Life of a Champion after the World Series of Poker: What is Martin Jacobson up to, nowadays?

Philanthropic World Series of Poker Champion Martin Jacobson talks about what life has become after his victory.

After winning the 2014 World Series of Poker Main Event Championship in November, the Swedish professional poker player dove head first into the world of philanthropy. According to gambling news, he donated a generous amount, $250 million to the non-profit organization Raising for Effective Giving. The aim of the organization is to motivate able poker players to donate to cost effective charities around the world.

• Jacobson donated a large portion of his $10 million prize to REG
• Half of the money went to animal welfare
• Jacobson has been travelling a lot since the WSOP Championship

The REG patch on Jacobson’s shirt means that he committed to a 5% donation subtracted from his gross winnings. On the issue, the 2014 WSOP Champion said the following: “The amount I’m donating doesn’t have a significant impact on my life by any means, but knowing it can save other lives makes it a no-brainer.” He joined REG about a month before the final contest and was enthusiastic about changing lives once he won the grand prize.

Jacobson concerns himself with the well-being of animals

The poker winner will donate exactly half of his overall donation, $125,000 to animal welfare organizations with an effective take on saving animals. Broken down to figures, this means that Jacobson’s contribution will liberate approximately 300,000 animals from having to go through a painful life on factory farms. The other portion of the money will go to “meta” charities. The purpose of these charities is to support efficiency-oriented organizations when it comes to taking action.

Since he has gotten older, his aspirations to give to those who are less fortunate have evolved due to him becoming a more spiritual person. His girlfriend proved to be a great inspiration in this area, and he explained that he has learnt plenty from her. The reason why he chose to donate such a sizable share of his donation to saving animals is rooted in his belief that all life, human and animal, is on the same level. In his eyes, we have to take responsibility for animals that we can save.

After the WSOP Championship, travel has become a large part of Jacobson’s life

online gambling sites in Canada report that Jacobson has been living in London, but he has been to many places since he became the Champion: Malta, Vancouver, Los Santos and he even went back to Stockholm. When scrolling through his Twitter account, we can see, for example, that he has been asked to present the Best Tournament Performance of the Year at the American Poker Awards. He was also nominated for Best Tournament Performance at the European Poker Awards, and won.

Indeed, Jacobson’s days are packed with action, but his life at the moment seems to be ruled by a house move (when he is not playing live poker somewhere in the world.) Although he is a private person, a soon-to-be released documentary, 10 for 10 is going to be a trailer which lets us glimpse behind the scenes on Jacobson and his run during the 2014 WSOP Championship. The trailer has already been released and based on it, the film will extremely intriguing.

Jacobson was constantly followed around by the film crew

When Jacobson signed a contract with his sponsor, Natural Stacks, they told him that they would send a crew to film him before the final table. The plan was that some of the recorded material would be added to some of his interviews, but it evolved into something else. “They followed me everywhere. When I won, they realized they could turn the footage into a documentary. They have a sick amount of content,” said Jacobson. He agreed with the crew and the editing began.

In his free time, Jacobson enjoys a vast array of things, and internet betting in London is one of those hobbies. He likes to gamble on tennis and mixed martial arts events, but researches a lot before placing any bets. He is also one of the most health-conscious poker players: he takes care to have a balanced diet and enjoys all sorts of physical activities. He practices yoga and the Japanese art of meditation for stress-reduction, Reiki.