Theo Jørgensen: From Bracelets to Boxing

Theo Jorgensen is often someone who veers away from the spotlight, so it can be easy to overlook him —that is unless of course you’re standing within close proximity to the felt he’s sitting at where you will witness him constantly closing in on his table-mates like a cat amongst pigeons. The fact is this great Dane is a fiersome opponent with some spectacular results to his name. With over $1.2 million in lifetime tournament earnings including a rake of final tables at the European Poker Tour, the World Poker Tour, and the World Series of Poker, plus an unknown amount of cash game winnings, this one-man machine stepped into the centre of the poker world in his home town of Copenhagen recently, to highlight a slightly different set of skills.

As described in the Carry on Copenhagen feature in this issue, Jorgensen and Gus Hansen took to the boxing stadium after the final table of the EPT Scandinavian Open main event to settle an old score. But where did the idea for a fight come from? “I’m interested in watching the really big fights but besides that I’ve actually no interest in boxing,” Jorgensen told Card Player. “It was just a total coincidence that we made the bet because he was giving me the needle by shadow boxing and it looked extremely stupid, and I was a bit pissed off because I lost. Then I challenged him and said, ‘Well, we can always have a new bet going on’. That’s how it came up.”

It took five months of training to prepare with a month-long break in between for the World Series of Poker and the Master Classics. “I was not in good shape and I was getting a little too chubby so it was a really good bet for me because I could pull myself together and get in shape,” admitted the Dane, “I lost 10 kilos, which I’m very happy with. But in the beginning it was very, very hard. I remember my body was in pain the day after training, and two days after training, it was almost worse. It was a nightmare sometimes. But very slowly it got better, and now I don’t have a problem training, like two days in a row.” It would be a shame for Jorgensen to let all his hard work go to waste, but he doesn’t intend on letting it, “I’m going to keep something up, I just don’t like getting hit in the face. I’m done with that. Besides that, I really like boxing exercise, because normally when I train it’s squash or football, and I only get tired using my legs.”

Serious Business

So, the question everyone wants to know — what is it like to have to hit your friend? According to Jorgensen, “There was a point in the first round when I was really uncomfortable with that because I didn’t know if Gus was ready and I didn’t know what he thought. We had agreed that this was not going to be fun, it was going to be serious, but I think I took it a little more serious than he did because his defence wasn’t so good and then I actually hit him two or three times, and I could see that it hurt. I could feel it because my hits were getting in and I could see that he was hurt. And that was a very uncomfortable feeling. Then he got back in the fight and it was just a fight to survive.”

Jorgensen’s trainer’s strategy went out the window as soon as he stepped foot in the ring. “It’s just a totally different thing when you get into the ring. I know I’m in good shape now, and I knew I was ready for it. Two or three days before, I was sparring for four or five rounds and I felt drained when we hit the third round. Against Gus, with the adrenalin pumping and everything, I felt drained after 90 seconds. I don’t know how they do 12 rounds. You’re standing up there with 90 seconds gone on the clock and you think, ‘What the fuck am I gonna do now?’” But Jorgensen is honest enough to admit that he thought his friend and opponent was going to be a better fighter than he was. He is also modest enough to add that he thought he would be better himself. “It was like I forgot 80 percent of what I learned,” he says.

As the crowds roared, and the last blows were fired, it was difficult to tell who was doing better. Perhaps Jorgensen knew himself that he had it in the bag. “Not really, I knew I had hit a lot of times, and I knew he had hit me, but I didn’t really know.”
It was clear that the Dane had a lot of support with the majority of the spectators shrieking his name at the top of their lungs in unison. Surely that in itself would serve as a moral booster? “It’s like you didn’t really notice what was going on,” explains Jorgensen. “You could hear some screaming but basically you were 100 percent focused. I was concentrating on breathing and getting some air.”

From the Ring to the Felt

The Danish pro has had some close calls at the WSOP and the EPT, so when he took down the pot-limit Omaha event at the WSOP Europe in London, it was well overdue. However, while making his way through his opponents at the event, he kept grounded in his thoughts and focused on “not taking anything for granted”. At the same time, the icey-faced Omaha cash game specialist was as cool as a cucumber, “No, no, no. I wasn’t intimidated by anyone at the final table. I wouldn’t say so,” he said. Adding, “I don’t think it’s a good idea to get intimidated. I really don’t feel intimidated and I think that’s definitely the wrong path to take.”

