How did you start off in poker?
I started off watching a friend who was working at my school. He was one of the first in the world to start playing online. I watched him play fixedlimit almost every day for a couple of months and I learned a lot from him.

What’s the biggest difference between fixed-limit and no-limit?
Fixed-limit is all about hitting the nuts. There’s more luck involved because it’s so cheap to see the river card so you can get outdrawn all the time, even though the other person only has three outs. In no-limit, you can get rid of people on the flop, people are happy to pay $150 or $300 to see the next card in limit. But the swings in limit games can never compare to those in no-limit.

At the EPT London, Gus Hansen said that he wouldn’t like to face you heads-up. He said that he’d rather play Phil Ivey. What do you think about that?
Well of course that’s a huge compliment from Gus. I would certainly play both of them online, but I wouldn’t like to play either of them in live play. Phil Ivey is the player I respect the most. I think in live play, he’s definitely the best in the world. But after seeing him play online, he really isn’t doing all that well!

Do you feel like you do something different to players when you play online?
I think I’m quite good at getting the last value bet in on the river in no-limit. Even in no-limit that’s a big thing. You have to bet with marginal hands, where you know you’re 60/40 because in the long term you will win.

How much do you have to lose for it to hurt your bankroll nowadays?
I think about $50,000. No, maybe $100,000. That’s big. I do have a skewed perspective of money. I’ve never worked and don’t know what it’s like to make $1,000 a month. I admit that’s a bad thing though.

Whenever you play in a tournament now, people seem to expect you to win it. Do you feel the pressure?
Yeah. I have high expectations of myself. But I think people have too high expectations of me – that I’ll do well in tournaments and win every cash game. That’s not how it works.

Do you think all Scandinavian players are aggressive in their playing style?
Norwegians and Swedes are very different. The Norwegians are much more aggressive. Swedes are very passive. I was playing in the Swedish Championships last year and I raised ten hands in a row and it got folded all the way round.