Lee Davy sits down with the PokerStars Team Pro, Mickey Petersen, to talk about his series, his friendships, swaps and what part of Dominik Nitsche he would prefer to inherit.
He might look like butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth but the PokerStars Team Pro, Mickey Petersen, can handle himself, don’t you worry about that.
He is a former European Poker Tour (EPT) Champion, English Poker Open (EPO) champion, and quite a little wizard when it comes to his online exploits.
I catch him milling around the halls of the Rio chatting to Nick Abou Risk and Dominik Nitsche, so I collar the charming man for a short interview.
How has your series been thus far?
“It’s going great. Overall, it’s been a fun summer and I am playing this $1,500—and am off to a good start, with the Main Event just a round the corner.”
Are you in profit?
“I am up but only because of people like Dominik. I have done really well in swaps and I won some money on Daniel Negreanu/Phil Ivey winning a bracelet so that worked out well. Other than that, I have one 13th so it’s been pretty bad in terms of cashes but I am in profit overall.”
The biggest tournament in the world is in full swing in the Amazon Room do you have a goal of playing in that one day?
“In the ONE-DROP? I guess the short answer is no. That’s not to say it wouldn’t be fun if an opportunity came up but it’s not a next step. I would like to play in some $100K High Roller events but not the ONE DROP.”
Do you think about the future or are you just happy in the moment?
“I do think about what the future will be like but at the same time I have found something that I love to do and I can win a bit of money doing it. So as long as these conditions are going to be there, I am not going to look too far ahead. But if the games got too hard and people started getting a whole lot better than me, then I would have to reconsider, but right now I am happy doing this. It’s awesome.”
What are you doing outside of poker?
“I live in London so I spend quite a bit of time there. It’s the place I go for downtime and where I play online. A lot of my time is spent traveling around and making friendships. I have been good this summer. It’s not all been poker and I have taken some time off this year. When I first came here I would play everything but not anymore.”
How important are your key friendships?
“It’s obviously really important, not just financially, but having people to hang out with when you bust. David {Vamplew} and I are having a tough summer in terms of results and then Dominik and Andrew have had great results; and Thayer {Rasmussen} had a great result in the Monster Stack yesterday. If you surround yourself with these types of people it not only helps your poker game but life in general.”
They say you are the essence of the five people you spend the most time with. As you hang around with Dominik Nitsche so much, what part of him would you like to inherit?
“It definitely has to be his ability to win flips.”
