remove the RUT-deduction (the part the government pays if you're using close-to-home services). For once, I agree with them! Remove it and lower taxes, making it fairer than now. Let people spend their money in which sector they want. The lefties probably don't agree with the last sentence.

The location of our office makes me able to spend those hours at work instead, with my friends and family or in the bath. I have not got a bath tub; it is merely a conceptual theory.

I am going for big time shopping on Saturday to prepare for next weekend's big annual party. The concept KAFFEKALAS is stronger than ever and we've expanded the invitations to around 170 people. I am also taking out the good old dancing shirt on Saturday night, busting moves with my colleague Jonas. I am going to Malta next week so I'll probably spend some time on that on Sunday.

Ciao and cheers,
Fredrik

Expensive drops

Fredrik | 26 February, 2010 | 0 comments

Last weekend's Milan trip was nothing but a showoff in how to enjoy life. Landing in Sweden was a brutal case of experiencing extremely cold and a messy Stockholms Lokaltrafik. My week working in the new position has been interesting but I have honestly mostly been cleaning up tasks from my previous engagements. I have however started to plan some trips and I can look forward soon going both to Malta and Poland.

Wednesday morning was special as I saluted the office at 05.45 carrying my favorite new kitchen supply. Together with the ever so brilliant facility manager Jonnie, the always radiant Bibbi and the skillful breakfast hostess I entered the kitchen to help arranging a nicer than usual breakfast. The kitchen supply was used to produce hundreds of smoothies and is my latest materialistic enjoyment which I in the true spirit of environmentalness brought from Dubai earlier this year. We did not only pimp breakfast with smoothies but also arranged a lot of fresh fruit, eggs, new cold cuts and some other sweet items. The whole initiative was very appreciated and I really enjoyed being able to do something for everyone.

We recently finished a whisky tasting session in the kitchen hosted by the leaving CEO Carl. He offered us to try three kinds of Mackmyra Whisky and generously took us on a ride through the Swedish Whisky success story. As you understand, this blog post is now written having both inspiration and expensive drops internally.

I have today continued detailing targets for the new position. Starting fresh is a heck of a motivation slap and I hope to be able to take this position to new heights. We have massive potential in several areas and being part of a current and future success is really motivating.

Time to end but please enjoy the photo from today's tasting. Have a nice weekend!

Fredrik

Changing shirts

Fredrik | 19 February, 2010 | 0 comments

This week bwin announced that the sponsorship deal with AC Milan will not be renewed. It is time for me to follow the bwin and AC Milan players and also change my shirt as I thank everyone for the past time. Being a trainee at bwin has been totally awesome and I have enjoyed everyday of it. I have eventually grown out of the shirt and my new suite is a tailor made piece of brilliance delivered from Ongame Network. I have gotten a role which I was able to influence a lot myself and it is both specific and very attractive. B2B is definitely hot and I like to be close to the fire.

I am going to Milan on Friday and staying until Monday afternoon. My travel companion is my good friend Johan and we’ve planned a brilliant weekend. We will start out by hitting the shops on Saturday to boost the spring closet and later move on to the premium game Inter vs. Sampdoria in the evening. On Sunday we’ll head to my favorite art gallery Minicia Art Gallery and later have one of those long Italian Sunday dinners. Everything is so nice I almost shed a tear detailing it.

Well, you might think I am not focusing on delivering news from my job right now which partly might be true. To fill up that quota I can share that I helped out at an event Wednesday night when Södertälje’s basked ball team visited bwin. It was an evening featuring a bwin presentation, pizza and poker and it was a great time. What else? On the plus side you can take note of that of an internal knowledge test, some good old Excel crunching and discussions on Twitter strategy. I also met an aspiring trainee candidate in the shape of an ambitious Chalmers’ student and discussed bwin, the trainee program and how to shape a career.

There is unfortunately no more time to share these smashing details since I have a lot of SMS loans to handle before the weekend. Take care and be great,

Fredrik

A great way to start the day

Fredrik | 12 February, 2010 | 0 comments

Dear readers,

Last weekend's triumphal trip to Antwerp and Brussels has injected energy and ideas that the Spring has after all not collapsed under the winter iron grip. Not only did I bring a stubborn little drummer boy in my head along but I also returned with some crispy waffles and an advertising poster from the honorable coffee house Julius Meinl.

My travel companion the IT-manager and myself visited the Industrialist and we had many long talks about our careers, apartments and investments. I had discussions about democracy and taxes in relation to welfare with the latter one, who on a different note is about to move to Zurich. The IT-manager, being more discrete in his believes, mostly listened until he killed the talks by handing out a beautiful pair of braces with nice leather details for everyone, as he recited the trailer from the upcoming Wall Street 2 movie.

Well, back at the office Monday morning with a few hours of rest I started digging around my fragmented work tasks. I have put my hands into a lot of different assignments this week some of them being discussing motivation, creation of internal development tests, adjustment of the process mapping I did earlier and a re-work of an earlier assignment.

I attended Betsson's financial hearing this morning as the company presented Q4 as well as the full year. Starting the day with a nice breakfast at Cafét to the sound of Pontus Lindwall's revenue driving voice was indeed lovely. It gives me joy to see that the industry is doing well, that our customer Betsson is increasing its business and that Swedish corporate life is blooming. I had my brother in arms Jonas at my left side and Lasse Dilschmann (CEO Ladbrokes Nordics) on my right. Skövde-Mats was sitting in front of me and the Carnegie Terminator was chairing the Q&A session. A wide range of characters with one common interest - finance and gaming.

I was hoping to be able to announce my new position this week but I am not. I will again have to withdraw to darker allies and ask for your time. The role I am negotiating is somewhat created to suit me and brand new which together with organizational changes might delay the decision.

Have a nice weekend and don't forget Valentine!

Fredrik

Belgian bare ground

Fredrik | 5 February, 2010 | 0 comments

Interesting times dear readers! I have seriously negotiated a new position within the art of commercialization this week. I was hoping everything would be ready today but it's not. The role has a clear commercial focus, a strong industry analysis perspective and the development of a new business area. It will most likely be ready by next week given that we agree on the commercial terms.

I attended my last bwin Games management offsite meeting this week. It was held at the always so pleasant Nordic Light Hotel and we worked on several big topics. It was the first time the new CEO Peter Bertilsson participated and I appreciated getting to know him a bit better. There was as always some new management expressions flying around and I am adding “ducks in a row”, “bang down poles” and “plant a fruit garden” to my growing collection.

I have a really busy day tomorrow that starts with an analytics meeting for a Swedish stock listed company in the morning. I am later heading to Gondolen for lunch with a couple of friends and ending the day by celebrating a leaving colleague at SAS Radisons’ sky bar. I have a lot to complete at the office as well and I am counting on a busy day.

The night between Friday and Saturday will be travel day as I am going to Brussels and on to Antwerp. Me and my friend are visiting our buddy Rikard who has for a long time prized the nightlife and shopping streets of this Belgian pearl. We are doing 24h Belgium and I am looking forward to see Belgian bare ground instead of all the snow in Stockholm.

By the way, check out this hand I played the other night – doesn’t happen too often,

http://www.pokerhand.org/?5151362P

Have a nice weekend!

Fredrik 

Hail the entrepreneur

Fredrik | 29 January, 2010 | 0 comments

Not studying economics surprised my mother. I have always had an interest in economy and finance and constantly looked for investment objects. The first stock I started to follow was Lap Power and I vividly remember a hot summer day trying to persuade my father to invest in it. I might have understood that the company sold a lot of computers, maybe I was influenced by the bold advertising pictures of the co-founder Helen Wellton or maybe the gambling bug bit me. In retrospect, it was probably a mix of all three of them.

My interest in poker is not a big surprise. The theoretical framework of poker is very similar to how the financial system works. The practical aspect of poker is like trading stocks on speed. Trading on speed is on the other hand conceptualized in the fantastic derivative instruments which will make your pulse soar and adrenaline rush. Short term warrant trades are the most beautiful form of capitalism. You speculate in a paper by paying for a right to buy or sell the stock in the future. If you’re wrong, you will be punished hard, but if you’re right, you’ll be multiply rewarded. Same goes for poker, same should go for the working life.

People have for a long time been discussing teaching economy at elementary school. It is partly good. What should really be taught is business knowledge and the mechanics making the wheels of economy spin. Way too few people in Sweden reflect on where their income really comes from, realize that they can rather easily change their financial situation or how to grow society in a financial positive way. The net effect of this inexperience is that fewer companies are created, an overall lower standard of living occurs and an unawareness of why low taxes improve Sweden’s level of welfare.

I never invested any money in Lap Power, neither did my father. The company went bankrupt some years later and the stock was shaky all six years it was listed. Claes and Helena Wellton did however manager to turn an initial investment of 50.000 SEK into a company employing a lot of people, paying a lot of taxes and contributing to consumption. Hail the entrepreneur.

Have a nice weekend,

Fredrik

Wind of change

Fredrik | 22 January, 2010 | 0 comments

The German metal band Scorpions sang about ”Wind of change” in 1990 and that wind has come to Stockholm 20 years later. bwin’s Co-CEO Norbert Teufelberger announced last week that bwin Games is facing a change of Managing Director and Peter Bertilsson will now head the office. The shift will not only bring a new leader but also an increased focus towards the B2B-market.

Not only Carl will leave his position but another one of my favorite managers as well. I have during my trainee period experienced a number of managers leaving and it is always sad. You often create a good relationship and trust and those aspects take some time to rebuild. However, people diversifying is not a bad thing since it increases the end points of your network.

I helped out during a student recruiting event this week. We had 50 students coming from Uppsala to get a presentation of what we do, something to eat and drink and to play some poker. I gave a poker school for those who never played before and later acted dealer. It was all in all a great evening and creds to our HR-department for creating this event.

Several colleagues are showing tremendous care when asking about my next position. I can unfortunately not give a good answer. I have two alternatives where the first one is a job in Vienna. The second opportunity is with Ongame Network working with product development. The manager responsible for the first one has not returned with answers to the T&Cs and the second position has not yet been specified enough for me to make a decision.

My initial plan was to be in the Italian Alps right now but I had to cancel due to health reasons. Very sad but you sometimes have to prioritize and I made the right choice. I wish everyone a nice weekend with lots of sun and snow.

Read more

Information about the bwin Games CEO-change: http://ow.ly/XrOhNews updates from the gaming industry: http://twitter.com/egamingfan 

Fredrik

The year of tearing down and rebuilding

Fredrik | 15 January, 2010 | 0 comments

2010. A new year. We recently celebrated the new millennium, now it is a decade. I have been rethinking what happened last 10 years - a lot and not so much. The coming years will probably be overturnering for me when the career develops, family life happens and a rooted identity is created.

I am still a trainee in case you wonder. I am discussing two separate positions and I am hoping soon receiving a concrete offer. I am looking forward finalizing my trainee period and to start something new. My colleague Kamil has moved on to a new great position at Ongame and is now a member of the famous line. I take my hat off, well achieved!

I spent New Years in Dubai and it was fascinating and upsetting. I was impressed by the drive and mentality they radiated but scared when I saw all empty buildings and big investments. The inauguration of the tallest building in the world Burj Khalifa was cool and the dinner at Kharma Kafé right across with Karolina and Erik was really nice. The beaches were inviting, stores well packed and the taxi cars numerous.

I did a lot of thinking about how I shall lead my life this year during the trip. My main line is to give more than enough in everything. To be able to realize that idea I know I need to live a healthy life, exercise and sleep. I will change my morning routine and get up at 05, have a spirulina and super fruit smoothie and start work at 07. I will start to bring lunch to the office to make sure it is decent food and also have a short intense lunch training session at the gym. Reasonable? Well maybe.

I am awaiting a performance review on Friday with my manager. Each employee has a few objectives that are SMART and to deliver against. These objectives are later reviewed and I score myself between 80-120% and my manager does the same. We then synch and use the result as a basis for the planning development, position, compensation and future. Looking forward to it!

The weekend is full of interesting stuff going on and of them is seeing Snabba Cash at the movies. I will also do some business development with a friend on Saturday, have a couple of beers and hopefully have some nice dinners. Stockholm weekends are always great and I love the electrical feeling when the air is filled of expectation and you here people bargaining for nice groceries in the covered markets and classes clunking.

Fredrik

My time as a bwin trainee

Fredrik | 18 December, 2009 | 0 comments

Makes yourself comfortable for the three page summary of my time as a trainee at bwin.

Introduction

My employment as the first trainee in the newly created trainee program started on March 3 2008. The very sympathetic Eric Ericsson was responsible for recruiting and setting up the program. I got the job, quit my position at a management consulting company in Göteborg Friday, packed two bags and one guitar and took the train to Stockholm Saturday. I moved in with my good friend Malm the same evening and started bwin Monday. My only feeling was “finally” and it felt like a very good decision.

March 2008 – October 2008

Starting at bwin I was placed at the department B2C responsible for developing internal brand. The company had several labels and we worked on pushing them forward technically. My first manager was Jakob Söderbaum and I remember he guiding me around the office the first day shaking everyone’s hand and introducing me. I was during my first weeks more or less Jakob’s assistant and I did everything from entering expenses to nightly work with power point presentations. I loved it, learnt a lot and want to thank Jakob for a great time.

My work tasks were increasingly focused towards client development together with the product managers for the current P4 platform and the coming P5. Some of these guys are old Ongame legends and I see them as some of my better friends in the company. I was of course lacking a lot of skills, I had many ideas and opinions and of course not the full picture. I am however thankful for the patience and slapping me back on the right track.

I am most of the time trying to put my foot where my mouth is. I consider that ability to be one of my best characteristics but also the worst. I particularly remember one episode early into my employment. I had accepted an invitation to a cross department lunch session in which we were to discuss company benefits. Coming from a small startup company with basically no resources, no benefits and long days I was amazed at the standard at bwin. When some colleagues started flaming about how it used to be better I couldn’t sit quiet and just listen. I expressed my opinion and the fact that everything is relative. That was almost 2 years ago and some people still hold that against me. Fine, I’d say the same thing today but with yet more intensity.

I got a new manager sometime around summer and it was my former mentor Bo Wänghammar. If you know your IT-history you probably know that Bosse was the CEO of Algonet, one of the first companies to deliver an Internet connection in Sweden. He started the work of reorganizing the 80-90 strong department B2C and created a matrix organization with fewer people and I was able to be on that ride. We started an exhaustive strategy project with the aim of increasing the feeling of playing poker online. I was fortunate enough to be in the core team lead by the consultant Henrik Hallberg and this task took most of my time that fall. We created something called “The Poker Experience Strategy” which was internally spread and today acts as a guiding light in product development. I have learnt a lot from Bosse, but especially how to handle reorganization, how to create dynamic teams, how to act prestige less and having energy.

November 2008 – May 2009

I went to the great old city of Vienna with two bags (but no guitar) for my second trainee period. I installed myself at Fasangasse and started to work in bwin’s offices in the old stock market house. I was pretty much by myself and started to pull some strings, worked together with Robert Bütof on poker promotions, was trying to setup a working Poker Campaign Process (PCP) and played a lot of live poker.

I quickly found out that bwin was negotiating the rights to host a WPT tournament in Europe. In some way, David Nelson made me a part of the discussions which were ongoing in the Poker Marketing Unit (PMU) team. I started drafting budgets, project plans and integrated myself as much as I could. I took a break over Christmas and went to China and Thailand and on that trip I found out I was going to Venice to negotiate the casino contract right after coming back to Europe. I was shortly thereafter appointed Project Leader of WPT Venice and won my up to now largest project.

My time in Vienna can be condensed into a great work load, late evenings playing poker and several trips. I often went to Italy (Venice and Milan), to Brussels to teach models how to play poker, to Germany to butter up an affiliate, numerous times to Stockholm and some other places I can remember right now.

The great final of my exile in Vienna was the WPT Venice held between May 6-10 in Venice. We achieved nearly 400 players paying €4400 for this new event and were all swept away by a flood of beautiful buildings, happy players, world class poker, innovative tournament reporting systems, betting on results, garden parties and euro crowns in thousands. I had work weeks of 18-20 hours per day the weeks before and during and it is no lie saying it was a relief and happy feeling seeing everything turning out the way it did. WPT Venice is definitely to the most fun and intense work assignment I’ve ever had.

Coming home from Venice I packed by bags, was strangely enough forced to pay €5.50 for using the washing machine and went home to Sweden, 6 months in Austria came to an end.

June 2009 – December 2009

My third and final trainee period was scheduled at Ongame Network next to Martin Lerby. However before starting there I went to Las Vegas with bwin Poker to supervise and analyze how the WSOP was organized. I was together with Kristian Svensson meeting players, organizing staff, hotels and had a great time. You should have been to Vegas if you work in the industry and I am happy to have been.

After an energetic summer I was back at Ongame and started to work on several tasks. My six months in the company have not been focused on a specific topic but I have worked on several tasks. I’ve been busy trying to increase information flow internally, performed an extensive process mapping, worked with product analysis, created internal tools and now lately started a web project. It is hard to be more specific since lots of what we do, who we meet or what we achieve cannot be communicated.

I’ve also been working in a prototype team the last six months. We are trying to define how we want poker to develop and have created mockups, prototypes and concepts on new ideas and cool stuff to enhance to playing experience online. I have worked together with Christian Andersson, Erik Tollstedt, David Nelson and Mattias Hising and we kind of landed on the good side. Nice work, glad to be onboard.

Summary

bwin’s trainee program has been great. Our Stockholm MD Carl Klingberg has been creating a program where focus lies on quickly pushing us trainees into line work, get responsibility and participating on the highest decision making levels. I’ve had trainings such as Lead & Win (bwin’s internal management training), Dale Carnegie’s Leadership Training, several meetings in Managers’ Forum, met our top dogs, travelled to several country specific offices, worked at a fairly high strategic level and participated in all company management meetings. I have also Xeroxed a lot, entered expense reports, carried boxes, made presentations and first and foremost – taken a lot of meeting minutes. What I am most happy about stepping down as a trainee is that the program was so well received that we’re now 4 trainees until me and Kamil leave.

