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Player Interview: Apathy123

30 January 2008 by Philip Tuck

One of the scariest moments in my online poker career happened during the 5k while I was Heads-Up with Barry Greenstein...

Peter Jetten, aka Apathy123, took down both the PokerStars Winner Takes All AND the Heads Up Showdown all in one Sunday night...

Name/Age/Location/Poker ID and why you chose it?

Peter Jetten from Toronto, Ontario, Canada known as Apathy on twoplustwo/pocket fives and as Apathy123 on Poker Stars.

When or what started you off in playing poker? How were your early experiences in learning how to play?

I started playing poker for fun, all kinds of different games in highschool with friends. I only started playing texas holdem more in my first year of university which was in 2003. I won a freeroll while playing for fun on some small poker site and built that $75 dollars into the bankroll I have today.

So what factors/skills /attributes got you to the level you currently are?

I read a lot of books when I first started, I also started posting and getting involved in the twoplustwo community. It was there that I met many of the people who are some of my best friends today. People like Dave Benefield, Phil Galfond, Andrew Robl, Tom Dwan, Alan Sass, Jon Little and many others were just rising through the levels as I was. We really helped each other out a lot and since we were all focused on becoming better poker players we really helped each other improve a ton.

The moment when I met these guys at an ‘STTF’ event in Las Vegas organized by my good friend known as Irieguy online was probably the most important in my poker development, and I flew there not knowing a single one of them in real life.

Has there ever been a time when things just weren't going right for you while playing poker?

Everyone has downswings and upsetting weeks and months. The key to being a longterm winner in poker is ensuring you never forget the importance of asset and risk management, which are more important then raw poker ability in my opinion.

How would you best describe your style of play?

I try to adjust to every table and situation as they come up, and predict how they will unfold in the future and play to maximize my equity against that.

When you took down the PokerStars 5k winner take all and the high stakes showdown in the same night were there any key moments or hands you would like to share?

One of the scariest moments in my online poker career happened during the 5k while I was Heads-Up with Barry Greenstein. There was a hand where I flopped quads after calling a raise pre flop. I checked and called a bet from Barry, and because of the flow of the match I really felt like I would win the most by checking the hand to him on all three streets since I thought he might try to bluff every chance he got. I check called the flop then checked and he bet again on the turn and I called. Then… I disconnected!! I have never panicked so much in my life, fortunately I got reconnected with 1 second left just in time to check, and Barry bet a third time and then folded to my check raise all in.

Do you ever feel intimidated by the strength of the field in tournaments/cash games at these stakes?

Quite the opposite, I think most of the fields in just about every tournament I play I am a big favorite in. There are quite a few players playing consistently that just aren’t that great. As for cash games, I prefer to play shorthanded and if the game only has the very strongest players in it, I will just avoid that game and try and find a better one. Even if I do decide to sit in a game which I feel I may not have an edge in just to gamble there is no sense getting intimidated really since that only leads to worse play.

What’s the craziest prop bet you have ever been involved in?

There are a few great ones I have been in and seen go down but easily the craziest is when Tom Dwan (Durrrr) and I paid this guy in the Bahamas $5,000 to jump into a shark tank. I never thought he would do it, he was standing on top of this pillar over the tank that held easily over twenty sharks and he jumped in, touched the bottom and scrambled out of there unscathed. The full story is on shipitholla.com

Which poker players do you consider to be the best and why?

The Poker players I consider best are those that are great at all the “important” games. I would list those in order as NLHE cash, NLHE tournaments, PLO cash and HORSE cash play. I don’t consider myself amongst them yet as I am pretty much a NLHE specialist still but I’m working hard on becoming an expert at some of the other games.

Are there any tips or hints you could give to readers about how to improve their game and go around building a bankroll?

I started out building my bankroll playing sit-n-go’s and although it has provided me with a great math and tournament background I really think its best to start out playing cash games, or maybe a mix.

The biggest tip I can offer would be to focus on improving your game more then improving your bankroll. If you focus on self improvement first you wont run as much of a risk of playing too high and exposing yourself to a large risk of ruin and if you really improve all the time… the money will come.

Any shout outs you want to give?

Shipitholla.com