Jani Sointula is a Finnish

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 professional poker

Poker

Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...

 player from Helsinki

Helsinki

Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...

.

In November 2004, he won the Monte Carlo Millions

Monte Carlo Millions

The Monte Carlo Millions was the first ever poker tournament to be staged in the city-state of Monaco. The inaugural event was completed on 12 November 2004. Apparently birthed out of the preceding explosion of Texas Hold 'em popularity, it was conceived of and sponsored by Prima Poker. The field...

, defeating fellow countryman Juha Helppi

Juha Helppi

Juha Helppi is a Finnish professional poker player from Helsinki.-Career:Juha was originally a poker dealer, but made a name for himself in the first World Poker Tour event in Aruba, where he eliminated Kathy Liebert on the way to defeating professional player Phil Gordon in a heads-up challenge...

 in the final heads-up confrontation to take home the $400,000 first prize. The final table also featured Phil Ivey

Phil Ivey

Phillip Dennis "Phil" Ivey Jr. is an American professional poker player who has won eight World Series of Poker bracelets, one World Poker Tour title and appeared at nine World Poker Tour final tables...

, who finished 3rd and went on to win the event the following year.

In March 2005, Sointula finished on the final table bubble of the first European Poker Tour

European Poker Tour

The Pokerstars European Poker Tour is a series of poker tournaments similar to those in the World Poker Tour , created by John Duthie, winner of the inaugural Poker Million tournament. It began in 2004 as part of the worldwide explosion in Texas Hold 'em popularity...

 (EPT) Grand Final. He also finished in the money of the 2005 World Series of Poker

2005 World Series of Poker

The 2005 World Series of Poker opened play on June 2, continuing through the Main Event No Limit World Championship starting on July 7. The conclusion of the Main Event on July 15 marked the close of play, and the largest prize in sports and/or television history at the time was awarded to the...

 $10,000 no limit

Betting (poker)

In the game of poker, the play largely centers on the act of betting, and as such, a protocol has been developed to speed up play, lessen confusion, and increase security while playing...

 hold'em main event.

In June 2006, Sointula made his first World Poker Tour

World Poker Tour

The World Poker Tour is a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting the final table of each tournament. It was started in the United States by attorney/television producer Steven Lipscomb, who served as CEO of WPT Enterprises , the firm that...

 (WPT) final table at the fifth season

World Poker Tour season 5 results

- Mirage Poker Showdown:* Casino: The Mirage, Las Vegas * Buy-in: $10,000* 4-Day Event: May 14, 2006 to May 17, 2006* Number of Entries: 384* Total Prize Pool: $3,724,800* Number of Payouts: 36* Winning Hand: K-5...

 Grand Prix de Paris event, finishing runner-up when his lost to Christian Grundtvig's .

As of 2008, his total live tournament winnings exceed $1,000,000.

Sointula's online poker

Online poker

Online poker is the game of poker played over the Internet. It has been partly responsible for a dramatic increase in the number of poker players worldwide...

handle is 'Hellraiser'.