When I quit being a trainee I will miss the variety of tasks given to me and the insights I have today. I am however looking forward to building a new role and creating something more tangible. What it will be I do not know but I am hoping it will be a position where I get a lot of responsibility, create something new and contribute to the development of poker.

I will continue to blog next year as well. I want to thank the ones who have been reading and let you know I’ve appreciated all comments and suggestions.

With expectation of a prosperous 2010,

/F

Closing the books of 2009

Fredrik | 11 December, 2009 | 0 comments

It is amazing how certain smells can bring back intense memories. The smell of liniment for example makes me think of the locker room by the football field, and this morning I smelled lotion that made me think of Las Vegas. The sense of smelling is a so called “inelastic sense”, meaning that it’s hard for the brain to turn the feeling a smell can bring into verbal communication – thus it’s hard to put words to smells. The research about the importance of the human smelling sense was actually awarded the Nobel prize in 2004, an award certainly on everyone’s lips these days.

Scents and smell are strongly tied to childhood memories. I remember walking home from school an early day of spring with the sound of pebbles from underneath my shoes, and holding a betting coupon in my hand. I have for as long as I can remember been interested in gaming, negotiations and business, and I used to spend hours bargaining for Monopoly streets, analyzing the games of the week and attending investment meetings. My interests were intensified in junior high school, developed in high schooled and grew strong at university. Now I am sitting on the 9^th floor in bwin Games’ fortress in Stockholm and making a living of developing the online gaming business – a journey I am happy to participate in.

As you know, the year is coming to an end and it is time to close the books. What have I accomplished in 2009? Definitely not as much as the record breaking year of 2008 but I think I can look back at a year that has been generous in experiences, both at work and in private life. The year of 2009 ends- and 2010 begins- in Dubai for me. I am looking forward to go to Italy in January, and hopefully to be able to visit Madrid, USA and a new Italian region next year.

I am soon taking off my trainee hat to grow into a new role at work. I have the chance to write one final blog post before year-end and I am planning to use that space to discuss what my almost two years at the company have been like. I have had several managers, worked on many projects and seen great parts of bwin’s operations. There is a risk this could be a rather long post, so start stacking up on pasta for the energy already.

Happy Lucia,

Fredrik

I and the King

Fredrik | 4 December, 2009 | 0 comments

Stockholm is very beautiful at the moment, sunshine and frost. There is a kind of relaxed but chaos-like Christmas feeling in the city and I’ve seen more than one retailer with a big smile. Ongame is embracing the spirit of Christmas by throwing a Christmas dinner tonight. I have invited my good friend Fabio whom I ran into in the hallway this morning.

I attended an NLP lecture yesterday evening given by Coach2Coach. I and my trainee colleague Jonas and some other people from the office listened two hours on how mental motivation can you make achieve great things. The lecture got a little bit too much of a play sometimes but I will keep three learnings; 1- the importance of listening, 2- mental motivation is the shit and 3- studying the lecturer made me realize how to win an audience. Our stomachs screamed of hunger afterwards and I satisfied that at Konstnärsbaren with Jonas afterwards, very nice.

My engagements revolving around competitive intelligence has expanded this week. As of Friday I am also delivering industry news to the bwin Games intranet on a weekly basis. I will also next week have a startup meeting with Business Intelligence to share my view on such intelligence, keep on with the competitive intelligence blog we created last year and continue updating my external channels. The whole information aspect is starting to take up more and more of my time but I will continue as long as it is interesting and appreciated.

When I was a kid we used to make our own sausage for Christmas, a tradition the King obviously stole from us. Well, it happened again and we spent 4 hours grinding meat and stuffing sausages earlier this week. We ended up with 20 sausages of two kinds and I have to say I am somewhat proud of the result.

I will help one of my best friends moving into a very nice apartment on Saturday. The pad is straight premium and suitable for a young star like him. I am counting on a proper liquid recovering afterwards. I am playing a qualification tournament on Sunday with the aim of going to Kiev for poker and I will continue hammering cash game on the side. I made a fresh start last week and so far managed to increase the bank roll by 62%.

Alright, that’s it?

Fredrik

Hmpf Thursday morning

Fredrik | 27 November, 2009 | 0 comments

And how was the week for a bwin Games trainee right before year end? Well, I intend to inform you now and if my update does not satisfy your needs I suggest you check out Robert’s blog.

Monday went according to plan after having had a rather quiet weekend. My Mondays are an orgy of recurring meetings and I have 90 minutes between 08 and 17 to use. Any type of productive work has to be done during that time, or in the evening. I was given a new task of reworking the process and content of the Ongame internal newsletter the following day and I can hopefully present something next week.

I spent a large portion of my Wednesday evening preparing a presentation I will give during an Industry update meeting I was asked to hold. I usually collect information regarding our revenue development, the big companies’ stock performances, news items, legal news and product roadmaps. Ready to go and well prepared I was informed that the meeting was cancelled. I didn’t feel great when I had spent a lot of energy and time outside of my ordinary work tasks to prepare an update for other people and it gets cancelled 4 minutes before take off. Different opinions later led to some aggravation during the afternoon but I have now let that go.

I am still working on my position after the trainee program and I have three potential alternatives. I will get more information within 2-3 weeks and there is no real hurry so that is fine.

What else? Well I am happy that Söderling is playing great tennis, I’ve gotten myself a new jacket, watched Barcelona run over Inter, 6-tabled some poker, purchased expensive train tickets for Christmas, cut my lion hair and listened way too much to Gaga’s Bad Romance.

FTW, F

The only way is up

Fredrik | 20 November, 2009 | 0 comments

The stock market has really been the place to be lately. This week’s blog post is somewhat devoted at taking a look at how the gaming stocks have performed on the market. I have made a comparison of five big companies, indexed them and plotted a graph from the start of the year until Tuesday. I have checked out 888, bwin, PartyGaming, Playtech and Unibet and the chart is not adjusted to any currency effects. Please click the image for a larger version.

The three companies 888, PartyGaming and Playtech are listed on FTSE (London). bwin can be found on the Vienna stock exchange and Unibet  in Sweden.

Well, looking at the chart it clearly shows that bwin has smashed all competition. The company that has performed worse since the new year is 888 with a minor increase of 2%. Playtech has had a joyful ride of volatility and PartyGaming had a black October when one of the founders decided to dump his shares. Unibet has shown some decent numbers and had good progress in the beginning of the year but mostly travelled sideways lately.

I have spent the whole Thursday at the Nordic Light Hotel. I attended a brand workshop in the morning, had a great lunch and then spent the rest of the day at what we call an “offsite meeting” with the company’s management team. Later we had a poker tournament with beer and pizza and I managed to come in second (first loser). I am kind of satisfied with how I played the tournament but I messed up the heads-up game which was a shame. Lot’s of prestige.

I had a talk with a manager at Ongame earlier this week about my continuation after the trainee program. He is responsible for the product managers (yes there are several) and presented a possible opportunity. I will tomorrow also have a talk with a top manager in Vienna about another position. Exciting times!

Well, Thursday just hit Friday, time to quite. Have a nice weekend,

Fredrik

Trainee evening with poker and dinner

Fredrik | 13 November, 2009 | 0 comments

I’ll try to be brief this week since I am not well. It might be the swine but probably not since I’ve taken the vaccine. I am never ill and now I blame the metro in Stockholm. If it had been more social accepted or if I had been less vain I’d be wearing mouth protection for sure. Maybe I will by the way.

Well, with fever in my body and apple juice in my glass I am looking back at two happenings this week. First one occurred this Tuesday when Kamil’s and my trainee evening kicked off. We, together with bwin Games’ CEO Carl invited the two new trainees to an evening of an online poker championship, a nice dinner and finally a casino visit. Robert came out on top in the poker and I am sure he will write about that in his blog

The second noticeable event is that I have made some progress towards my next position after completing the trainee program. I have some leads and my first discussion will be on Monday with the chief marketing officer for poker in Vienna. He will take responsibility for the whole bwin poker organization and we will discuss his vision and if can fit within. That’s it for this week, have a nice weekend!

Fredrik

Standard week

Fredrik | 6 November, 2009 | 0 comments

It has been a rather interesting week from an industry perspective. The skilled company Betsson reporter nice Q3 figures the other day and is growing nicely in the East. The Swedish CEO Petter Nylander showed some spinning revenue wheels for Unibet even though the betting margin was pretty weak. Our industry is progressing nicely and the regulation of new and old markets fuels that development.

I have myself focused on trying to deliver good results on my ongoing assignments. My dear process mapping is coming along nicely, I have discussed a new structure for our internal poker tournament, I have continued working with the poker prototype group and done some work on some business intelligence tasks. I will later tonight host a poker school as bwin Games is visited by the network organization Round Table.

I managed to get a H1N1 vaccine shot earlier this week and the only reaction has been a soar arm. My workout is going great and I am maximizing my SATS membership. I have also been quite active on the stock market and have for instance taken a position in the Swedish payment solutions provider DIBS and adopted some oil-bears (a bear is a speculation in a negative development for the underlying instrument).

The weekend looks promising with some work out, wine & songs and hopefully a nice dinner.

/Fredrik

I do not celebrate Halloween

Fredrik | 30 October, 2009 | 0 comments

Today I’m a physically broken man but mentally I stand strong. The grand homecoming to SATS happened yesterday evening and I maxed out my powers in a CorePulse session. I feel excellent mentally and applaud myself but I can barely move out of my chair. Still it feels great. I am soon off to Nordic Light Hotel for a strategy kick-off for Ongame Network. Earlier this week we had a long quarterly management strategy meeting which was finished off with dinner at Akvavit. I had the guinea fowl.

I have a meeting with my mentor Bo Wänghammar tomorrow. We will discuss my upcoming position in the company when the trainee period is over. I will try to get new business cards in about a month or so, but what the title will be is not decided. I have some different ideas and it is high time to turn one of them into reality.

Kamil and I have planned for a trainee dinner this week with MD-Carl on November 9. All of the trainees are hard core online players and we’re going to start of the evening by playing 9 Sit & Go:s to determine who is the best. We’ve scheduled a dinner at a local Lebanese afterwards. Smells like a newly baked tradition!

There’s a Halloween beer tonight at the office but I am not going. First of all, it does not match well with my fitness ambitions and secondly I do not like Halloween. I will instead on the Swedish “All Saints day” on Saturday honor the dead.

Writing my blog post this week has been a pause from my process mapping. I am getting all the activities and owners at Ongame mapped out in the bwin process tool which runs online. The software is sometimes underperforming when it comes to speed and convenience but the work is actually far more interesting than I first anticipated.

It has all in all been a good week and I wish all of you a pleasant weekend,

Fredrik

Every week has a soundtrack

Fredrik | 23 October, 2009 | 0 comments

I will from now on, as objectively as possible, measure my own performance at the company. Some weeks are more productive than others and the feeling of not being productive is something I very much dislike. This week has however been good and I am pretty satisfied with what I've accomplished both at the office and outside. The actual measuring party will be done by having activity points that are based on daily tasks. I will keep the record in Excel and even though the model might not be the best one I am looking forward to see how it can help me.

I am doing work in a group trying to figure out how the poker product can look in a couple of years. The team members consist of people with different competencies and with very clear thoughts. We are working in a free forum using wire frames, prototypes and the very cool presentation tool Prezi. Anyways, we have short meetings three times a week and work from there. Fun, different and important.

I have this week delivered an ordered model consisting of a couple of spreadsheets and macros supporting evaluation work. It turned out to be quite good and I hope it will be a welcomed addition in the toolbox. We have also this week released an Ongame-based promotion consisting of 10 different Sit & Go tournaments in different types and games. The SnG itself is a freeroll and each player gets points to achieve as good as possible ranking when having played all ten. The total promotional value is $50.000 and it seems to be very popular. Go go!

I have started a new tradition this week when accepting an invitation to deliver my view on monthly internal and external industry progress. I gave a talk on how the industry develops, the stock market, our product and legal status in the world. I hope it was well received and we have a session scheduled for late November.

I have been listening a lot to Eldkvarn this week. My favorite songs right now are "En kärlekshistoria" and "Första klass". I have also grown a beard, seen the opera "The Pearl Fishers" at Folkoperan, played some online poker with my coaching trainee colleagues and bought a winter trip to the sun. I am for this weekend looking forward to playing some live poker at a club on Friday and going to a dinner on Saturday. So, what about this week's soundtrack? Well, Eldkvarn of course.

Have a nice weekend,
Fredrik

PartyGamings poker revenues plummet

Fredrik | 16 October, 2009 | 0 comments

In today’s post I will tell you about the disastrous PartyGaming Q3 report. Party has always been one of the giants in the Industry but things are happening now. The numbers came in at such a weak level that the company made a comparison to the Q2 2009 and not the previous year. Kjell has however done that.

PartyGaming revenues Q3 2009 (diff % against 2008)

Poker $45.1M, -31%

Casino $49M, +8%

Betting $4M. -18%

Bingo, $14M, +600%

I interpret the numbers like this 1) Casino is bigger than poker. Let me re-iterate, casino is bigger than poker and 2) Party’s numbers were saved by the £100M Caschade acquisition (bingo) from this summer.

Party has previously blamed seasonal effects and unfavorable currency conditions, but I am not buying that anymore. I’d like to know, what is going on with PartyPoker? How can you lose 30% in one year? The total revenue number came in 4% lower compared to 2008 and the stock was down about 2%.

That’s it for me, have a nice weekend,

Fredrik

I caught a fish!

Fredrik | 9 October, 2009 | 0 comments

Kjell has in many ways had an interesting week. But first, allow me to tell you how the last one ended. I participated in the last day of the bwin leadership training given by Dale Carnegie last Thursday. I have posted a picture of the certificate to clear all doubts whether I was approved our not. Kamil came to Sweden the following day and we had several good talks. One of them was together with MD Carl when we discussed what happens when the trainee program is completed. We both “graduate” at Christmas time and will hopefully find something interesting to do. Nothing is decided for me yet and it will be an ongoing discussion until a position is found.

I participated in a poker tournament last Saturday and finished fifth out of 21 players. Unfortunately that was the last position before any money was paid but I had a great time anyways. The tournament was well organized and basement poker does not get any better than that.

I celebrated this Monday and cooked a dinner with the very nice Guldkött (golden meat) from Östermalmshallen and a bottle of Amarone. I also managed to do some quick fishing before dinner and I was very happy to see that I for the first time in Stockholm caught a fish! I hung the little guy on a tree branch and brought him home. The girl I met in the lift was not that impressed to see a guy in vest, tackle box and a tiny killed fish. Not recommended for the one looking to impress the ladies. I ate the fish the following evening my with friend Donny and it tasted, uhm, let’s say excellent.

I am doing line work in my projects today and tomorrow Friday. I’ve been invited to a party on Saturday and I might go to the opera on Friday. I’ll also do some fishing if the weather is on my side as well as maybe riding Corvette.

By the way, don’t miss your chance of placing a soccer bet on bwin.com on Sweden beating Denmark, you’ll get 2.75x on your money. Go Sweden!

Have a nice weekend, Fredrik

Rabbit in Brussels

Fredrik | 2 October, 2009 | 0 comments

It has been a most interesting week featuring several different assignments so far. I boarded an early flight with destination Brussels on Monday. My task was to yet again teach a handful of Belgian models how to play poker. The training went very well and I had an excellent rabbit for lunch. I spent my last hours in Brussels at the airport being annoyed about the extremely crappy food they serve and doing some preparatory work for the next day. I went to bed late at night, tired but happy.

Tuesday morning meant a new flight but I can’t tell you about the destination or the purpose. Well, it was abroad and SAS was again responsible for the transportation. I am quite annoyed that they don’t serve coffee to everyone on the morning flights. Not serving breakfast per default is very understandable, but a cup of coffee? On site I did my part in the delivery and the outcome was good. Coming home late at night, I was treated to lamb steak, red wine and chocolate cake, highlighting an already successful day.

Today is Wednesday and I am writing my blog post one day earlier than usual. Tomorrow is fully booked and I am for instance doing a half day external training. Today’s tasks have been varied, interesting and challenging. I have among other things discussed patenting, valuation and evaluation and I’ve even managed to snatch a free dinner now late at night.

I can tell you all that a new talent named Jonas has started this week. He is the second new trainee and I am very pleased we have him aboard. Jonas is a recent Chalmers graduate with an impressive poker history.

I’ll stop this rambling by showing the picture of bwin’s strong men in Belgium. Thanks guys for having the excellent taste of inviting me to Brussels. I will spend this weekend of recovering from last weekend, playing a poker tournament and joining a birthday dinner.

Fredrik

Well, it doesn't hurt

Fredrik | 25 September, 2009 | 0 comments

I am coming from a pretty dynamic week where I’ve been doing everything from DCF valuation to being presenting and discussing a new type of evaluation model. I have also discussed internal communication, customer service experience, positioning and performed comparative studies. All above must of course sound very glamorous so let me add that I’ve also taken meeting minutes on several occasions, arranged presentations and booked meetings.

Tuesday morning was a bit out of the ordinary when a dear friend invited me to breakfast. We are the founders of a networking association simplified explained as individuals that work towards a leveraged career and success. Everyone in the group so far is or has been a trainee at a bigger company and with a focus of trying to skyrocket the potential. Tuesday’s breakfast was very nice and a new tradition was born.

If you read last week’s post you’ll know I was a bit worried about not having any planned trips the nearest future. Well, that changed today and I am next week going on two trips in Europa. One is to Brussels where I will once again teach Belgium’s most beautiful women to play poker. Well, it does not hurt.

I’ll have a small cray fish party tomorrow and the Saturday plans might involve going to V in the later hours. I will also prepare myself and material for the upcoming week.

