On Friday, a top European online poker professional announced that he would quit playing poker, citing fatigue and a depleted bankroll as the reasons.
Swedish professional Jonas “Nebuchad” Danielsson, in a rambling blog post issued last week, stated (in a rough translation from the original Swedish), “The fire and passion I had for poker is now complete. It’s like a bonfire that burned all night and now (it) hisses in the morning.” Citing an inability to sleep and the desire to experience other things in life, Danielsson says that the decision to quit playing poker has been brewing in his mind for the past two years; only now did the time feel right for his retirement.
In addition to the physical desire to stop playing, “Nebuchad” also states in the blog that he couldn’t do what most players do when faced with a depleted bankroll. There were “hints,” he says, from his fellow players that he should step down in levels and attempt to rebuild, which Danielsson pushed aside for two reasons. First, Jonas writes, “It would not change my financial situation. I should not have to work harder in my life, if I play my cards right.”
The second reason demonstrates one of the pitfalls of all players, whether they play at high-stakes or micro-stakes: “Secondly, going from top to bottom anywhere on the table and the risk of going out is too much for my vanity psyche. Without exaggerating, I would find it hard to look people in the eye.” Ego is something that all players have to face at some point in their poker playing lifetimes.
“Nebuchad” continues with a couple of memories that made him one of the top online players in the world. He discusses his legendary battles against Patrik Antonius, including a breakdown of a few hands, and remembers the moments quite fondly. “I can’t describe the feeling I had in poker (that day),” Jonas recalls.
In a down moment for his poker career, Danielsson recaps what should have been one of the top moments in his life. In 2008 during the Scandinavian Poker Awards, Jonas won the best online player award and accepted it from top professional Daniel Negreanu. When Negreanu asked him what his screen name meant, “Nebuchad” responded with a statement that implied that he disliked members of the Jewish faith. It was a statement that was taken out of context and, since that time, Danielsson has stated he meant no disrespect of the Jewish people and that he was highly nervous during the awards ceremony.
In a thread on the TwoPlusTwo forums, the common belief is that the Swede will be back at some point. The poster “mumrik” writes, “(From his blog post), it doesn’t seem like he has given up the thought of playing poker completely.” “GiantWalleye” agrees and cites his own experience: “I played fulltime back in 04-06, got bored and got a job. (I) realized I didn’t like working and was back to playing fulltime by ‘08. He will be back.”
In his live playing career, Danielsson had been suffering from a downswing. According to the HendonMob database, “Nebuchad” did not cash in a live event in 2009 and only took in approximately $190,000 over his four-year live career. Jonas cashed in three events during the 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) and earned his best live cash, a third place in the Swedish Poker Championships for $67,658, early in the year. The earnings from his online cash games, however, are said to have Danielsson well off. At some point, the desire for the game could potentially bring “Nebuchad” back from the grave.
