Swedish online player Martin Jacobson made some impressive moves as he tortured his way to the final table. No one expected it from the clean-cut, ‘cool as a cucumber’ exterior, but this young man meant business and was determined to make his first proper impact on the live tournament stage. He spoke to Card Player after the event about his tournament history, luck, strategy, and future plans.
RM: Can you tell me about your tournament history?
MJ: This is my third live tournament and I finished in third place. I’ve only been playing online the last three years and my biggest tournament win is when I came second in the Sunday Million three months ago.
RM: You’ve mainly been playing online, so what do you find are the major differences between online and live play?
MJ: When you’re sitting in front of the computer you don’t have to think about your emotions or anything. You can play a lot of tables. That’s one thing that I think is better with live play, you can stay focused, and that comes automatically, especially in a big tournament like this. It’s easier to go on tilt when you’re playing online.
RM: Which do you prefer?
MJ: I like them both. There are some things I like better playing live, and there are some things I like better playing online.
RM: Have you ever played in an EPT before?
MJ: Yeah, I played in London.
RM: How did you get on there?
MJ: Not so good I went out after about seven hours on the first day.
RM: Did you qualify online for both of those EPTs?
MJ: Yeah I did. The one in London I qualified by Steps, but for this one, I was out pretty late and it wasn’t running anymore. There was only one last chance satellite left. It was beginning a couple of hours later, so I registered for $800, and I finished first, and there was only one package. So, that was pretty good. I really wanted to go because I heard that Budapest was going to be fun.
RM: What did you think of the players at the event?
MJ: I think it was much easier competition than it was in London because of the World Series running and all. So, all the pros were in town. I didn’t see so many recognisable pros here. I think poker is pretty new in Hungary, so it was much easier here than in London.
RM: Were there any major hands that changed the course of your game?
MJ: Yeah. The first day I was all in with nines against aces. A guy pushes from out of position, and I’m pretty short stacked but he was really short. So, I reraised him and pushed in with 8k, he had about 4k, and then the guy on the button insta moves all in too, so I knew it wasn’t about position. Of course he had aces, and the other guy, the first opening raiser, had K-Q and then the flop comes 9-9-4. That was a really good moment. I had some gut shot flush draws with some really big pots the second day, which I hit, so that was really important too. And of course today, I held 10-7 suited, and I flopped a gut shot flush draw. I knew Johnny [Lodden] had an overpair, I wasn’t really sure what the Hungarian player had, I felt he was weak, so I moved over the top, but he called because he had called Johnny’s raise. But he called with A-K diamonds, which is actually the worst hand he can have, for me, so I was looking really bad. The turn was a good card, it was a seven, so I made a pair, and then the nine on the river. I survived and won a huge pot.
RM: Do you think that luck was a major factor in this event for you?
JM: Yeah. I can’t disagree with that. I made top three.
RM: What’s your style of play?
JM: I’m trying to change my style on each table. I think you have to do that especially in tournaments like this.
RM: What would you like to do next?
JM: I’ve a friend going to Amsterdam, and I heard a ton of people saying it’s going to be great, but I don’t know it’s pretty soon. I might go there. I don’t know about Poland, but Prague, I think that’s going to be good too. And the PCA and the World Series as well.
Martin Jacobson finished in third place for €197,904