Thanks and see you soon, Fredrik

Autumn in Copenhagen but springtime for the industry

Fredrik | 18 September, 2009 | 0 comments

I am currently sitting at Gate 19 at Copenhagen airport. I am writing yet another blog post, just like I’ve done so many other times when travelling during my time in Vienna. I am on destination Stockholm, going home after having spent three days and greeting autumn in Copenhagen but also seeing the light for an increasingly clearer business area. My trip was to EiG, the annual big industry conference and fair, and I am a bit tired after three days of sessions, expo and parties. Ongame hosted a great party one evening, we had dinner another, and sealed the deal with the official EiG-party. Which business area am I talking about? Well, B2B of course! The industry experts and top CEOs were extremely clear on the value of controlling the technology and building the infrastructure to reach future success. Advantage giants.

Being part of bwin is great. One of our Co-CEOs. Norbert, participated in a panel discussion and it was quite obvious that he had a lot of respect both from listeners as well as industry colleagues. It is clear that the industry closely monitors bwin’s steps and opinions. By the way, I was just attacked by two Englishmen at the airport, wanting to collaborate with us for a new product. It is inspiring, fun and motivating to be part of the company in focus.

I do not have any upcoming trips, which is sad. I enjoy being in different places, meeting new people and seeing new stuff. I have been at bwin for 18 months and my trainee period should be over but was extended. After completing my last 6 months at Ongame I have no real plans. I all though hope to be able to work in a position centered on new business opportunities, building something and travelling.

Me weekend energy will be devoted on two parties, going to the gym, recharging my batteries and work. The picture below is as you understand from EiG and shows the Ongame stand. Have a nice weekend!

//F

Follow the money!

Fredrik | 11 September, 2009 | 0 comments

One of my favorite things to do is to read business magazines and follow news to spot management phrases. Statements during the financial crisis thrive like bacteria on an agar plate and it’s been a boom in the metaphor bakery. An unusually raft creator is the former Stureplan profile and current Minister of Finance Anders Borg. Speaking of him, have you read anything of the trash texts nasty Realtid.se push out?

Some of my readers might think that “follow the money” is an example of a cliché phrase I like but that’s of course not the case. Above statement is on the contrary a reality I fear many people don’t live by. Revenues from poker are made up of rake and fees which are generated by the players. Revenues are of course used to nourish the company but also to pay our salaries. A relevant number for everyone to check daily would then be how much money we make, how many players we have but also the industry developments. I just wanted to make it clear on where I stand. Hence, “follow the money”.

bwin has definitely been in focus this week. We announced the intention to fully acquire the Italian gambling giant Gioco Digitale on Monday, had a negative ECJ ruling about gambling in Portugal (and Europe) on Tuesday, bwin’s Manfred Bodner replied that EU is not keeping up with the pace of Internet and a German court rules against us in the question of Bayern Munchen and free-bwin.com.

My personal most significant event has been a longer management meeting and a number of deliveries.

Ok, anyone up for this week’s best management phrase? “We have to cut through reality with a knife”. How about that!

This week’s picture is from the bwin Games family day last Sunday when we all went to the circus.

Have a nice weekend,

Fredrik

Back to business

Fredrik | 28 August, 2009 | 0 comments

It felt really good returning to the office after my vacation. I spent my last weeks in Italy, a country I’d love to move to some day in the future. It was my first time in the south of the country and I found some interesting differences to the north.

Let me now reveal that the trainee recruitment process is over and that we not only found on, but two outstanding talents! Robert will start on Monday and Jonas in a about a month. Both come from Göteborg and Chalmers School of Technology and have a massive interest in and experience from online gaming, technology and finance. The process was a long and winding road, from screening hundreds of applications to personal assessments and interviews. I am very happy we reached a result and I am looking forward to soon start working with my new colleagues.

My week has so far been awesome. I was very happy this Monday being back and started by catching up on my 189 unread mails and finished by going through some current tasks. I had lots of meetings the following day and finished late. I had a full day of leadership training yesterday at Dale Carnegie and today is business as usual. Wait, I almost forgot to share something cool – the new “bwin product journey” commercial. It has been planned for quite some time and has now been released. Check it out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qE0_oI0vyY.

The fall looks amazing. I have several interesting projects to work with and I am currently discussing the “target agreement” with my new manager (Martin at Ongame). A big group of us is going to EiG in Copenhagen in September and we will enjoy a lot of interesting talks and new contacts.

I am this afternoon travelling to Göteborg to partake in a wedding. I and my buddy Erik are both bestman and toastmasters and I am honored to be able to contribute to my friend’s big day. The wedding is on Saturday and I will stay from Thursday to Sunday in Göteborg. I am this week attaching a picture showing me at Pompeii some week ago. Quite the tourist.

Have a nice weekend!

Fredrik

Betsson's report surprises

Fredrik | 31 July, 2009 | 0 comments

You know that I take interest in finance and I cannot stop myself from commenting on Betsson's report.

The second quarterly numbers were released last Friday and it was interesting. The figures were both saluted and despised and SHB increased their recommendation to 100 SEK yesterday (Betsson is currently traded at 87.25 SEK). What I found most interesting was:

1. Casino games made 71% of the gross result.
2. Revenues from poker decreased to 14% (19% Q2-08)
3. Revenues from betting decreased by 50% (!)
4. Employee costs increased by 62% and 40 new recruitments were made (H1)

In short, Betsson is making more and more money from their casino area. The betting part of the business is nowadays pretty marginal and the decrease is due to a large number favorite wins. I, and a lot of others, was indeed surprised that over 70% of the gross result now comes from casino. That is a lot! It was also interesting to see the increased staffing costs, not only new people but also increased salaries.

So, SHB are saying that the stock is worth 100 SEK and that the revenue decrease will be retained. I am sure it will be. However, the analysis is very simplistic and SEB anticipates that a better betting margin will correct things. Ok. With that said, I am not saying I do not agree that the company deserves a higher valuation but one should remember that this summer is poor on big sports happenings - a factor influential in this industry. It will be interesting to see next quarter's numbers!

Anyone interest might want to know that bwin is releasing the numbers on the 20th of August.

Well I am now taking some time off, going down to Italy and a small house at the Amalfi coast. Just ask for Frederico da Svezia if you are passing by ;)

The blog will be back on the 28th of August, see you then!

Ciao, Fredrik

Have we climbed enough?

Fredrik | 24 July, 2009 | 1 comments

It has been a long time since I wrote a post about  the gambling industry’s stock market development. It has been terrific the last year! My post back in October last year analyses a couple of companies and discussed some dynamics and possibilities. I wrote, among other things, that William Hill had formed a collaboration with Playtech and that they were leaving Crypologic and that the industry was facing consolidations and that we could see some investment opportunities. Alright, so what did actually happen? I made a check of the past 9 months performance (October 24th 2008 – July 22^nd 2009) and here is the outcome:

·         Bwin                  +120%

·         PartyGaming        +105%

·         Betsson              +45%

·         Cryptologic         +44%

·         William Hill +8%

·         888                   +6%

·         Playtech             -12%

Above numbers inter-diverge quite heavily but one should also know that Playtech was up by 15% and William Hill by 40% until they both crashed on some really bad news from WMH (where Playtech is one third owner).

Bwin and PartyGaming are playing in a league of their own. It is obvious that the market have appreciated the increased profitability from bwin and the communicated white label and B2B strategy from PartyGaming. Both companies (alongside Playteck and 888) are also by Goldman Sachs said to have good potential on an opened US market. Is the rise over this time, or what does the future hold?

The house of bwin in Stockholm stands almost empty this prime vacation week. I have about 5 of ordinary 30 colleagues around me. My table is all though full and I’ve got a lot to do – the games never end!

And yeah, today I held the second poker teaching session for Emily and Awaz. They are now skilled enough to participate in the hard games Fridays here at the office. Nice!

Fredrik

Stockholm Summer

Fredrik | 17 July, 2009 | 0 comments

The usual morning traffic rush in Stockholm is significantly lower now during the summer. All the usual slow obstacles are now exchanged for tourists that block me in the escalators. We will probably reach the top of the holiday bonanza next week when people are going to their summer houses and vacations abroad. Lunch restaurants and subways should however not despair since I will be doing my usual routine. I snatched a picture of the mess for you, showing an empty subway station this morning and you’ll find it in the end of this post. Suitable song, Mauro Scocco – Sommar i Stockholm (Spotify).

Being back at the Stockholm office after being abroad for two weeks is nice. I started the week by doing a two day competitor analysis together with Kamil and the work was well received. I have also met the remaining applicants seeking to become the next trainee at bwin Games, when they were here for a second round of interviews. It is like shaking hands with the hangman who is here to kill me as trainee. The ones I’ve met have shown great interest in the industry and given a very good impression. It is one more round to go and we will hopefully after that be able to welcome a new colleague on board.

Kamil is soon leaving for Vienna to work six months with the casino product. I will be taking over some of his responsibilities when he’s gone and that is collecting managers’ weekly reports, create agenda and take minutes for the weekly management meeting and take minutes from the monthly MOPS-meeting. I sort of had these tasks when starting as a trainee so I should be fine. I will as soon as possible delegate these assignments to the new trainee.

My return to online poker was everything but prosperous. I lost AKs vs A5o (72% chance to win) and KK vs. K10o (90% change to win). Aouch. I am now changing site to a new one I got a very good tip about when I was in Vegas (supposed to be a gold mine!).

Have a great weekend,

Fredrik

Follow me on Twitter - - @fredrikkjell

Tuesday July 7th

Fredrik | 15 July, 2009 | 0 comments

I tend to fall into constant micro sleep and my eyes have a hard time focusing on the surrounding. I arrived in Sweden from Las Vegas this morning and I have just boarded a train to Gothenburg to celebrate my girlfriend’s 25^th birthday. I have slept three hours in the last 48 hours and my plan is to ride out the jetlag and go to bed tonight and not fall asleep now. My 12 days in the Nevada desert have been packed with experiences, meetings and observations. The last person I met (on the plane going to Stockholm) was a woman who had been working in showbiz all her life. She had on numerous occasions worked with Sinatra, Jackson and had stories about everything and everyone. We also talked about how Vegas had changed, that people had been forced away from their jobs and how it now is possible to eat a discount prices at the best restaurants.

The experience of being at the WSOP is hard to describe in just a couple of words. About 6500 players joined the main event (No Limit Hold’em $10.000) and that number probably exceeded the expectations. The starting days was divided in four days with approximately 1500 players on each occasion. The tournaments are held in the Rio hotel and the entire area is filled with poker products and players. The third day (1C) of the main event was opened by Barney Frank who talked about the players’ rights as Americans to play poker and he finished by saying the classic words, “shuffle up and deal!”.

bwin has of course sent a team to defend the company colors. How the team is doing (and what the team is doing in Vegas) is to be found on www.bwinpokerblog.com.

This week’s picture was taken by Paparazzi-Fredrik from a cash game table at the Red Rock casino. I am playing in a cash game with young and old guys when suddenly a very old lady sits down and buys in with half a stack. Her first real hand is against me after I raise it up pre-flop in early position with the premium hand 63o. I get two callers and the flop comes K 6 4. Perfect. I lead out by betting about 65% of the pot, one guy folds and the old woman thinks for a while then shoves the rest of her stack into the pot. I am of course behind but I guess she has a semi-weak top pair and I have a couple of outs. I make the call and hit the third 6 on the turn. River blanks and she shows K9s, get’s up and leaves the table. Boy I was hated at the table after that.

Fredrik

Experiences in Las Vegas

Fredrik | 3 July, 2009 | 0 comments

Viva Las Vegas? Definitely! It's my first time in sin city and I have so far been here for a week. It is no lie that Vegas is all about the things that make a move be R-rated and that the connecting line holding it all together is money.

We are staying at the Palazzo which is a newly built hotel with the same owner as Venetian. The hotel is considered to be one of the better ones on the strip and from my suite on the 32nd floor I have a view over the Wynn, the Treasure Island and the pool area. Except from gambling, it is all pretty much about shopping, eating and entertainment in Vegas. I can honestly say that it feels like I got a good sense about what it is all about it after staying here for one week.

Well today is Thursday and one day before the Main Event of the WSOP. It will be very interesting to see how the financial difficulties have affected the final number of participants and the prize pool. The Main Event has four different starting days runs over 13 days with the finals in November. bwin is for sure present and approximately 25 players qualified to play in this world famous poker tournament. WSOP last over six weeks with 57 different events you can still take part of the action even if you are not here by placing poker bets on bwin.com.

We have, except work, casinos and restaurants experienced shopping, been to one of the meanest pool parties (REHAB at Hard Rock Sundays) and had a barbecue with some friends who have a house in Vegas. I am myself trying to stay as healthy as possible with some morning swimming, some physical exercise and a massive breakfast buffet with porridge and lots of fruit.

Time for me to sign off and I'll leave you with a picture showing the Palazzo pool area.

TY, WP, GG and GN
Fredrik

Can I blame coffee?

Fredrik | 22 June, 2009 | 0 comments

I felt like crap yesterday. I felt cold, got extremely tired and threw up several times and without any apparent reason. All before lunch. I started the day with a morning meeting at 7.30 am and continued with project work later. I got worse and worse sitting in front of my computer - what’s going on! I had to give up some minutes after 11 and went home to sleep, waking up at 7 pm to continue working. What was the reason? I do not know but I have a theory, and it might be due to me quitting coffee since last Monday. I started drinking in kindergarden and 20 years of using might affect my system. I had a cup this morning and I now feel fine, just a little tired and with some minor headache.

Sorry about the short post today but I have little time. I am together with Kamil writing a quick report to the company’s CTO and COO in Vienna. They will use the material as background in discussions with the CEOs next week and the work is most likely important.

We have continued looking for the next trainee this week. We have now selected a number of candidates that we will go forward with and contact soon. I am pretty satisfied with the result and excited about meeting our next trainee colleague.

Fredrik

bwin is launching a new poker platform

Fredrik | 12 June, 2009 | 4 comments

bwin and Ongame has had a turbulent week well worthy some blogging. The company’s all time biggest project launched Tuesday and it was a day full of excitement. We have developed P5, a new poker platform handling everything from the game play to the administration. It means that we will roll out this platform to all operators in the Ongame Network which is quite a complex process. The first operator to go live on P5 was bwin and it was, in almost all aspects, a successful launch. What has been launched now is the first version of something that will evolve greatly in the near future.

I have myself worked on creating a case to push a project through the venture process. The first gate is called a “preliminary investigation”, which I concluded this week. The material was presented in the “Business Forum” which is a gate of top managers giving pass or kill. A vital element in such a presentation is to estimate what resources need, somethine I was unable to do. I had simply not gotten those numbers yet and that was a shame. The project is however very important for us and I got a “pass” for the next level; detailed investigation.

Me and my trainee colleague Dr. Kamil (as he was called in an application) have been through interview training this week. We have started to screen applications for the upcoming management trainee position which is exciting! I will give all of you candidates a premium tip; try to relate to the company(!). Writing a personal letter and not even mentioning the company’s business area is sloppy. It is even worse to not remove the title of the old application in the letter. Out immediately. Well, we’ve found some interesting candidates and will continue to work today. Apply if you’re interested!

It is the weekend before midsummer’s eve and I will stay in Stockholm. I have traveled the country the last weekends looking for entertainment and summer openings. I can finally this Sunday evening spare myself from filling up gas in cars and unpacking bags. I will as usual on Saturday make pancakes and read the paper until lunch. Or the papers, I have two now but aiming for three.

By the way, Real Madrid is paying 100 MEUR for Ronaldo. Who is sponsoring Real? That’s right.

Professor Kjell

Management training & Bruce Springsteen

Fredrik | 5 June, 2009 | 2 comments

I spent my whole Wednesday over at Dale Carnegie’s participating in management training. It was a good day. We discussed many different topics, for instance coaching, motivation and problem solution methods. We also practised a method to quickly conclude an opinion in a speech and got to freely select a topic. The first round of presentations was one on one and the second one was on group level. My speech got elected as most engaging and I got to present to the entire group and was rewarded with a nice book. Later that day I also got some feedback from a fellow participant saying he liked how I structured the speech and how it was executed. That made me very happy and boosted my self confidence.

My trainee colleague Kamil was the hero of the day when he volunteered as “coaching victim” in front of the whole class. The instructor asked questions on his good and bad qualities and pressured him to talk about issues and problems at a very personal level. When the session finished, she asked how he was feeling and Kamil replied “Well, how could there be any problems standing here talking about my problems and issues in front of the company’s managers?” Well done mate, showing both humor and courage.

Tonight I am going to see Bruce Springsteen at Stadion. I saw him with my father last year in Göteborg and it was a great experience. Which are your  favorite songs? Three of mine are ”Out in the Street”, ”Land of Hope and Broken Dreams” and ”The Ghost of Tom Joad”. Feels massive to experience that again. On Friday I am going to Jönköping for a weekend with a group of friends. We’ve hung out  since school and see each other twice a year at different locations. Always fun to meet.

This week’s picture comes from last week’s trip to Lysekil. We stopped in Laxå on the way home and listened to when Söderling beat Nadal and saw this little place – what’s going on?!

Fredrik

Ps. Don’t miss that we’re recruiting this year’s new trainee! Ds.

Las Vegas, pea soup and Havsbadet

Fredrik | 29 May, 2009 | 0 comments

This has been a pretty exciting week for me. I have gotten the green light to go to Las Vegas between the 25^th of June and the 6^th of July. I will be observing the world’s largest poker live event and for sure play some poker. I have wanted to go there for a long time and this feels really good! I am also hoping to return as a well dressed and wealthy man.

I have also had a talk with my soon-to-be  manager about my tasks the upcoming 6 months. They will be focused on mapping out internal processes (I hope no one fell off the chair of excitement). I will start sometime next week and I look very much forward to learning a new part of our business.

