Magnificent Seven Discusses Poker Endurance Record Attempt

Last month, word that a group in Austria dubbed the Magnificent Seven broke Phil Laak’s poker endurance record spread like wildfire through the industry. Purportedly, pent up in a hotel in Kufstein, the group played poker for a record 137 straight hours. Poker News Daily sat down with Magnificent Seven member Rudi Teichmann to discuss the attempt.

Poker News Daily: Talk about the decision to break Phil Laak’s record.

Rudi Teichmann: The official Guinness claim was made by us in January of this year. Originally, it had never been the point to break Laak’s record. Our original aim was to break the record of the Amberg Poker Club set at 102.7 hours. We had started two months before our official attempt with training units (a camp of about 85 hours) to evaluate where eventual problems could arise. Just before we started, we read about Phil Laak’s new record. I must admit, however, that this then constituted an additional challenge for us.

PND: What were the parameters of the record attempt? Was it a cash game, tournament, or play money game? Were Guinness officials present?

Rudi Teichmann: We strictly adhered to the requirements of Guinness. When registering for the poker world record, there was, however, no official guideline about the way of playing: whether it was cash or play money did therefore not play any role. An official Guinness observer was not present, as this is not absolutely necessary.

PND: How do the Magnificent Seven know each other?

Rudi Teichmann: We are all longstanding friends and play a lot of poker together. At some point during a crazy hour, we hit on the idea that we could set a new world record and thus reach the Guinness Book of Records.

PND: Give us the lay of the land as Laak’s record time of 115 hours approached. What did the scene look like?

Rudi Teichmann: A doctor took the first player away from the table at 70 hours. The only woman we had finished the record attempt at 107 hours (new women’s world record).  Another player and I stopped at 116 hours (a new record). The remaining three managed to get through 137 hours before the doctor finally put his veto. The whole story was incredibly exhausting, but I can only speak for myself. I could not recognize what I was playing and I was emotional at the end. At some point, I just could not concentrate anymore.

PND: What reaction have you received from the poker world for the feat? Have people been skeptical of it?

Rudi Teichmann: Many laughed at us. Most critics even claimed that without real money, it wasn’t real. Personally, these statements have hurt me very much after all we’ve been through.

PND: We’ve heard people question the legitimacy of your record attempt given that the video feed went out for a while and the stakes weren’t publicized. Would you consider doing it again?

Rudi Teichmann: I can say only one thing: the whole Guinness world record was 100% recorded. The records have already been submitted to Guinness along with the logbook. The thing with the live stream was a spontaneous idea of ours and, accordingly, came with a few problems.

It is also, in this country, very difficult to find sponsors; we paid for everything out of our own pockets. I claim that we could have managed 150 hours with professional support and assistance. Our team is ready to meet this challenge again, in Las Vegas or anywhere else, to prove to everyone that our record was won honestly.

PND: What’s the hardest part about playing poker for so long? How were you able to overcome that?

Rudi Teichmann: The most difficult thing was to keep our emotions under control. The fact that we are really good friends allowed us however to push each other. The worst thing in the whole affair for me was when the doctor took me off the table. The coordination of my movements was no longer smooth and I began to hallucinate. But in view of our diet, this had to be expected. I think with a regular and professional diet, we could have gone even further.

PND: What’s next for the Magnificent Seven?

Rudi Teichmann: We want to prove to the world that we are legitimate people and that even more is possible. I believe that together with Phil Laak, we could set a new world record on the basis of the obtained results and the gained experience, even if we play a cash game – but this would only be possible with sponsors…

PND: Give us your own background in the poker world.

Rudi Teichmann: I just wanted to prove that with willpower, you can play for more than 100 straight hours. I also tried to market this attempt, which, however, proved to be more than difficult. The gambling laws of Austria made it very difficult to get a permit for such an event. I don’t event dare to talk about sponsors. I was ready to cancel everything, but then my boys told me they wanted to do it. We funded more or less everything out of our own pockets and that was a significant five-digit Euro amount.

I am 46 years old. I studied marketing and work in a larger company as Director of Sales. In January of this year, I became dad for the first time. Otherwise, I love playing poker! In summary, I can only say that I would be happy to do it again, but this time in a more professional environment.