Danish online pro Daniel Petersen doesn't always take a bad beat sitting down.
When a brutal runout delivers a miracle card for an opponent, Petersen is often on his feet, launching into a tirade about bad beats, variance, and the game stacked against him. Sometimes, he even disappears from the screen altogether and can be heard still shouting in the background.
Fans watching these occasional meltdowns might bet he has crossed over into full-blown monkey tilt. But they'd be 100% wrong, according to Petersen.
What looks like frustration boiling over is actually part of his mental strategy for keeping those tilting emotions in check. We had to find out if that strategy actually worked for Petersen, after so long in the game.
Petersen has been playing poker for over 20 years and competes at the highest stakes online. Backed and coached by poker phenom Matthias Eibinger, he regularly battles some of the game's toughest pros while streaming every single hand from start to finish.
Streaming changed everything
Two and a half years ago, a close friend convinced Petersen to try something completely different: streaming his poker sessions.
What began with a handful of viewers has become an essential part of his poker and social life, as Petersen hasn't played a single session off-stream since.
How many online poker pros can make that same claim? Very few.
One of the biggest events Petersen took down was during the 2024 GGPoker World Festival. He won the $10K Tuesday Classic event and streamed it all live.
PokerOrg caught up with Petersen to discuss the emotional roller coaster of high-stakes online poker, how he keeps his emotions in check, and why connecting with viewers has become one of the most rewarding parts of his career.
Daniel Petersen proudly displays one of the many trophies he's won playing online MTTs.
Bad beats, variance, and keeping calm
How do you personally deal with a long downswing or variance? I understand you let it all out while streaming?
When I'm sitting and playing, I often speak out my frustrations during a stream. This is a tactic for me, it's my way to get rid of my emotions right away if something bad happens. That way, I can move on to playing the next hand.
I may complain, but I can still play my best game at the same time. Sometimes, when people are watching, they might say, 'My God, this guy is complaining. He must be tilted. Listen to how he's sitting and speaking.'
Do fans consistently send you these types of messages while you’re playing?
Yes, I get many comments like this while streaming, but it's just their first impression. If they watch my stream for a long time, they will know I am very professional-minded and always try to do my best while playing.
What do you do away from the tables to reset mentally and maintain emotional balance?
I spend time with my family. I go outside and get some fresh air. I don't really spend too much energy on it when I'm done with my sessions. When I come back to play the next session, my mind resets from the beginning.
From seven viewers to streaming every session
What first got you interested in streaming poker?
It was actually a friend of mine who shared this idea with me; that was more than two and a half years ago. I've been a pro since 2014 and have played almost entirely online since 2002.
He said I was sitting in front of my screen every day, and it seemed like I was kind of stuck. I used to speak with people. Maybe streaming could be a good idea for me, and I should try it?
He was a good friend and very good with tech, so he helped me set up my stream.
Generally, it seems that you were you are very shy person online and in your daily life?
Yes. I have never been this kind of speaker type in front of an audience and stuff like that. Maybe I was a little bit shy in that regard.
I was a little bit nervous about how streaming would go for me from the start.
What were some of the biggest challenges when you first started streaming?
I try to communicate with the people who are watching the stream. Do they want to speak about poker? Do they enjoy the game? Do they enjoy watching me play? Do they get any benefits from watching me play?
In the beginning, it was very challenging because I didn’t have any viewers. I may have had 5-7 viewers on any one day.
You were playing some pretty big tournaments with only a handful of viewers watching. How was that experience?
I was playing a $10K final table back-to-back for two weeks in a row with only 7 viewers. It was pretty wild to play these big final tables on stream and have almost no one watching.
But overall, I have to say I'm very happy about how it’s going now. I made this big decision and stream every time I play. Now, I can't imagine not playing without streaming anymore.
Since I started streaming, I've been showing everything for two and a half years now. I’ve played everything on stream. I didn't play a single session that wasn’t streamed.
How has streaming affected your ability to play your best poker as you moved up to the highest stakes?
When I started streaming, I was already playing the high-stakes entries. For me, it was all about how I was going to present my streaming channel.
How many tables can I play and still play a very strong game? This is what it's all about.
What's your average buy-in these days, and how many tables can you handle?
My average buy-in when I'm playing the bigger series is about $ 2,000+. But I'm not sitting and playing 15 tables. I'm trying to play a maximum of up to 12. That's about where I can still play my A-game. I know that sounds crazy.
The competitive fire burns bright
Where does your competitive drive come from?
I've had this competitive mindset since I was very, very young. I’ve always been into competitive sports.
I always tried to reach the top of the games I played. When I reached the top level in sports, it was actually badminton. I played at the second-highest level you can in Denmark.
You used to play a lot of Spin & Go's?
Yes, one time two regs were at the table, and they wanted to talk to me. They told me they were going to make me quit the Spin & Go's. They wrote me directly like this.
I wrote back right away and told them I was going to make them quit. I knew I would, because I am very competitive. I played with these guys every day for one month, and we played 12 tables. After one month, both players disappeared.
How do you balance the demands of high-stakes poker with raising a family?
I have a little girl; she's 11 years old now. When I'm playing poker, it's always about planning ahead. I'm often grinding during a long series. That means I'm not really going to be very available during that time. I’m playing six times a week.
After a series, I’ll have one week with family. During a normal week, I have Fridays to spend more time with my family. And at times I’ll take a break for maybe one month, and I'm going to be more together with my family.
After all these years playing poker, what do you love most about streaming almost every day now?
I get to interact with people. I've been missing that in my real-life job. I think it's very important for humans, especially poker players.
Online players sit in front of a screen and don't get out. I don't really get out much when playing online. But by streaming, I can communicate with people in my chat. That’s very nice. I like to communicate with people and help out players with their games where I can.
This is my biggest motivation for streaming and my drive to keep showing up.
I'm always available. Players can reach out to me on Instagram, Discord, whatever; if they have questions, they can always reach me there.
Follow Petersen's online streaming journey on X, IG, and YouTube.