We had the monthly MOPS meeting today and discussed high level operative topics. The five hour long meeting contained discussions about business performance, business opportunities and product development options. Carl is always providing traditional Swedish food and today was no exception; pea soup and pancakes. I had the last point on the agenda, giving a presentation  in the area of business development. It went ok.

It feels really great being back in Stockholm and I have more options than I can pursue at the moment. A friend of mine threw a football evening for 10 guys yesterday which was great and I am going to Lysekil tomorrow for a weekend containing the traditional opening of the restaurant Havsbadet. I will for sure enjoy a west coast shrimp tomorrow evening after crossing Sweden for 7 hours by car. I just realized how quickly time flies, I wrote about the same weekend a year ago.

This week’s picture features the very nice lunch served at the MOPS meeting.

Fredrik

A third spring

Fredrik | 20 May, 2009 | 0 comments

I packed my bags last Friday and left Vienna behind. My six winter months in the small apartment in the third district came to an end surprisingly fast. It has work-wise been very good to be in Vienna and I have gained a much better understanding of the company. The big advantage with Vienna as a city is the closeness to other big cities and the feel-good mentality. I am however happy to be back in Stockholm in my own apartment and close to my loved ones.

I am currently writing on the report of WPT Venice and I am summarizing what we achieved, how it went and what we can do differently. This short week is exactly what I need after working very intensely for a long period and I look forward to a long weekend. Next stop for me is Ongame Network which will be very interesting!

I will go to Råsunda and watch when Elfsborg beats AIK on Thursday. bwin has good odds on the game and does for instance currently pay 3.30 on a draw (to be compared with the crappy 2.10 that Svs is offering). Placing money on a tie is however wasted money in this game. My weekend is otherwise pretty unplanned but I am sure there will be some dinners and maybe also a visit to Gröna Lund if the weather allows for it. Poker has gone pretty well live lately and I have player EUR 1/2, 2/4 and 5/10 without a loosing session. Last session was on Casino Wien where I played 2/4 without cap with a big group of beginners. I pushed Q2 really thin on the river and was paid off with a lower pocket pair which built my stack considerably. The call preflop for 60 EUR was maybe questionable though.. ;) God I miss the cash games in Vienna.

I am now hoping for good weather in Sweden to experience a third springtime. The first one was in Italy, the second one in Vienna and some Swedish pollen would be equally nice before summer kicks off. Lastly, congratulations to David having his second child!

The chart below shows the development of the bwin share the last six months. I have on several occasions pushed (October 24^th 2008, January 23^rd 2009) for investments in the industry and I hope many of you have done so. When will we take 50 EUR?

Fredrik

The last Wiener waltz

Fredrik | 15 May, 2009 | 0 comments

I am moving home to Stockholm on Friday after spending six months in Vienna. I have had a good time here but would be lying saying I do not look forward to going home. Before coming here, I was supposed to work with integrating functions of the poker organization from Stockholm with the organization in Vienna. The original plan was somewhat followed by the WPT Venice project but there is still more to do.

I have, during my time here in Austria, had the opportunity to travel a lot, project lead the biggest poker live event yet in the history of bwin and gotten to know many new colleagues. Vienna is constantly improving in my book and the current spring and coming summer adds to it.

WPT Venice came to an end last Sunday with a heads up battle between the two Swedes Ragnar Åström and Martin Jacobson. Ragnar managed to finish first and won about €400.000 for his troubles. We did in total have 397 players in the main event and were followed online by tens of thousands. I am most proud about and happy about all positive comments received from players. Several have sent mails to us thanking for a great tournament, blogged about how pleased they are or even asked to purchase a bwin WSOP package to get the bwin hospitality. Much of this is indeed related to the fantastic job Kristian Svensson does with the players and I take my hat off. I am also very happy about that we at bwin developed a new and previously unseen technical system that brings online and offline poker closer together. What we showed in Venice is just the start and I can tell you it was highly appreciated by both press and players. Kim Lund is the creative mind behind it and he and the whole development team deserve a big and humble thank you for a terrific achievement.

I will myself now spend two weeks cleaning up after Venice and then completely change track and join Ongame Network. My last period as trainee on bwin will revolve around B2B in the industry and I am looking forward to it.

I'd like to thank all colleagues in Vienna for a great time and I hope we'll work together soon again. This week's picture is from the final table of WPT Venice right before it commenced.

Ciao!
Fredrik

WPT Venice - shuffle up and deal!

Fredrik | 8 May, 2009 | 0 comments

It is the second day of WPT Venice and the game is on. The tournament runs every day for 12 hours and ends at 2 or 3 am. We start the days early preparing for the day and conclude work late with summarizing chip counts and information. bwin has a team of about 10 people here in Venice and we’re making sure everything works as expected. Several months of planning and hard work has given us the opportunity to meet players full of expectations and hearing many people praising how it is running. The organization has worked out really well and Casino di Venezia has really delivered a good experience and a great will to collaborate.

bwin has taken the opportunity to launch two new innovations during WPT Venice. We have introduced a wireless tournament information system tracking progress and information about the game play and the players. The aim is to bridge the gap between offline and online players and contribute our strengths from online into the world of live poker. We also give Tournament achievement awards to players were especially good. You may say WPT was bwinized. Many people have done a great job enabling these two novelties but I will write more about that in a separate post.

A good 397 players showed up in Venice to contribute to a prize pot of about 1.6EUR. The number one prize will end up on about 400KEUR and the final table is played on Sunday. bwin has in my opinion taken a new and important step forward to being a driving force in poker. Entering the live scene is from my viewpoint a strategically important move where a long-term vision and a will to innovate will be of high importance.

This week’s picture features the press briefing the day before the tournament started.

Fredrik

An Italian week

Fredrik | 24 April, 2009 | 0 comments

I could probably write a smaller magazine of what happened since last time but there is not time for that today (lucky you). I traveled from Stockholm to Italy last Friday and spent the weekend in Milan with a Saturday city tour and a Sunday football match at San Siro. This was my third visit in Milan and my love for Italy continues to grow.

I went to Venice Monday evening with some colleagues for a meeting the following day with the casino that is hosting WPT Venice. The way meetings work in Italy is a bit different than I am used to and after some intense hours I went back to Vienna, Kristian to Stockholm and Fabio to Milan.

The wheels of the project have never spun faster and being in the middle of it all

is an interesting experience. Days are long, stressful and filled with surprises. I anticipate this going on for quite some time. I am however very happy with my role and grateful for the position I am in.

Well, it is now Thursday evening when writing this and I just finished practical details for a press conference tomorrow in Milan. The taxi is picking me up at 05.45 tomorrow morning and I am spending a full day in Milan. I have an invitation for an opening party at an art venue tomorrow and will go there directly when coming back to Vienna.

I am quite pleased with the picture of the week! I shot it in Milan and it shows just a bit of the love people have for football in Italy.

Fredrik

Go bwin, go AC Milan!

Fredrik | 17 April, 2009 | 0 comments

It is Thursday afternoon and I have spent one week in Stockholm. Easter was really nice with many great dinners, some rest and the highlight of going to Örebro and watch IF Elfsborg winning with 1-0.

Yesterday, Wednesday was the first of three days at a leadership training by Dale Carnegie. All managers and trainees at bwin were invited and I extended my stay in Sweden this time to participate. The last day will be in late August and I am glad I attended yesterday.

I am currently dealing with a lot of stress and working a lot with WPT Venice. I am going to Milan tomorrow for a meeting on Monday, to Venice on Tuesday and then to meetings in Vienna on Wednesday. Next Friday Milan and then back to Vienna in the evening. Lots of travelling which of course is fun but also takes a lot of time. However, I have got tickets to AC Milan – Torino on Sunday which I am looking forward to a lot! I have never been to San Siro and expect a magical moment together with a colleague and a skilled poker player.

bwin presented the Q4 results today and it came in alright. Full year result after tax and deductions was 15.1 MEUR which was an improvement by almost 50% compared to 2007. The net margin was 3,5% which probably is not something to be cocky about, but hey we are showing black figures and improving!

Picture of the week features CEO Carl demonstrating our team’s umbrella innovation during the leadership training. Do I have to point out that our team won? ;)

Fredrik

Countryside workshop

Fredrik | 3 April, 2009 | 0 comments

I packed my bags again after arriving from Stockholm late Monday evening. This time I was heading for a two day conference in the small Austrian village Stegersbach. The destination was the nice Balance Resort hotel and a meet and great/work opportunity. The department I am currently working for in Vienna has recently been re-organized and this was the first time for us to meet all in person and share ideas and knowledge.

The first day in Stegersbach contained team presentations, objectives and open questions. We had several good discussions throughout the day which was finished off with a traditional Austrian meal as well as bowling with smaller-than-usual balls ;) I worked some hours after coming back to the hotel so it turned out to be a late evening. We continued working the following day and focused on two specific questions where the outcome was surprisingly good. Both days were rewarding, the hotel was nice and the food excellent. I was somewhat worried that these days would steal too much valuable project time but it could be handled during breaks and evenings which was good.

WPT Venice is of course taking most of my time right now. I am currently travelling between Stockholm, Vienna and Italy and working with campaigns, technical solutions, media, parties, tournament details and external partners. Some things crash to the ground while others rise to the sky. I learn a lot and it feels like I am gaining a lot of important experience doing this project. Being in Vienna has certainly been a good career move and I think I’ll be able to deliver better results faster in my future position now when better knowing the organization and the people.

Spring is coming to Vienna, the sun is shining and it is pretty warm. Everybody is talking about Vienna being at its best these months, and I agree. This week’s picture was taken during the workshop and features Pinar having a coffee.

Fredrik

Models in Brussels

Fredrik | 27 March, 2009 | 0 comments

Written Tuesday, March 24

I was clearly affected by the fear of not waking up when I woke up Tuesday morning 04 before the alarm went off. My friend Johan visited me in Vienna and clearly showed discontent as we were waiting for the taxi to arrive well before dawn. I was on my way to a poker training in Brussels that I agreed to host several months ago. I like to travel, love to meet new people but with less than four hours of sleep I cursed myself for not going there the night before. I boarded the plane without breakfast but with a great appetite and woke up in Brussels two hours later.

Managing 500m of taxi-queuing and then traveling 30 minutes straight out into the countryside made me realize that we wouldn’t be in the most central parts of the city. I was dropped off at the address, which I in the last minute had scribbled down before leaving, and realized the place  was closed. The wind was strong, it was cold and it started to rain. Luckily, I found a church right across said location and went in to sit down and prepare my material once more. More and more people started to enter the church and I realized that God’s house might not be the proper place to prepare a lesson in poker. I went out, the owner of the café finally arrived and I went in to await the others.

I can now, sitting at the airport, look back at a successful day. bwin’s Belgian country manager had asked me to during one day tutor a couple of Miss Belgium’s in how to play and win in poker. One of the country’s biggest magazines was together with bwin having a tournament with said ladies and a trip to Vegas as first price. The plan was indeed good except for the tiny fact that the models did not play poker which might slightly affect the poker feeling of the event on Saturday. Well, truth be told, maybe nobody expects them to put up a real game on Saturday. Boy, they will be surprised, trained by Frekje and with some potential they will be quite tough.

Night is approaching and I am feeling quite pleased with the day after a Belgian Leffe and a British Economist. It has been a very untypical day and a nice break from what I normally do. Later tonight and tomorrow will be all about working with critical contracts from Italy. It is for sure a wonderful country but their approach to some business aspects is something I have to get used to. This week’s picture is from today’s training and shows a happy Kim Engelbosch who just won a big pot.

Have a nice weekend,

Fredrik

Is responsible = boring?

Fredrik | 20 March, 2009 | 0 comments

I have recently gotten a new Operative Manager in Stockholm as departments were reorganized. I will probably not work that much with him before I am changing roles again. My former manager is now my mentor and we had a good talk last week. I got the chance to talk about the WPT project and got some valuable advice. We also had a short salary talk and talked about how my time with him had worked out. I am in retrospect kind of missing a proper performance review that is mapped against a target agreement. Such a document would probably improve feedback and development and it is in my opinion something a trainee should have as well. I will pursue this issue internally from now on.

WPT Venice is getting increasingly detailed and with that some difficulties are emerging. There are many decisions made on uncertain grounds, but boy I am learning a lot. We have this week worked on marketing and campaigns and are increasing the speed. I have also scheduled next week’s poker training of four models in Brussels and will try to get some pictures from that for next week’s post.

I paid the card room Montesino a visit this Wednesday and played some poker. I was running good but the last hand was cooler. I went all in with a K-flush on turn and was called by an unpaired AK who got very happy when a fourth heart landed on the river giving him the A-flush. Quite a substantial pot so that was a little sad. Well, I also met Tony G who invited us to a (sick) party afterwards. Responsible (boring?) as I am, I turned down the offer and went home e-mailing instead.

My friend Donny is coming down from Stockholm for the weekend and Rich is coming from Zürich. We are meeting Vienna-Micke who is celebrating his birthday and we are going to my favorite club in Vienna Club Lutz. There will of course also be some sightseeing with castles, gardens and museums. All ingredients for a terrific weekend are just waiting to be put in a bowl. I am passing on a picture of an “oh shit I forget to buy breakfast again”-breakfast.

Have a nice weekend!

Fredrik

Notes from the week

Fredrik | 13 March, 2009 | 0 comments

Monday, March 09

It might occur to some earlier that the project I am leading is WPT Venice. To be able to be part of creating a WPT event is somewhat of a dream coming true. The broadcasts from WPT played a big roll in me starting with poker and probably also indirectly why I am working as a trainee at bwin. The circle is closed.

Well, today has not been a dream so far, lots of problems. This evening and night will be all about doing the final changes on www.wptvenice.com (going live tomorrow) together with WPTE in the US. Time zones sometimes make things hard.

Tuesday, March 10

Garden workers removed the cover over Vienna’s rose bushes this morning. I celebrated the occurrence by filming my morning tram ride to the office (see below). Feels like spring is approaching! Official press release and websites are now launched for WPT Venice and the news is spreading to the media and the players. It is today two months until the final table and I anticipate it to be two very fast months. I have today mostly been working with spreading information and managing some country offices. It turned out to be an intense day with hundreds of e-mails with event specific questions and I started to work the backlog in the evening and closed for the day at about 01.30. Tired, but quite satisfied with the day.

Wednesday, March 11

Most important today has been a meeting with a number of top managers within bwin. The meeting was about the WPT Venice event and I presented planning, status and goals. Together we discussed the approach of the project versus bwin’s profile and how we can focus creative work and ensure a great player experience. We will continue next week when two very skilled colleagues from Stockholm also join. Later back at my computer I answered some e-mails and then ran to catch the flight to Stockholm. I am sitting in the airport right now and have so far met the Vice President of the Swedish Red Cross who was returning from Tel Aviv as well as a woman from Cyprus visiting relatives in Stockholm. Nice.

Thursday, March 12

I am at the Stockholm office today and came in around 07 well in time for breakfast. The first hours were spent on making www.wptvenice.com speak Italian. I later had a mentor talk with my mentor, a hair cut (not with the mentor) and I have throughout the afternoon worked on the project and for instance discussed press management. I am going home soon, I will do my laundry and make a meat sauce together with some Alles Verloren or Corvina Veronese – I’ll let the guests decide.

Celebrating one year with bwin!

Fredrik | 6 March, 2009 | 0 comments

Last week’s trainee talk was good and developing. We decided that I will return to my previous mentor and discussed the content of the next period. I will finish my assignment in Vienna in May and move back to Stockholm and the Ongame Network. Kamil will finalize his traineeship with a 6-month period abroad and he’s got several interesting alternatives.

I celebrated one year with bwin this Tuesday and what a year! I have in 12 months had several managers, worked with poker strategy, reorganization, product development, poker marketing and project leadership. The start could have been better, 3 weeks young in the company I got stomach problems and almost died from it. My illness kept me away from work for three weeks and I am still thankful for the support I got from the company and my former manager during this period. I now have six additional months to complete (the period will in practice be longer) and I do not really know what happens after that. I do of course hope there is a fun position available where I can grow and develop.

I had my picture taken for a bwin-brochure last week. I have also written a text that was made into an interview. I was unfortunately pretty ill at the moment, fever and stuff so I hope the advertising agency can do some photoshopping magic.

My project lives on, as do I (almost). It has been a lot of work this week.

 My gambling is progressing nicely! I nailed a nice 100x bet on Live Betting on the Melodifestivalen. Feels really good to hit Svenska Spel

in bull’s eye. I have also played a lot of poker heads-up online and booked some nice sessions. I want to end by saluting SVT Play and Virustotal. The latter one is a web service that checks an uploaded file for viruses using most of the existing engines on the market. The first recently released a very nice documentary about Olle Ljungström. The picture is from last weekend in Stockholm.

Fredrik

The Sinus curve

Fredrik | 27 February, 2009 | 0 comments

Lately I have been thinking about interesting topics for the blog. Objectively, I do write fairly scarce about my actual assignments and instead more about my surrounding environment. I have talked about my new cutlery, elk meat and nights out. I have complained about buying groceries in Vienna, written about my dream project and described certain work tasks. It might not actually be really interesting to anyone. Maybe it’s like all those meaningless and uninteresting status updates on Facebook. Few people do actually care about whether others are having dinner, cleaning the house or are tired. I realize that my posts are dangerously close to having the same type of content. I am my own paradox.

My week has been like a sinus curve. Up and down in equal intervals. I got terrible information this Monday which kept me up for a long time. The curve was at its lowest on  Tuesday morning but made a positive in the afternoon. Today I have balanced on the middle and used some new information to make some decent decisions. The reason for the volatility lies in information that one should, or should not, have which reflects back on my mental strength and energy. The psychiatric ward will however not get a new client this week, the storm is over and the lesson was good. My project is terrific, I have probably never learned as much as I am learning right now.