Most players know large tournaments revolve around the moment that a coinflip can go for or against them. Did Jorgensen believe he was lucky to walk away with the $394,150 first prize or was it all skill and meticulous strategic planning? Well, he is first to admit he had his share of luck in the tournament, including some wonderous back-to-back quads on the final table. It is clear why his best result is in pot-limit Omaha however when he explains why he likes it so much and why it is his main game. “There’s a lot more action in it. You can get away with a lot of big bluffs. That’s what I like. I like the fact that you can make guys lay down second nuts in Omaha. I never really played the cash part of Texas hold’em, I always thought it was too boring. In the old days, it was seven-card stud we were playing all the time. It was so many years ago I can’t remember even when I learned.”

The Long and Winding Road

His history in the game, he says, “It was a very long road — I was playing with colleagues and I was pretty much winning every single time, and I was convinced I was playing with very, very bad players. Then I changed jobs three times and I kept on winning and then I started to think that maybe I was better than I thought I was. That was even before there was anything called online. I progressed mostly live. I was pretty much always in the big games, like after the 200/400.”
So does the Dane think that because he started before there was online poker he is a stronger player? ”Obviously I’m convinced that that’s a big advantage, because the games online were so much better four or five years ago — there were so many people who had to learn the games. The games were good, and that was an advantage. Now, I play on my sponsor’s site Bet24. They have a 50/50 pot-limit Omaha. But once in a while I take some shots at the 200/400.”

With Danes topping the poker playing charts at the moment, it is hard not to question what kind of wonder diet these young guns are on. “I really don’t have a clue. I don’t know if it’s because the Danes really like to discuss poker hands and get better strategy that way, but I don’t know if our education is better, I don’t think so. Mostly, I think it’s just coincidence.” And as far as a player to watch out for is concerned, Jorgensen mischievously says, “There’s a bald guy called … Gustav Hansen. Keep an eye out for him.”

Dark Horse

Surprisingly, the Dane who looks like power personified both at the table and in the ring, is genuine, witty, and super friendly. He is not someone always in the spotlight or laced across headlines. This is not because he likes it that way but because it is part of his discrete and humble personality. ”I don’t mind being in the press but there has to be a reason for me to be there. I’d rather not be in there, that’s why I sometimes turn the person down — because I don’t think there’s a reason for me to be in it.”

As far as poker is concerned, the man is clearly among the best in the world. At the same time, poker is not everything to him as he names “the family and football” as his interests outside of the game. “I’m with a girlfriend and two kids right now so for me it’s a bit different. Things are going extremely well right now, but I don’t know, I see myself playing a little less. I’ve already turned the volume of the playing down a bit but I think I can see myself just playing the big events and really big cash games once in a while.“

Future Events and “Side Events”

Now, as the WSOP looms ahead, how does this bracelet holder mentally and physically prepare for such a large festival of events? “My mistake was normally I went over there alone. But since we now have two kids and they’re very small, I can’t be over there for more than 14 days before I get home sick, so now I’m bringing the whole family and we’re renting the house. For me, my experience is that I can’t play so many tournaments in one go, I have to be very selective with the tournaments. On top of that I can’t play too many close to each other, so I have to take it easy. One of the first years I was playing many tournaments in a row and I was clueless after the first two, I was sitting there like a zombie. It’s amazing how some people can do it and can do well, but there’s no way I can do it.”

So, at the end of the day, it must be asked, was everything ok with his good friend Gus after the fight? “Yeah, yeah. My biggest concern was his sister and her husband because they’re friends of ours too. I felt uncomfortable hitting Gus in the face and then coming down there to say, ‘Hi’ but they were ok too, they knew it was just something that me and Gus had to do.” But now that it is done, it is easy to wonder if it really is over. Poker players love their side bets and with two competitive buddies like Gus and Theo, who knows what could happen. In response to whether there are any more bets coming up for the bracelet (and now “belt”) holder, he says, “I don’t know. Now I just have to get my nose back to normal again. So, I’m retiring from boxing with a positive 1-0 record.”