This post is published on Friday but written today Wednesday. I am right now looking forward to a really cool day tomorrow. I have some interesting meetings, a nice lunch and a visit to Dramaten in the evening. Me and Kamil have a trainee evaluation with Carl (CEO) and Pernilla (trainee program responsible), I have a photo shoot for a brochure and a dinner reservation at Tranan later.

I am going back to Vienna on Sunday for a new week that looks interesting. This week’s picture is from last week and shows a meeting with a PR agency in Milan.

Ciao!

Fredrik

The fastest week in the world

Fredrik | 23 February, 2009 | 0 comments

Olle Ljungström released the album ”Världens räddaste man” (Eng. ”The most scared man in the world”) sometime in the 90s. I wonder if he was afraid of the demons of alcoholism or something else. I am scared of dying, or worse; that someone I care about will pass. I guess that all my fears are connected to some kind of relationship loss. I have learned how to deal with everything else which probably is one of my most significant achievements during the last five years.

I guess I can write the chapter about the fastest week in the world instead of the one about the most scared man. I went to Vienna from Stockholm on Monday, worked until late Tuesday, and went to Venice early Wednesday, to Milan in the evening and back to Vienna Thursday evening. Italy is really great; it is definitely a country I’d love to live in. Anyway, it is now already Friday, soon weekend and the week just passed too quickly. It is kind of hard to stop and think about how much I learn but I know that the education I get right now is unrealistically real. The trip was great; we had three important meetings that helped us move forward. Phone- and video conferences may be good, but it is often vital to meet in person and I am happy for the support I get from my experienced colleagues.

I realize many of my friends live similar lives. One is currently negotiating mobile coverage in India, one is soon developing transportation in Zürich, one is administrating native Swedish questions and another one is working all nights at Skeppsbron. The common denominator is that all are in the beginning of their careers, and we meet regularly to discuss shared difficulties. Really valuable.

That’s it for today. It is getting late and I have to send out some protocols and summaries. This week’s picture is of me and my colleagues and was shot in a small restaurant in Milan late Wednesday evening. I thank you all for reading and wish you a very nice weekend.

Fredrik

Coffee is for closers!

Fredrik | 13 February, 2009 | 0 comments

This week in diary style.

Sunday 8th of February 2009
Waking up in Düsseldorf and I have once again fallen asleep on top of the bed without fixing myself for sleeping. Yesterday was a good and long day with a football tournament (we lost all games, but in defense only had a bench of 1), a workshop and a nightclub. The hotel we are staying at is one of the finest in Europe and I took the chance to eat some oysters and lobster and to walk around in the great Pratesi robe. My throat is sore from all screaming on the dance floor and the body is broken from the football, I have felt better. We will head back to Vienna after the brunch and I am expecting to arrive at about 16.

Monday 9th of February 2009
I fell asleep at around 19 yesterday and woke up fresh at 02.30. I went to sleep again after two hours of work and some web surfing and woke up again at 06. It is one week from today until we launch the campaign for my project and I am excited. I have during the day been working with arranging a trip to Italy next week, working with the campaign and also read and given feedback to a new newsletter about poker that bwin Games will send the entire company. And yeah, I sent to new business ideas directly to the COO to see what he thinks about them. I will as usual on Monday nights do my weekly shopping consisting of 6 youghurts, a loaf of bread, 1 liter of milk and a pack of Nürnberger sausages. High roller.

Tisdag 10 februari 2009
A gray Vienna offers snow and rain today. I managed to pop in to a store on my lunch break and might have found this years' spring jacket (semi-long blue coat in heavy cotton). I am continuing with the same parts of the project as yesterday and try to remain calm even though some contracts are not yet closed. The other parts are going fine and almost all marketing is ready to be shipped. bwin presented the Q4 figures last Friday and they came in very strong (total gross gambling revenues +15%, poker +27%). Estimated EBITDA 2009 indicates increase in earnings from 65 to 100 MEUR (+50%). Other companies such as PartyGaming (-18%) and 888 (-8%) are unfortunately not doing that well..

Wednesday February 11th 2009
I have today for instance detailed some function requirements for the project website and worked with a guy in Italy whom I am meeting next week. I am also happy that the garbage strike in Stockholm is over. I don't care that it is over as such, more about how it ended. The strike itself broke against the collective agreements (qualified humor) and the guys behind it were sued in the labor market court. The whole scene changed in a couple of hours. The union continues to impress me..

Thursday February 12th 2009
Coffee is for closers! Me and David nailed the main contract tonight got the confirmation at 03.14. Only minor details remain now and I am very pleased!

I will fly to Stockholm tonight and will arrive at about 23. I am really looking forward to spending the weekend in Sweden with my beloved ones. Next week's going to be busy.

/ Fredrik

Steel cage football

Fredrik | 6 February, 2009 | 0 comments

There is currently inflation in the number of poker tournaments. It feels like a new one is launched every week. Today's lineup consist of the EPT (European Poker Tour), the WPT (World Poker Tour), the WSOP (World Series of Poker), the APPT (Asian Pacific Poker Tour), the LAPT (Latin American Poker Tour) and the RPT (Russian Poker Tour), together featuring about 100 tournaments. In addition, you can play in national tournaments, operator specific tournaments, circuit tournaments and online championships. It's definitely not easy to keep track of them all and I am expecting some kind of waning soon.

Oh by the way, I've published my poker site from Netvibes. Have a look at www.insidepokerbusiness.com if you are interested in some news and stock quotes.

I spent all time this week working on my project. I am however currently packing my stuff to go to Düsseldorf for Friday to Sunday to participate in a work event there. I've been told there will be football, a workshop, dinners and parties and all in magnificent style. We are in total 8-9 guys from bwin, kind of like a class trip on speed. By the way, this is how I'll be presented:

I have, separate from work, started a new night project with a friend. We have an idea of a new web service that will fill an existing void. The potential is actually really big versus the effort needed which feels exciting. I have started to prepare by laying out the system design and teaching myself in jQuery using an online course. I am in Vienna, he is in Oslo but I am hoping we'll be ready to launch in 3 months.

YouTube strikes again and someone has made a parody of a Hitler scene from a movie. Check out "Hitler banned from poker" - it's awesome. Erlandsson quickly stole the idea and made a version on Robbie Keane's transfer to Liverpool this summer. Great work mate! I have also entertained myself lately by watching a DVD-box of This Life, a British cults from BBC that was aired in the 90s. It made me stay up much longer than I should have done and I'd like to thank SVT for many great nights and a nickname.

My picture this week is on a football field outside my office. Poor children. I wonder if it was there Anton Polster learned how to play?

Fredrik

Real life rakeback

Fredrik | 30 January, 2009 | 0 comments

My post last week may not have been totally fair to Vienna. The city is very nice despite my problems with grocery shopping. Last weekend was very nice with for instance a dinner at my colleague Angela's place with a group of people from work. I did basically nothing on the Saturday, just work, poker and watched Good Will Hunting on an Internet stream. Sunday brought lovely weather and I had a nice walk in Vienna's third district, checked out a new gym and had a coffee at Starbucks. All together, it was a nice balance against last weekend in Stockholm that was everything but quiet.

I can now for the first time in my life title myself project leader! I have taken over the responsibility of the project I was discussing last week and it does for sure make me happy. I am currently negotiating and concluding four contracts with stakeholders from different parts of the world. Two are almost done, one is progressing and the forth is, well, will be interesting to follow. I have been in Stockholm now Thursday and Friday to continue discussion with my colleagues at that office. Beside contracts, we are dealing with some legal challenges, marketing and as always budget.

Oh I must write something about two more nice things going on. I am going to Germany next weekend from Friday to Sunday. I will participate in workshops, play football and represent bwin in dinners and nightclubs together with prominent poker players. I have also been invited to Brussels in March to tutor four former Miss Belgiums in the noble art of tournament poker. They will partake in a tournament arranged by a Belgian magazine and it is up to me to teach them to beat the readers. This just might be real life rakeback? Hard to be a trainee ;)

One of the week's joyful news was the birth of the industry magazine InsidePoker Business. The first edition was a happy surprise and I've recommended the Stockholm office to sign up for a subscription. I am contemplating contributing to the magazine in some way. I have to think about what it will be but maybe something on the development of online poker or about the bwin games trainee program.

I bought some knives and forks from Auerhahn this week and chose to bring them as hand luggage on the flight to Stockholm. I was indeed a challenge to convince the security personnel to allow 12 knives and 56 other metallic items. But, the short haired aggrowoman finally caved when Swedish stubbornness fueled by a pint of Gösser made a long speech about what is allowed and not. Never mind, they are finally home and I am looking forward to hosting the next big dinner.

I enjoy writing this blog every week and I have to my highest pleasure learnt that a couple of hundred readers follow it monthly. I might not be at the same level as Blondinbella, but I am in my defense, not doing the dance show in TV4. Yet.

This week's picture is from the Vienna office, kind of late.

Have a nice weekend!
Fredrik

Shopping groceries in Austria

Fredrik | 23 January, 2009 | 2 comments

The most obvious everyday difference between living in Vienna and Stockholm occurs when shopping groceries. I am pretty interested in cooking and I buy with consideration and there are few moments when I get more irritated than when I am doing it in Austria. Let met tell you why.

To even be able to shop you need to be there at latest at 7pm. Forget about Sundays, everything is closed. It is rare to get hold of a basket and you'll find yourself navigating through narrow isles with a big cart. Well, moving forward with either a cart or balancing the stuff in your arms you most often get annoyed that minced meat is about €10 /kg and that they only sell yoghurt in tiny cans. Finally at the checkout, the machine starts directly and there is virtually no space for your stuff or the basket (if you're lucky to have one). In addition, the space after the scanner is non-existing, meaning that you have to be fast as hell not to cause total commotion and a riot from the people standing after you. You're sweating, annoyed and when the cashier asks for the amount you hand over the Visa card. "Geht nich". Mastercard? "Nein". Scheisse.

I don't know if it is only me or do more people get owned in these situations as well? How can people with some ambition at work and in the kitchen actually make a successful purchase? No wonder everyone eats out all the time. I will open up a supermarket in Vienna if the gambling market suddenly crashes and burns. We will sell frozen chicken filet and Bregott with extra salt.

Speaking about the gambling industry and death, have you followed the stock market recently? We are doing very well alongside many competitors. The last two-three months have been really good and there is still a lot of potential in my opinion. Kind of feels like the banks are the ones doing the gambling lately, so stick with the bookie instead ;)

The project I am working on slowly progresses. I am working like a dog trying to get it all together. The other day I found out that another one soon will land on my table and it is of course urgent as well. The new bit is about a strategy and execution of marketing efforts for a product launch. I hear rumors about bringing out the big drum, bar-a-bam, and I certainly don't mind being the drummer boy. Things are going well right now.

I will have dinner at an English colleague's new apartment on Friday. I am not sure about Saturday and Sunday, maybe some live poker but for sure some work. My gift to you this week is the very well mixed ferdy tipsar playlist on Spotify. This week's picture is from last week's nice Italian lunch. Thanks for reading,

Fredrik

Hello spring season, let's kick some ass

Fredrik | 16 January, 2009 | 0 comments

 I am back in Vienna and finally at work again after several weeks of vacation. I have just returned from a trip to Thailand and China. I and my friend managed to find untouched beaches, high nightlife in Bangkok and a visit to the Great Wall in Beijing. I also used some of the time to pay a visit to the bwin China office and got an interesting and well needed lesson in Chinese business life. My sincere thanks for a great afternoon!

My first trip to Asia leaves many thoughts. I am sad to see how some people use others' unfortunate situation and kindness as I am also amazed to meet such drive and strive for development. Some is black but much is white. I ended up feeling more humble towards our own situation in Sweden and the Western world and my normally big hatred towards Swedish tax policy weakened considerably. I am getting soft.

I went to Vienna right after returning from Asia and arrived late Sunday evening. My apartment was untouched and I felt happy returning to my messy broadband connection. I and some colleagues travelled to Italy directly the following morning to start up a new project. We met with the Italian counterpart, had a quick sightseeing in the city and enjoyed an Italian lunch that would make any chef crumble in humbleness towards its' greatness.

The week's work has been fully aimed towards the new project. The nature of the project will be official within a couple a weeks and I will then be able to be more specific about the details. I have been given a very interesting position where I am doing a lot of the total coordination. This is personally the biggest challenge so far as trainee at bwin and the project of my dreams. I am for sure more than pleased and will without doubt be happy to work around the clock all days of the week to pull this off.

I am right now on a plane back to Stockholm for a Friday at the office. I have scheduled several meetings and would also like to take the opportunity to chat with my manager and colleagues. Even bwin is making adjustments for 2009 and there is lot to think about and discuss. I am however positive towards our future and not too worried about the financial environment's effect on our industry. We have lots of interesting stuff in the pipe for 2009 and will be aggressive on Dseveral fronts. In addition, I know that we have some of the sharpest minds in the industry to ensure that we continuously have very high quality in all our deliverables. Nice huh? =)

Tam-ta-dam! This week's picture is from the visit to the Chinese office. I am the guy with a one head above everyone else in case you're wondering.

FTW!
Fredrik

Merry Christmas and a happy new gambling year

Fredrik | 19 December, 2008 | 0 comments

I'll be damned, explosions all over. It is being tweaked and changed in organization charts, crazy exchange rates mess up holidays and a green Christmas is approaching. The gambling investigor Jan Nyrén presented his suggestion on how the Swedish gambling monopoly should be treated in the future. I will try to stay political correct by saying it was not good. Looking besides the fact that it is regarding the gaming industry, it really is a violation of people's rights and a straight laugh in the face to everything that liberalism represents. We have condemned Chinese censorship and proclaimed our society to be superior of that which we no longer can. It would mean a modern political scandal if these actions in the end win power within European Union.

I spent parts of late night yesterday reading bwin's annual report from 2007 and felt great satisfaction. The company was founded by Manfred and Norbert in 1999 and made the IPO on the Vienna stock exchange in 2000. Less than 10 years have created a company that employs 1500 people, that is the biggest listed online gaming company in the industry and that will bring the gaming industry into the future. I will stay a trainee for about one more year and then we'll see what happens. I am right now excited about an open door to a new international project that I can coordinate from my position in Vienna. Very challenging!

We will play Clash of the Staff this afternoon. It is our annual poker tournament with great prices. I am feeling well prepared after yesterday having gotten 8 buy-ins Heads Up from an inexperienced (although persistent) player online. I am for the first time presenting the Blueberry project, which I've mentioned earlier, tomorrow. Time to grind some slides..

I am leaving for Thailand and China on Christmas day. I will among other things visit the bwin China office but otherwise mainly focus on sun, fun and rest. The blog will also take a vacation and be back on the 16th of January again. This week's picture is on myself (right) and Gustav and taken last weekend at our friend Johan's wedding.

Party like it's 1999,
Fredrik

Training and art club lottery

Fredrik | 12 December, 2008 | 2 comments

Last week's live poker at the Concorde was very successful. The opponents were rather weak, the smoke was heavy and the pots were big. I played most of my hands and either used position or aggression to control the table. My stack increased well until I lost a 200xBB pot with a flopped two-pair of 78o against a 56o who made the straight on the turn. He valueraised me on the river and I had to call it down given the potsize and his bluffrange. I got myself together and outplayed and older gentleman with a beautiful king-high flush and he stacked. Danke schön mein Herr.

Last weekend in Vienna was very nice and I came back to Stockholm this Monday. I had a day-course the next day were we practiced Meeting management and how to improve efficiency. The training was fortunately condensed from three to one days and was given by American Learning Tree. They educate in management and IT but should probably update their 90-ish templates and clipart design enhanced slides.

I attended a follow-up workshop for our internal managers training Lead & Win this Wednesday. Really good content and the training was held using theory, applied examples and cases. We also did a Myers-Briggs (MBTI) test which mapped out my personality in extreme precision, scary.

bwin's art club had its annual lottery today and I won a painting! The artist's name is Kerstin Hedman and the painting contains of transparent plastic with black paint. In addition, all members got another piece of art meaning that the palace of Kjell will stand strong in 2009. I will have to increase my insured amount if this continues.

I am continuing to work with product marketing and keep contact with country managers and creative resources. bwin's global organization creates needs in markets with different level of maturity and level when it comes to product marketing and I will deepen my work in that area next year.

I am going to Borås tomorrow to attend a wedding on Saturday. The first of the gang is getting married and the rest of us have prepared a performance including speeches and singing. I am looking forward to a big party and lots of dancing. I am also meeting my family when in the West and I am anticipating lots of comments to my nowadays long hair. Must be all the smoke in Vienna. This week's picture is from today's lottery and features Phil and Klara who also treated us with some nice bubble and snacks.

Fredrik

Race Trophy final and the PCP

Fredrik | 5 December, 2008 | 0 comments

I wrote last week that I would have a look at the gambling industry. Well, I did that but I am not up for compiling it right now. Might come later.

We had a big final in the Race Trophy event last Saturday. Six players met at the bwin office in Vienna and battled it out for $500,000. The invited crowd could follow the game on screens whilst enjoying terrific food and nice drinks. The party went on after crowning the champion and we managed both one and two clubs that lasted all night long. Sunday was, as God created it to be, a resting day. Vienna's night life is very good but I have noticed two differences; lots of smoking, less of dancing. Anyways, the players in the event got a nice couple of days here and seemed very happy. The final table can in the future be seen on Eurosport and the results can be found here.

I have started to map out all good places in Vienna. I am using Google Maps for the task and I have created my own Vienna map. I have added some nice restaurants, bars and clubs but much more will come. Have a look at Fredrik's Vienna if you're interested.

Work is a bit different than Stockholm. I naturally know most of the guys at the office in STO and we have a great atmosphere. There are two offices in Vienna and I am sitting at the one where my manager isn't. I know fewer people here meaning there is less interaction which I miss. The life outside the office is on the other hand different and colleagues meet for dinners and drinks far more frequently than we do in Sweden.

My tasks here can be compared to proving dough, you never know about the end result or when it is done. I have taken over a process called the "Poker Campaign Process" and I coordinate campaigns between requestors and suppliers. I am new in the process and struggle a bit but I get good help from my colleagues. I work with everything from graphics to customer service and country managers and I really appreciate getting a 360 on how to successfully run poker campaigns.

I had an Italian dinner at La Norma (check the map above) with my colleague Jonas yesterday and it was great. I am going for cash game at the Concorde with one or more colleagues tonight which will be a nice experience. I have played some NL Heads Up online lately with decent results so I am up for a new challenge now.

This week's picture features the happy winner from the Race Trophy final.

F

Show some passion God damn it

Fredrik | 28 November, 2008 | 0 comments

I was sitting alone in a shaky train compartment from Budapest to Vienna last Saturday. I was accompanied by the new album from Frida Hyvönen, a crime story about serial killings on businessmen and a greasy schnitzel-sandwich which I left unfinished. When I left the snowy capital of Hungary I had been there for less than 24 hours. I wonder if it is the bitter smell of old east or the quilt of depression over people and buildings that make me feel like an uninvited guest. Or maybe because I have been screwed constantly since I arrived. Nevermind. My next visit to Budapest will be at spring time which might give me another impression.

I spent Monday and Tuesday at the Stockholm office. We primarily discussed my assignment in Vienna but had to cancel two meetings due to cancelled flights affected by the snowy weather. My work in Vienna will mostly be to coordinate poker campaigns and work with processes to align our global campaign management system.

I also spent some time going through applications for the next trainee at bwin. I can reveal that there was many, many applications this year. I was in many cases surprised, angry and somewhat irritated. Some had written the wrong company name, misspelled bwin or forgot to attach a cover letter. I would very much appreciate if the applicant actually went through the trouble to learn what the company is doing and figure out why he or she would be a good candidate. But hey, it is not all negative, we found some really interesting candidates that get my hopes up for the future!

I will meet about 30 affiliate managers today and present an update on the poker industry, from finance to market events. There is a dinner and poker later tonight with the affiliate team which I might join or I will otherwise play a tournament at the Concorde. There is a big party on Saturday to celebrate the closing of the Race Trophy event and I am happy to be invited to it. Our VIP manager does an excellent job in creating a nice and exciting atmosphere for our players and I am happy to be part of it.

I had dinner with Camilla from HR and above mentioned VIP-Kristian yesterday evening. We ended up at Figlmuller known for having some of the world's largest schnitzels. It was a very nice evening with a sick amount of meat and some bitter alcohol to be able to digest it all. The schnitzel is featured in this week's photo.

I am planning to write about the poker industry next week now when all Q3 results have arrived. Poker at bwin grew by 7% in revenue and reached nearly 26 MUSD. I guess it is fine but we are going oh so much higher!

Fredrik

Much needed Autumn storms

Fredrik | 21 November, 2008 | 0 comments

There is heavy wind in Vienna today. I was standing on the second top floor in one of our offices and saw a collection of papers flying by outside. People on the street below hold on for grim death not to be blown away. There are also winds of change blowing at bwin, the Gaming mother of Europe. Today's presentation of Q3 contained an official statement about the company's savings program and strategic changes. The market is punishing us hard for this, but we will come back.

There are also world economy storms as known. I saw three CEOs representing the US auto manufacturers the other night, trying to explain why the want to borrow 25 bln USD and not stop flying with the private jet. There are 10 additional jobs for each job in that industry which in total means around 3M American jobs. Wow. The budget for 2009 is currently being set by many companies and the magnitude of the crisis has not yet shown its true face. I am actually quite scared of 2009 and it will definitely be a challenging year.

What I am truly angry about is the Swedish currency politics. The Swedish krona's stability is ridiculous and the fact that it's preferred over the Euro is a joke. We are part of the EU but yet not which makes everyday life so much harder for people and companies. That the government actually let an uninformed and sentimental population actually vote about this is nothing more than a scandal. Democracy is all about electing people you trust having the ability to make good decisions for the country and you cannot expect the individuals to set aside their personal beliefs in such a decision. Sorry to elaborate too much on this but it just makes me mad thinking about it.

Oh yeah I moved to Vienna last week and loving it. I have for three days participated in a Country Managers workshop and met all country representatives. Our poker team from Stockholm gave a presentation in the Monday session and I have for the rest of the time listened, networked and eaten good food. It was a true beneficial experience and I made lots of good contacts.

Vienna is truly beautiful. My morning tram ride takes me through areas of parks, massive buildings and castles. This city of culture is defined by an aura of please, happiness and wealth. The people are honest, helpful and very kind. It is hard not to like it and I am very grateful that bwin has given me the opportunity to work here. As a poker coordinator, I have spotted some areas that need some attention now and in the future and many interesting things can be done.

There is always an annual autumn storm. It is nature's way of shifting oxygen-rich water with its counterpart and give animals and plants a way of surviving life on the bottom. Now it is not only the aquatic world that is being stirred but also the financial world we knew. It is probably just as necessary.

I will travel three hours to Budapest this weekend to hang out with some friends. I am hoping to be beaten up be a Hungarian bathing master on Saturday and also maybe partying with a colleague in Vienna in the evening. I am going to Stockholm on Sunday for some meetings and back on Tuesday. Wow this text is growing more than expected so I will end this with a picture of myself (which turned black and white for some unknown reason) in a windy Vienna.

Hold on to your hat (as we say in Sweden)!
F

Ps. I had planned to write something about the record "Silence is Wild" from Frida Hyvönen. She packages her stories in little rare boxes made up be tempo variations and positive creations. I could have written sympathetic, but all restaurant critics have just destroyed that by saying that a breakfast buffet is sympathetic. Anyway, the album is great and a perfect company in Vienna. Best I heard in a long time, bravo bravo! Ds.

The week that passed by too quickly

Fredrik | 14 November, 2008 | 1 comments

Week 846 came and went way to quickly. I attended Lead & Win for three days which is a management training for new managers at bwin. It was given by an external consultant and heavily adapted to our company. We stayed at the beautiful villa Tornhuset and it was three days with theory, practice and good food. I am looking forward to the follow up session in December.

I was part of a meeting and presentation this Wednesday with one of the two highest managers at bwin, Norbert Teufelberger. We presented our view on the development of poker and it was very nice to be offered the possibility to meet him and share our view on the future of poker and listen to his.

I am moving to Vienna tomorrow and some things are actually set up. The clock is as the week moving way to fast and I curse myself for not yet packing. I am looking forward to seeing my new place in Vienna and get to know Austria's and bwin's capital. This week's blog post is a little short due to me moving and having much to do but I will get back with some nice stories from Vienna eventually. The blog lives on.

Schnitzel-picture this week. Wiedersehen,
Fredrik

Going to Gävle with a yellow and black scarf

Fredrik | 7 November, 2008 | 0 comments

It has been a busy week with varied tasks. Me moving to Vienna next week means that I am closing and starting different tasks and projects. My biggest assignment in Vienna will revolve around trying to assist and coordinate product marketing efforts for poker. It will involve talking to many different people internally, externally and from different country offices. This assignment feels really challenging and exciting and I hope and think I will develop strongly by reaching a higher level of understanding for how we integrate in the group.

I am with Dave in Vienna today. I am so struck by how international the company is and during my so far short stay I have met people from Finland, Sweden, Turky, USA, Italy, Germany and so on. Our companies differ in some aspects but the same kind of drive like we have in Stockholm is also here. Many people are young, ambitious and fun and I have already found some training buddies for the gym sessions. We will tonight and tomorrow continue to meet people and also present some process changes for future collaboration. There is a bigger meeting tomorrow and we'll be heading back after that.

This week has otherwise been all about going back and forth to the Chinese Embassy. I have planned a trip to Thailand and China this Christmas and will among other things visit the bwin office in Beijing. Getting a visa is not that easy but I finally managed. I will wear my yellow black scarf on Sunday going to Gävle. Some friends and I will watch Elfsborg playing against Gefle for the last game of the season.

This week's picture is on Dave and Jukka discussing a Finish promotion up on the roof on one of two bwin offices in Vienna. It is currently 17 degrees, like Barcelona - so sick.

Ciao
Fredrik

This week's post in a diary form

Fredrik | 31 October, 2008 | 0 comments

Monday October 27th 2008
Woke up somewhat late and feel tired today. An Indian friend arrived last night and he'll be staying a couple of nights for a conference in Stockholm. He snores late an injured animal and my sleep was so and so. I allthough managed to be on time for the management meeting this morning which occurs every Monday at 08.00. The purpose of that gathering is to inform and prioritize between departments. I attended an eight hour long workshop for the rest of the day where we focused on future priorities. That work will dominate work for the rest of the week.

The weekend was really great. Got some work done during Sunday evening and had a great time on Friday with terrific food, good and aggressive live poker and a full night at Café Opera. A kind of quiet Saturday morning eventually evolved into some afternoon football and a nice dinner. Sunday was more or less the same; furniture, potato soup and football. It does however seem like Kalmar FF will win Allsvenskan and not my beloved Elfsborg. It kind of bugs me a lot.

Now SATS.

Tuesday October 28th 2008
I read Dagens Industri during breakfast and they wrote that the financial company Max Matthiessen was sold to Carnegie for stocks. The whole sum but 10% was locked during a retention period. How boring that Carnegie lost 90% of the value. I don't want to be the guy who is the guy but what did MM think (or not think) about when setting up that deal?

Continued meetings about priorities today. In total 4,5 hours. I have also had some communication with Vienna during the day about my coming work period. I have also completed several forms (three different on health care) and a result description for my position.

I also managed to get into an argument with Åhlens at lunch since they refused to exchange my friend's Åhlens-branded unused socks for a different size. He had no receipt and just getting a smaller size without it was out of the question. That reasoning is just so stupid that I had to get out of there and I will take my business elsewhere now.

Wednesday October 29th 2008
I and a colleague had a talk with Mikael who is a very skilled consultant. Tomorrow's task is to structure our priorities in a major forum and I am scared that we will end up in too lengthy discussions. Mikael is some kind of father to scrum and very skilled in processes and organization. He presented a form av Kano to prevent mayhem tomorrow and it was interesting. We'll try that.

I did some spinning and core during lunch and had some potato soup afterwards. Christian presented a number of updates in the poker client during the afternoon which was appreciated.

Thursday October 30th 2008
The first version of the priorities is now completed. We did however unfortunately not use the Kano model in the end but I did at least get a chance to see that it seems to work well. I met an external consultant today and we'll probably hire him if a certain project is commended. I have also received some more information about Vienna and it looks like I will be staying in fairly central 30 m2 apartment, a small kitchen and broadband. As long as I have Internet and a decent chance of cooking I am happy. I also hear some rumors about a membership at the posh gym Holmes Place (they have a pool! Finally)

I did some Bodypump at lunch today and aiming for a session tomorrow. It feels great to be back in good old shape. I will go to the Bond premier tomorrow and maybe a move-in party on Saturday. There is a nig Halloween party at the office tonight but I will miss it due to Bond. I am also thinking about playing Poker SM Online on Sunday, Heads-up and Short-handed.

Have a nice weekend!
Fredrik

The gambling industries' stock market development

Fredrik | 24 October, 2008 | 0 comments

The right now so (im)popular financial crisis' global effect on the gambling industry has been and is significant. The political restrictions in the US 2006 marked a turning point for most companies which dropped noticeably. That effect has probably hindered structural deals and also cooled off the market climate. Finance and the stock market are some of my personal interests and I have previously done some work in those areas. The coherence between gambling and finance is striking and many employees at bwin have a background from finance or at least such an interest. Both industries share several characteristics with important aspects such as security, a large volume of transactions and the underlying drive of money.

So, how has the companies developed so far? I have analyzed the performance the last 12 months and adjusted the quotes to Euro. One should not forget the exchange rate effect of EUR/UDS, EUR/SEK or EUR/GDP when looking internationally. For instance, USD has gained significantly the last months. Alright, well, the upper half of the below graph shows how much the companies have gained since their low point. The other half shows how much they have dropped since the high point. The time frame is the last 12 months.

What conclusions can be drawn?
1. Large values have been erased from the industry
2. several stocks are over sold or if one so wishes, more balanced
3. An industry turn around may cause high volatility for several companies, preferably upwards.
4. Minor low volume companies swing faster
5. Many of the larger companies have taken serious punches which decreases the probability for mergers or acquisitions

The bar charts clearly show that almost all companies have decreased in value the last year. William Hill has had a bad run (dropped 71% since high note and only gained 8%) as well as Cryptologic (dropped 80% since high and gained 24% since low). These two companies are actually dominating the industry news, where WH is leaving Crypto in favor of iPoker (Playtech). There is also a rumor about Crypto joining forces with Party to decrease costs in development.

I find the gambling industry interesting in general. Many companies have a low substantial value, steady revenue streams and are less conjuncture sensitive. On the other hand, our industry is facing political risks and very high costs for marketing and development compared to marginal effects. It is however not that hard to find some interesting companies in the above list.

Fredrik's trainee life is otherwise all about finalizing some strategy work, planning for a move to Vienna and doing some internal administration. Friday evening is looking good, there will be a dinner, poker with fairly high stakes and a visit to the newly fixed Café Opera. I will also try to play some online poker, meet some friends and enjoy Elfsborg taking yet another step towards winning Allsvenskan by beating IFK on Sunday.

Play for real,
Fredrik

The Biological Leadership

Fredrik | 17 October, 2008 | 0 comments

Trainees at bwin participate in the management gathering group called the Management Forum which meets every second month. Today was such a day and Thomas Lundqvist held a seminar on Biological Leadership. He has researched theories from his position as the CEO of Junibacken as well as studies in economics and biology. He presented a lot of interesting theories and models on how one should adapt leadership according to biological prerequisites. One of the models he presented was to prioritize information in the categories of "Important to know, good to know and fun to know". We (humans) traditionally only remember a fraction of what we are told which forces us to structure and prioritize what we need to remember. Thomas' most famous model is Brainscan which is an associative mind game to achieve focus and solutions to certain issues. Well, why not test one of his models straight away:

Important to know
bwin yesterday Thursday blessed Italy with poker
bwin yesterday Thursday hosted the Java Forum - I was teaching poker
I am still up for answering any questions about the trainee program or thesis work

Good to know
bwin is a sponsor to SIME08 - meet us there and listen to Carl Klingberg (CEO bwin Games) and Norbert Teufelberger (Co-CEO bwin AG).

Fun to know
Read more about today's seminar on Biological Leadership.
I am working on setting up a visit at bwin's Peking office

Unnecessary to know (new category Thomas!)
New favorite song from The Blind Boys of Alabama
I can reveal that Spotify will launch on iPhone

I am this weekend inviting eight friends for a traditional autumn dinner. The wine is heavy, the moose is tender and the plates are new. Don't miss this week's picture representing the sick line to taxi outside Stockholm Central every morning. How hard can it be?

Have a nice weekend,
Fredrik

The journey to Vienna is approaching

Fredrik | 10 October, 2008 | 0 comments

I am currently working on finishing two different assignments shooting at the same target. It is actually two strategy documents that will converge in the end. I am the only one partaking in both which gives me a good ground to stand on. I have also for the first time made an appearance at a special management meeting this week. In addition to that, I've been permanently invited to the company's project prioritization meeting which Kamil skillfully navigates.

My period in Vienna gets increasingly more defined. I have been honored with, for me a significant, position aimed at coordinating certain verticals between Vienna and Stockholm. The nature of that assignment will make me move to Vienna but commute back to Stockholm periodically. I will however have an apartment in Vienna and that city as my primary home base for the next 6 months. Estimated take off is in 3-4 weeks.

Me and Kamil will in a near future be offered to partake in a forum on "Biological Leadership" and later in the internal management training called "Lead and Win". bwin is bringing in the heavy artillery which feels very good. And yeah, a new trainee position was made public this week! I'd be happy to answer any questions or thoughts an applicant might have. Send an e-mail to fredrik.kjell-that wicked a-bwin.org.

You know that I have an interest for new web services and technology if you've read this blog before. Well, I've finally come around to start my own private blog and gather all my thoughts and news on one page. Take a look at www.fredrikkjell.se if you are interested in trends, business and entrepreneurship. I am privately thinking about two new projects for the nightshift. One is about a revolutionizing add-on service to an existing web function and the other is brining in a totally new product to the Swedish market. Virtual meets tangible and may God be with us in this one.

I will attend a bi-annually VVK guys-gathering this weekend. The location is this time Stockholm and all days are planned. I am very much looking forward to meeting everybody.

Have a nice weekend!
Fredrik

Riding like a cowboy but losing with the kings

Fredrik | 6 October, 2008 | 0 comments

Last week's post is somewhat delayed due to me being sick last Thursday and Friday. I unfortunately ate something bad at breakfast which resulted in two days in pain. Like Kamil, I attended the Management meeting at Häringe Slott last week. There was a lot of important work but we also had time for riding horses, dinner and poker. I loved riding! Me and the head of Ongame Network took off over the fields with the instructors' angry shouts in the background. I would have wished for some more aggressive riding but I guess that's for next time. The attitude towards trainees is great in this company. We are given full insight in the company's strategies and performance.

Poker after dinner was fun and I managed to build myself a healthy stack. I raised 5BB in the dark in position and got two callers. The flop came 732 and I made a continuation pot bet. Carl pushed his half stack and Martin made a big raise by moving all in. Time for me to look at my cards and I see two beautiful kings. Easy call. I knew Carl was empty but Martin showed 74o for a pair. Lights out when turn showed a 4 and river a 7 and the 300BB pot was shipped in Martin's direction. And people say online poker is rigged!

I have been playing some online lately and nearly managed to 6-double my bankroll thanks to an aggressive multitabling. I was somewhat tired last night and happened to lose 3,5 buy-ins which of course set back this week's result. I am however happy that I've reconnected with my old winning game. The weekend was good with a birthday party, some movies and football. I have more elaborate plans for next weekend but more about that on Friday.

This week's picture is from the Management meeting last week.

/Fredrik

High tempo and full week

Fredrik | 26 September, 2008 | 0 comments

Weeks fly by and it is totally insane how quickly time moves. It is only three months left to Christmas and it feels like summer barely started. I have still not fully decorated my apartment and it is starting to become embarrassing. I had some friends over for dinner this Wednesday and had to juggle cutlery and chairs to be able to properly seat everyone. One guest arrived directly from work in China and wanted cinnamon buns, djungelvrål, and falukorv with stewed macaronis. Another one arrived by plane from Norway and brought cognac to the coffee. Careers are definitely starting to move forward and dinners now become increasingly interesting.

I have been working on many different projects this week. Sunday and Monday were spent on a lot of work with a report that will be presented today. We had a workshop in another project this Tuesday and Wednesday was a lot of internal administration and I was in meetings the whole day yesterday. It is sometimes hard to find the time needed to actually deliver everything that is proposed during these meetings and I've found it easiest to solve those tasks at night. Today I also attended an education in Scrum which is a set of work principles we apply in the company. It was a very interesting and good education and I am happy I was invited to it.

I will spend this weekend trying to recover from a disturbing cold that is draining my energy. I am also going to meet Fulite, a network of career driven friends with the aim of supporting and pushing each other but also to find interesting investments and business opportunities. The group consists of people representing telecom, media and industry and each person is or has been a trainee at management level which for sure is a great environment to be in. If my sickness does not worsen I am looking forward to a weekend containing a dinner, a city tour and festivities.

This week's picture represents my boss, Bo "The Terminator".

(By the way, Spotify, my absolute favorite, is going to have a release party on Berns this Saturday, meaning a soon launch! Go Sweden!)

Play for real,
Fredrik

I've done everything, I've done nothing

Fredrik | 19 September, 2008 | 0 comments

It is as usual Thursday evening when I am writing this blog post. I have just cancelled a Bodypump-class in favor of assembling a Power Point presentation and working with another task. My active life is otherwise going well and I am happy to have had the chance to squeeze in 22 work-out sessions in 28 days. The result is noticeable in terms of increased endurance. My latest SATS-love is the Jacuzzi at SATS Vasagatan where I entered around 06 this morning. I started the day in a perfect way by taking a bath and thinking about today's agenda. I'll bring SVD the next time and spend some time in the resting chairs along the poolside just to sweeten the whole experience.

I had a lunch at Berns with a colleague today. The restaurant is by many seen as having on of the best sushi in town and I wasn't disappointed (but DN på Stan was). My lunch-partner is a driven entrepreneur with a great up'n away drive creating positivism and enthusiasm. We normally don't work together but I feel it is valuable to widen the network and the knowledge about other parts of the company. Apart from that, he is also a "go gubbe" so we had a great lunch.

Kamil and I arranged a poker school for new employees this week. We taught them all about the history of poker, rules, tournaments and also had a session of poker. It was all together a success and we are already hired for another session. The two strategy assignments I wrote about last week are progressing in high speed. One of the two is not at the level it should be but will be after the weekend. I also participated in a workshop about bwin's brand strategy held by our international brand director. Her inspiring and intense speech also contained poker-specific parts and I was impressed. This week's best happening.

I will give a presentation to the B2C department tomorrow, featuring the end result of the survey (which I've been writing about earlier). The whole company is shortly after that starting this autumn's Power House which is a happening containing information, amusement, food and party. The whole thing is of course finalized by some heavy poker. The theme is Italy and the rest is a secret - looking forward to it!

This week's picture is from my visit at the Milan office this summer.

Play for real and ciao ciao,
Fredrik

Strategy work and a new favorite lunch

Fredrik | 12 September, 2008 | 0 comments

It has been a week full of action. Last weekend's activities ended in a mix of wine & singing, little sleep and work. A good ending of one week yields a great start of the next one and I have a habit of trying to plan next week's work on Sunday afternoon. One of my weaker sides is planning for my own time and I will from now on try to plan work time like meetings. I've noticed that people with more work experience tend to be far more efficient than I am. Still got stuff to learn... =)

bwin Games' trainee program stands strong under new management. Kamil and I had a meeting last Monday with the new responsible Pernilla and the CEO Carl. We discussed the structure of the program, our view on the first months in the company, good and bad aspects and the future. I started out in March at the department B2C, which has been a very good entrance into the company and primarily since the step to operative work has been very low but also since I am located between product managers and requirement processes which enables me to quickly learn how the company functions. My tip to aspiring trainees is to seek a position with as much operative work as possible. The autumn is looking very good with education, happenings and three weeks of work in Vienna, starting October 20th if it all unfolds correctly.

Much of my time is consumed by two different strategy assignments right now. I am a part of administration and operation in the first one. That work is scheduled for a month ahead and does except administrative issues containing several workshops, teamwork and presentations. It is pretty cool to be part of such a complex and important work after only 6 months in the company. The other project is carried out in a smaller scale with a group of about 5 people. We are delivering recommendations for how to act in a product focus question. I've actually been quite productive this week and also finalized the survey report, started planning for a poker school for new employees due next week and continued my work on the confidential blueberry project.

The weekend luckily looks alright this week too. Movie on Friday, dinner on Saturday and work on Sunday. My stylish friend Greven might drop by for a visit and I am in that case looking forward to a lesson in how to dress this autumn. This week's picture represent my new favorite lunch (thanks Michael!), a "health dish" from Mäster Sallad at Vasagatan. It contains bulgur, chicken, salad, raisins, keso and more at the terrific price of only 65 SEK. Great food is awarded with free advertisement in the blog! (Sala Thai are you reading this?)

Have a nice weekend,
Fredrik

No. Woot..? Don�t massage my face. Ok.

Fredrik | 5 September, 2008 | 0 comments

There is an obvious trend that athletes are drawn to poker. Last star is ice-hockey player Mats Sundin who will play the EPT in Barcelona wearing a PokerStars shirt. Betfair recently invited the swimmer Michael Phelps to WSOPE after he proclaimed his love to the game. I guess sponsoring readymade stars instead of poker players maximizes the brand exposure but to me it is a sign that the poker industry no longer can create their own stars. A further more unpleasant observation may be that the global interest, thus growth, is decreasing.

The week at bwin Games has revolved around meetings and discussions. We are pushing through some changes which create both positive and negative reactions. Two colleagues and I had a meeting this Tuesday with two business developers working with mobile payments. They shared their view on the future and we explained the characteristics of our business. A good meeting leaving more to come. I also arranged a video conference this Wednesday for the IPR project. We had a discussion with the domain name responsible in Vienna. This was the first time I tried the equipment which worked flawlessly. The meeting provided good guidance for future change- and integration work between Stockholm and Vienna.

I took advantage of our beneficial massage offering yesterday. My workout sessions have created some tension in the muscles which gave the masseuse something to work with. She also wanted to massage my face which forced me to draw a line right there. Greasy massage-crème is not anything I need and I don't like when people are touching my face. The level of this week's training has been good and I am sticking to my plan. I've managed four sessions so far and will have two more this weekend. I have not yet gained any weight and my heavyweight-lifting colleague Christian says it's because of all the classes I am partaking in (Core, Spinning, CorePuls, Box, BodyPump, PT Cirkel) and only having two weight-sessions a week. My plan is however to overall strengthen the body before trying heavier weights. My food plan is going great; I am eating meet, blodpudding and spinach (which is healthier than one can believe).

I will carry luggage for two friends arriving by train on Saturday. They are going from Gothenburg to Hungary to continue their studies. They have in total 270 kg and two dogs. I hope there'll be some dancing later. The capacity of being the only one owning a hammer-drill fills my Sunday with a drilling assignment. Or actually maybe two. I'd like to end this post by notifying you about Google's browser Chrome (fast!), the dance tune of the autumn - Love in Siberia and HTCs' new S740 mobile phone. This week's picture features our massive banner on the front of the office building.

Live hard play hard
Fredrik

Blueberries and pig's blood

Fredrik | 29 August, 2008 | 0 comments

Big things are happening in the poker world. The current buzz is about the high roller "slaktarn" (en. The butcher) who's killing the biggest tables online. He is said to have made $1.5 Million the last couple of months. Few know his identify but many speculate. Some other juicy information concerns Brian Townsend, world famous online pro moving toward live poker, who has played on duplicate accounts on the same site. He is know mocked, regretful and banned. There is also a new payout-structure spreading for Sit & Go tournaments. Now half of the players get their buy-ins doubled if they make the top five instead of just three players cashing in. Ongame naturally invented this structure which is now spreading across the sites.

I have primarily focused my efforts on a confidential project this week. I choose to call it "Project blueberry". I have also started a new project regarding intellectual property management ("The IPR project") and made an analysis of my earlier mentioned survey. Thanks everyone who contributed! The IPR project had its' first meeting this Tuesday and we more or less nailed the scope and I am currently synchronizing with the Vienna office. Project Blueberry is exciting and I am putting in many hours both in the office and at night. Can't say that much more.

The blog has actually received a topic suggestion! One of the readers wanted more information and discussions regarding physical training and food. A very good suggestion. I've earlier been mentioning that I am currently doing a lot of workout at SATS. This weeks' training is no exception and I am having 5 mixed classes and 2 weight-lighting sessions. I am most psyched about the Box-class at SATS Odenplan on Saturday. I am trying to maximize the results by cooking proper food and I've managed to bring food twice this week. I've also learned that chicken and red meat contains the same amount of proteins (about 20g /100g meat). I will also on request present some goals and progress and I am currently at 75 kg. The goal is to reach 80 by December 20th which would be about 1,25kh /month. I think it is doable.

I will not write anything about the weekend this week since it never turns out as planned anyway. But I guess there'll be some kind of festivities. Min dear colleague smuggled one liter of Goose last week which I probably will have to try (in all quietness of course). My favorites right now are otherwise Radio 107.5, deezer.com, Spotify and Plex.

This week's pic shows a very good blodpudding (pig's blood made into a lump that you slice and fry) and a less tidy desk. Trainee-style.

Fredrik

Back from vacation!

Fredrik | 22 August, 2008 | 0 comments

First week after vacation and I am more psyched than ever. I've been travelling around Sweden and Europe for two weeks and had the chance to experience many things. One interesting meeting occurred in Milan where I together with a friend visited the bwin Milan Office located at Piazza Duomo. The office is blessed with probably one of Europe's better locations, lots of space and a heavy focus on AC Milan. It was great being there but I am not that impressed by the city of Milan in general. Travelling to the Lake Como and the small village Menaggio was more my cup of tea. We lived with a magnificent view high above the lake and also managed to nail the village's only festival, a tribute to U2. The enthusiasm that brought us from the house and all the way down the mountain somewhat went away when the night turned to morning and we had to walk all the way back up again. But it was worth it. It always is.

My meditational recreation-journey (ehrm..) during the summer did well for my focus for the coming months. I will stay at my department for the rest of the year with an exception for some weeks in Vienna in October. The company is undergoing an intense phase right now and there is a lot to do. We own several ongoing projects and I enjoy being in the center of the storm. I am involved in several of them but play no major part in none of them. I will however launch a new project next week with the aim of structuring and managing intellectual property associated with our products. A creative developing company like ours constantly generates immaterial values that can be transformed into exploitable assets. I have gathered a great team and I hope the efforts will prove valuable later on.

I have also launched the survey I've been working on for awhile. About 35% of the asked have responded so far which is decent. I am hoping for more answers and a good overall result. We also finished a roll-over plan this week. We will migrate from one system to another which creates a lot of issues. Many stakeholders are involved and there are still many discussions left. I can also mention that the bwin Group released the six month result yesterday. We had a revenue increase of 26% and a net profit of €4,3 million. Go go go!

So, what about the autumn? I will, except great ambitions at work, add two swimming session to my existing schedule. I have also expanded my list of policy decisions to include the forever abandonment of any kind of fried potato. POC. I would finally like to mention my trainee colleague Kamil's recently started blog. He will among other things write about the industry and the life as a trainee. A definite bookmark.

This week's picture shows the great view of Lago di Como and my usually hardworking friend Erik.
Fredrik

Moneycitement – money and excitement

Fredrik | 25 July, 2008 | 0 comments

I’ve been reviewing some industry statistics lately. The supply is very scarce. There are a number of reports to buy, annual reports to read and sites with statistics to consult. I am surprised of the minimal supply given that the industry is a multibillion global affair. The major part of the industry seems to base forecasts and statements on one sta. One should however not forget the information daily created by the players. That amount of data is enormous. The number of financial transactions our systems are dealing with every day outshines any financial institute.

The detractors state that poker is dying. That is just a sign of poor knowledge. The growth in Sweden may not still be escalating, like it was a couple of years ago, but earnings are still decent for many companies. We are everyday pushed with information about countries regulating the presence of foreign gaming companies meaning opening or closing of new markets. Sweden is a fairly small country in Europe and there are surprisingly many more countries out there where the growth-rate has a lot to offer for the future. I read an annual report yesterday in which the industry is referred to as Moneytainment. Money and entertainment. My own personal experience has nothing to do with entertainment. I am not laughing when pushing the river on a 3-bet bluff and get called by middle pair with a weak kicker. It is however exciting. Moneycitement. The moneypart will always be given.

The industry is set to grow by 10% annually (CAGR) by 2012 and reach a gross revenue of a staggering 26 billion dollars. The same figure came in at 11 billion dollars three years ago which will be doubled by 2010. Not many industries are growing in that way under the burden of regulations, trade barriers and legislation. The explosion of pokersites a couple of years ago naturally weakens and consolidations have occurred. My personal opinion is that that trend will continue but that it still will be lucrative to open niched sites in new markets.

An Indian study friend from Chalmers is coming to visit me today. He is close to 40 and quit a well paid job in India when his manager wouldn’t allow him to study in Sweden. He moved from welfare in India to poverty in Sweden but with a belief. He is now, two years later, running his own business and starting to straighten things out. Impressive and inspiring. Looking forward to meeting him again and showing how lovely Stockholm is.

This week’s picture is taken from my kitchen window at 5 am this morning.

Live hard play hard

Fredrik

Couch surfers and the first PokerRoom logo

Fredrik | 18 July, 2008 | 0 comments

I tried something new this week and signed up with www.couchsurfing.com. It is a meeting place for travelers who are also sharing a couch for someone to sleep on. Each user lists the number of guests he or she can accept and what kind of person they are. The profile is then searchable by travelers who are looking for somewhere to stay. One of the greatest things with traveling is meeting new people and to live in someone else's home, or host someone, could be pretty cool too. I've been a member for a couple of days and have already received more than 10 requests. I had a visit yesterday from a Hungarian environmental consultant on vacation in Stockholm. Nice, I made oven pancake with lingon berries, very exotic =)

It has been a major focus on the WSOP at bwin lately. Many players have represented PokerRoom and bwin Poker with some pretty good results. WSOP is a long series of poker tournaments in Las Vegas during July. The biggest one is the so called "Main Event", a No Limit Texas Hold'Em event with a buy-in of 10.000 USD. The tournament with the most prestige is the H.O.R.S.E. event, with a buy-in of 50.000 USD. Big money. This year's Main Event was paused when the final table was reached and will resume in November. The lucky nine will be featured on TV, coached and prepared for the final which holds a first price of 9.000.000 USD.

The English development company Playtech reported that they are seeing major increases in revenue. The second quarter delivered an increase of 75% coming from both poker and casino operations. Playtech is the home of the popular network iPoker which is listed as the third largest network online. I take these numbers as a good industry indicator that shows that poker and online gaming is still growing. Anyway, we will pass them soon.

The picture of today is of the historical kind. My colleague Christian joined Ongame (which was our company name before we were acquired by bwin) early and has been with the company during the whole journey. He is sporting a brilliant relic, a t-shirt featuring the very first PokerRoom logo. The initial plan was to post a picture of my new kitchen lamp but this is so much more amusing.

Have a nice weekend!
Fredrik

Morning habits and trainee project

Fredrik | 11 July, 2008 | 0 comments

Week 28 and the Swedish vacation slumber is more obvious than ever. I love that less and less people are on the Central station in the mornings but get annoyed that those who are there are constantly standing in my way with big bags and suitcases. Please mind us in a hurry. I am easily drawn into the stressful tempo with running in the escalators, dismissing the Metro-guy and totally ignoring they guy who is selling Situation Stockholm in the aisle between the Central and the T-Central. I sometimes feel like buying a copy, but that would mean I have to say hello each morning from now and I am not that social in the mornings. I won't buy it. Finally arriving at work, a journey of 20 minutes from door to door, I meet colleagues, breakfast and newspapers. It all gets better right away. I always have interesting projects to work with and I can honestly say that I have never felt unmotivated going to work.

Big parts of the company are on holiday from next week. I will work during the summer except for two weeks in August. I have been talking to the CEO this week regarding the development of my trainee program. I accepted a proposal to stay at my current department until Christmas and will not change departments after the summer (which was the original plan). Lots of changes and interesting projects are commencing and it definitely feels motivating to stay. I'll be changing departments early 2009 and stay in Sweden during spring. I will however still go to Vienna for 2-3 weeks this autumn.

I am currently starting and finishing some exciting projects. I can unfortunately not say that much more right now. I can however share that me and my trainee partner Kamil will have a meeting and we are going to discuss some thoughts about creating a general trainee project in the company. A project that is not bound to a specific department and that can be inherited by the coming generations of trainees. More information will come.

Last weekend was a cavalcade in terrific events and it will be hard to beat. I am starting the weekend by carrying kitchen appliances today after work, having some beers on Saturday and working on Sunday. By the way, a dear friend of my landed a trainee position at one of our competitors - congratulations Skeden! You are now out of the loop ;)

Live hard play hard,
Fredrik

Poker, backgammong and Springsteen

Fredrik | 4 July, 2008 | 0 comments

An interest in poker is often a synonym to a general interest in games and gambling. Or the interest in games and gambling spurs the interest in poker. The consequences of this connection are regardless of the reasons interesting. It is common that poker players like to bet on sports, trade on the financial markets or play board games. I read about the Norwegian poker superstar Johnny Lodden (for those who play on Prima, bad_ip) last week. He had more or less lost all the money he made on poker by betting on football. What could not happen happened and he covered the losses by making new bets and the ball was unstoppable. Lodden, sponsored by Betsson, is currently in Vegas playing the WSOP. Main Event started yesterday and let's hope he manages to perform well there instead.

I like all types of games. I'd love to play anyone in backgammon or to by derivatives on the stock market. Poker, backgammon and trading show great similarities. It is all about balanced risks, strategy, unknown factors and psychology. Being a poker player made it easy to rather quickly master (well) backgammon, it is more or less the same game but you play using stones and dices instead of cards. Backgammon has a doubling dice, meaning that you can end up loosing a game with a smashing 64 to zero, something I was close to experience at the beautiful casino in Baden Baden in southern Germany.

I have been working with three primary tasks this week and most of them are recurring from last week. I have although analyzed one of bwin's brands with a colleague and created a presentation from that analysis. Our work combined with another team's effort will lay the foundation for an interesting discussion next week. I think that what we do is valuable to the company but also great for my own understanding.

I'm off work today and on a train towards Göteborg. I will go to a Springsteen concert tonight which I've been looking forward to since the tickets were released late last year. I will also meet a friend and go to Marstrand to look at some boats. This will be a really great day on the west coast!

Live hard play hard,
Fredrik

Statistics and Cuban holes

Fredrik | 27 June, 2008 | 0 comments

This will be the eighth contribution to my weekly report about the life as a trainee at bwin Games. This eight contribution means that I've been writing the blog for two months and been at bwin for a total of four months. Time moves quickly. The idea of blogging stems from a friend who is a trainee at Telenor where it has been a very successful project so far. I feel that it could be interesting to disclose some visitor statistics and also do some minor analysis. The Swedish version of the blog has in total generated above 550 unique visitors and the English one comes in shorter at almost 200. The average reading time is two minutes and more than 60% of the visitors continue their visit on the website. The visitors mainly come via direct links and Google. I am most pleased with the fact people actually seem to stay long enough to read the blog. I am also happy that the search engines push visitors, which proves the fact that the blog contributes partly to marketing. Enough about the blog.

The week has been interesting. A new trainee started at bwin Games this Monday and it is great to have a new peer in the company. We have for instance discussed ideas and scope about a collaborate project and I think we can create something really great. I'll get back to that one later. I've also held a presentation on the business case I've been working on lately. It went alright and I will continue the investigation with buy-in from management. This week has otherwise been dominated by a reporting-project in which I've mapped out different reports flowing between departments. It's been a highly confusing project and many people are involved both in Stockholm and Vienna. I am still missing a lot of input and will be a couple of days late with the delivery. I'm starting to notice that people are going on vacation.

I will arrange an Italian dinner with some friends on Saturday which I'm really looking forward to. Please give your input if you know anything about Italian cooking! I will also try to work out, do some paint job and some work. I have just collected a lot of industry information which I plan to screen and summarize. I am attaching a picture from the Thursday's choice of lunch-restaurant, a hole in the wall on Kungsholmen. The small place is run by a couple of Cubans and the food is great and a little bit different (Kungsholmsgatan).

Live hard play hard,
Fredrik

Survey, sports betting and midsummer

Fredrik | 19 June, 2008 | 0 comments

Thursday as usual when I'm writing the weekly addition to the blog. Tomorrow is yet another free day, been many of those lately. The week has been fairly interesting and I've been working on a few different projects. Euro 2008 has affected bwin's business and it is interesting to see how external events are relevant for poker revenues. Our industry's ecosystem is complex and interesting and you'll pretty soon understand why it is important to have both experienced as well as new people in the company. There are many aspects that I wasn't aware of as a player and which I'm learning about now. That's key.

This week's major focus has been on creating an internal survey. I will, from several angles, investigate how my current department is seen from interacting interfaces. The work is done to be able to improve processes, cooperation and results. The task's challenge is to ask the right questions but also how to formulate them in the best possible way to get as optimal answers as possible. I have also continued working on my business case (mentioned last week) and gotten a new assignment on internal reporting.

I've taken up sports betting again during the Euro 2008 and I've been quite successful. We are not allowed to gamble on our sites and I'm currently playing at a competitor's where I have some old poker chips lying around. My latest triumph was a double on Holland/Italy which delivered a decent 7x. I will spend a longer period next year at bwin's sportsbook section and it'll be very exciting to see it from the other side.

Midsummer will be different this year. I am going to a wedding and not my traditional hey-lets-meet-all-the-old-friends party. I'll be back in Stockholm on Saturday for some paintjob in my apartment. I'm transforming the entrance from dreadful red to a cool light-gray one. A painter will come on Monday and put some new paper on a wall in the kitchen and it is finally starting to come together. A new trainee starts next week and I'm looking forward to seeing him - welcome to a great company!

Live hard play hard and happy midsummer,
Fredrik

Ethics and summer party

Fredrik | 13 June, 2008 | 0 comments

Thursday's work started with a very quiet morning. bwin Games' annual summer party was held Wednesday and it was indeed, quite a party. Kids, partners and employees enjoyed food, drinks and many fun happenings during the evening. The crowd went wild when our newly formed resident band b'quiet took on the stage and for the first time delivered their repertoire to an overenthusiastic crowd. Don't miss the picture. The night was just as fun as late and many thanks to everyone working with the event - impressive!

Lots of things are happening in the company right now. Many of us focus on one specific project which is of high importance. I have a minor roll and I expect to finalize my part next week. I am also working on some other tasks in parallel and one of them went alive today. I will be responsible for a business case within for me a new area. My task is to give suggestions on how to increase efficiency and optimization within a specific product area. It is a pretty big challenge with financial impact which feels both challenging and fun.

bwin Game's managing director Carl Klingberg was interviewed in IT24 this week and I'd like to recommend anyone interested to take a look at article. The interview features the industry, the company and Carl and is worth reading.

I will participate in a workshop today regarding culture and values, high prioritized areas at bwin Games. We are operating in an industry that is responsible for both entertainment and disappointments and it is not uncommon that I have to answer many questions on ethics related to our business. A friend of mine sent me an email this week telling me he turned down an offer from the tobacco industry. He wanted to know how I look upon my job. I have never felt any doubt. Having been a customer in the industry for several years I've seen both the positive and negative effects of gambling and the only way to do something about that is to work from the inside. On the contrary to many peoples' believes, it is actually negative for us when customers are loosing money and we work hard with education, responsible gaming and help programs. It can for instance be relevant to mention that we have a multiyear research collaboration together with Harvard Medical School with the aim of observing, analyzing and hinder a bad gaming behavior. Pleaser read more on this at bwin.com under "Responsible Gaming".

It has become somewhat of a habit to mention something about the weekend and I will finally play some tennis on Saturday. I haven't played since moving to Stockholm and I'm really looking forward to taking the old Prince to some hard court again. The evening is of course dedicated to football and I will try to do some work in the apartment on Sunday. The odds on doing some work at the company is also fairly low, not really worth betting on. I'm guessing this will be a pretty good weekend!

Live hard play hard,
Fredrik

Go Sweden

Fredrik | 5 June, 2008 | 0 comments

June 5th and summer never felt closer. I passed by Kungsträdgården today where the food festival Smaka Stockholm is held. Lots of tourists, lots of heat, lots of food. I stayed out. We will however have a celebration at the Office in the honor of the national day this afternoon. Traditional Swedish food and Swedish beer will be served - not at all bad!

The week has been good but passed too quickly as usual. Feels like we just had a weekend and this week, with the national holiday tomorrow, is soon over too. Crazy. I have however had some significant occurrences this week worth mentioning. First and foremost, I attended a nice dinner connected to a workshop about culture and values. I have not attended the workshop yet and my slot is next week. There has also been some changes at my department and I've gotten some new tasks to work with. I will for instance be responsible for a business case for a business area and I plan to commence that project next week. I will also be part of a number of other projects that are being started. Always fun to start new things!

Next week is as full as it gets and my plan is to go all in on the projects I am working on. The rest of the time will be spent on exercise and a lot of group training at SATS. This time it's for real; Summer 2008 will be nailed!

Until next time,
Fredrik

Plans for the future

Fredrik | 30 May, 2008 | 0 comments

The department I am working at is situated on the 11th floor, right across the Central Station in Stockholm. I would guess that we are pretty much as top-ranked as you can get when it comes to office, location and equipment. Adding a fantastic view doesn't make the environment any worse. I would say that it is an enormous difference working at a company down town compared to something situation outside of the city centre. In 2006 I was on an internship at Ericsson in Kista and it took me an hour to commute to work even though I lived in the city centre. Spending two hours a day going back and forth feels pretty unproductive and I am really happy about our location.

The gambling industry moves quickly and is in constant change, as is the trainee program. My plan for the future is to stay in Stockholm until late August and then go to Vienna for a couple of weeks to work at the marketing department. Other tasks wait in Sweden for six months after that and I'll be finishing the program with a longer session in Vienna, working with the largest business area the Sports book. I am really looking forward going to Austria and to learn more about sports betting, which is also a personal interest.

There are well thought out plans for the program when it comes to development and education. They include a recruitment education, a project management course and a leadership course. My personal plan is to freshen up on my German before going to Austria and I kind of like German so doing some personal studies during the autumn won't be a problem. As a trainee at bwin Games you're assigned a mentor that supports your development. I've met with my mentor a couple of times and it feels very rewarding to meet someone with more experience both from this company and from a longer career.

Yesterday was an evening of much fun! We had the poker tournament I've been planning for a while now. It was played half online and half offline and there was food and drinks, nice prices and bounties on some managers. Approximately two thirds of the department signed up and it was a long and fun evening! I've included a picture of the proud winner who shifted gears once the final table got shorthanded and won on aggression. Well done!

Everything is starting to come together in my personal life and I am beginning to feel established in Stockholm. I have finally gotten a permanent place to live after spending way too many nights on different mattresses for a couple of months. This week's evenings and nights have been all about unpacking moving cartons and installing new furniture. It is actually starting to look like a home now =) The weekend features a trip back to the West Coast for some days in Lysekil with some good friends. I am hoping for an excessive amount of sun, seafood and Peronis!

Until next time,
Fredrik

No given answers

Fredrik | 23 May, 2008 | 0 comments

Thursday evening and high time to summarize the events of the week. This blog is written in both Swedish and English and I normally start writing in English and then translate to Swedish. I've had a feeling that I've lost some flow in the Swedish version so I am going to try it the other way today (meaning this English version might be worse?).

The week's main focus has for sure been social events. One of the top happenings was a very nice dinner with my boss, a colleague and a former colleague. My colleague was my predecessor and the former colleague has also had the same position. We had dinner at the newly rebuilt restaurant Grill, had lots of meat and an extraordinarily pleasant evening together! Another fine event was the legal firm Setterwall's spring cocktail where a beach theme influenced the drinks and finger-food. A traditional library has probably never had more palm trees and bamboo.

The project I was working on last week continues with a lot of activity. We are facing crossroads which naturally creates lots of discussions within the company. My part is dependant on a bigger decision which makes me unable to finalize my task in a satisfactory way. To be put in that satiation is a direct opposite to how study life in Sweden works. I have more or less never faced a situation where the answer is not given and that is a shame, a major shame. Being put in a situation with many interacting parameters naturally causes several questions and insecurity which spurs longer paths to decision and frustration. I believe that that experience and gut feeling are key factors in these situations. Anyway, I am positive that we will choose the most suitable solution in the end.

I have been working some with planning a poker tournament for the almost ninety people at my department. The tournament is called the B2C Summer Challenge and will be played half online and half live next week. There is more to it than poker and we will have great prizes, food and drinks and I hope it will turn out to be a memorable evening. The invitation featured a very stylish graphical creation and all creds to Jimmy who skillfully resolved my guerrilla-attack - thanks!

This week has also included a finalizing fire drill lecture (I am the evacuation leader at my floor), working with a more external newsletter about our operations, thinking about performance indicators from a specific branch of our business, starting to analyze (lots of) business data relevant to a forthcoming important discussion and started to learn how to use filters in Google Analytics (been a long time "regular expressions" but we finally met again).

I will have a meeting with the responsible person for the Trainee program and our Managing director on Monday. We will talk about what it's been like so far, what's coming up and what the autumn will look like. Interesting!

Until next time,
Fredrik

Putting out a fire

Fredrik | 16 May, 2008 | 0 comments

It is evening and I've just finished a bowl of food from a Thai-place nearby. The bwin Games offices are located right downtown which makes it a perfect location in every aspect, from a quick run to the gym to accessing a wide variety of food.

I am currently working on preparing some formal documents to a foreign receiver and the instructions are directly translated using non-standardized nomenclature. The responsible person for the project is working from Vienna for two weeks and we have people in many places working towards the same goal in this project. The poker industry is highly intense and the prerequisites for a project can change very quickly, which sometimes directly influence what you do on a daily basis. Anyway, the project is progressing and I can soon deliver my share of it.

By the way, the week started off pretty well. Last Saturday I played in a live-tournament in a basement on Söder but was knocked-out early on the final table (33 vs. QQ). I took a poker-coaching class on Sunday with the Swede who is currently crushing the biggest games online in PL Omaha. He and other great players are utilizing the concept of short stacking (in cash games) which was very interesting to me. I have always despised short stacks and seen them as weaker players. After listening to the guys explaining their strategy and results I was amazed. This could definitely be something I could use in my game; I just need to get the hand-ranges and math straightened out before implementing it as a weapon. Anyone who has an opinion on whether short stacking players are clever or roaches? The coaching-session offered many interesting discussions and I am looking forward to next time.

I have also had lunch with a colleague who is friends with a guy who became a big name in the early days of mp3-players in Sweden. It is interesting to meet these true entrepreneurs and to hear how they are thinking and working. I also met with a colleague who has started (and made exits in!) several projects, been a managing director at Tele2 and still wants to continue creating new stuff. Very cool. What I am trying to say is that working in a mixed company with motivated colleagues having different backgrounds enables you to meet talented and interesting people with very mixed networks. Being a trainee is just great in these situations since it is more or less your job to get to know everyone and ask around looking for answers. I am just happy I am fortunate enough to get the kind of support I meet everyday from the colleagues and that bwin is just as versatile and multicultural as it is. By the way, did you know we are three times the size of Unibet?

In my last post I promised to go detailed about a normal day including common tasks so I guess I'd better do that. I usually try to be at the office pretty early, check some e-mails and industry news and wait for breakfast to open. Yes - we have a magnificent breakfast every day and I love it. The rest of the morning is consumed by meetings, working on projects and most of all, handling some quick-issues and deciding on where to go for lunch ;) The afternoon is more or less the same, but with dinner instead of lunch (we have some food at work). I have also got some fixed appointments and tasks every week ranging from writing different kinds of newsletters to organizing meetings and maintaining actionlists. I guess I work 50/50 on actual projects compared to fixed and temporary assigned tasks. For those people wondering how it really is to be a trainee - it's all about putting out the fire (just look at the picture, they never lie!).

Until next time,
Fredrik

Greetings!

Fredrik | 9 May, 2008 | 0 comments

My name is Fredrik Kjell and I am happy to be able to present myself as the new trainee at bwin Games in Stockholm, Sweden. bwin Games is a fully owned subsidiary of bwin, the world's largest gaming company with headquarters in Austria. The Stockholm-focus is totally on poker and we deliver the world's finest online poker experience.

I have an educational background from Chalmers University of Technology in Göteborg where I studied Information Technology (software engineering). I took a Master in "Intellectual Capital Management" which is an interdisciplinary business-education with lawyers and engineers. I worked one year as a business consultant in Göteborg prior to joining bwin Games and I must say that I already after a few weeks feel totally at home at this great company.

So what is this? Well, this is my blog, journal, weekly newsletter or what ever one may call it. I will naturally write about my life as a trainee at bwin Games, what challenges I am facing and what it is like to be a young professional living in Stockholm. I am hoping to be able to describe bwin Games' trainee program as well as inspire you as a reader to go for the opportunity but also use this space to collect my thoughts about the past week's events and upcoming challenges.

As you probably understand, poker is a key driver in this profession. I started playing in 2003, not knowing anything about the game. I can't really remember if the first site was Ladbrokes or Pacific Poker, but I was not successful. Like more or less everyone out there, I started reading books, watching poker-shows and discussing poker on forums. World Poker Tour's late Sunday broadcasts shaped my understanding and Negreanu had a major impact on my game. I quite soon realized that I could utilize my interests in gambling, mathematics and competitiveness to enjoy and profit from my newly acquired hobby. Five years later I am living the dream and working in the industry. I am still surprised how things actually turn out sometimes. My top-achievement so far has been beating my old hero Negreanu in a heads up game online, who could imagine that five years ago =)

So what I am actually doing at bwin? The trainee-program is centered around three periods each being six months long. I work with two specific departments for 12 months and then finalize the traineeship with a closing (yet to be decided) six month period. I am currently working with the internal brands of bwin (bwin Poker, PokerRoom and EuroPoker) and in the area of product- and business development. Being a trainee means mixing tasks of high and low complexity which makes my workday both dynamic and exciting. I am never bored at work! I will spend some additional time in my next update defining more in-depth what my department is doing and specifically what I am working with.

Today is a beautiful day in Stockholm. I am sitting on the 11th floor looking out over a sunny city-centre. Riddarfjärden gives hope about the much longed for summer, and spring is finally here! bwin has recently released the results from 2007 and we've done good, really good. bwin's poker business is up 40% compared to 2006 and the 2007 online poker revenues totaled at over 83.000.000 EUR. Yeah!

Until next time,
Fredrik