Juha Helppi
Encyclopedia
Juha Helppi is a Finnish
professional poker
player from Helsinki
.
, but made a name for himself in the first World Poker Tour
(WPT) event in Aruba
, where he eliminated Kathy Liebert
on the way to defeating professional player Phil Gordon
in a heads-up challenge match. He has since made two other WPT final tables, with a 4th place finish in the Season 1 Battle of Champions and a 2nd place finish to England
's Roland De Wolfe
in the Grand Prix de Paris 2005 event. In addition he had a 10th place finish in the Season 3 Championship event.
He has also finished in the money of five World Series of Poker
events, and his career winnings to date amount to over $2,420,000.
In November 2005, Helppi faced Phil Laak
and Kenna James
in the first ever underwater poker tournament and was awarded the Caribbean Poker Classic Extreme Poker bracelet.
As the winner of InterPoker's first extreme poker tournament, he earned the right to choose the next year's location. He chose to play it in Kemi
on the frozen Gulf of Bothnia
. He finished second, losing to former WSOP champion Robert Varkonyi
.
As of 2010, his total live tournament winnings exceed $3,000,000. His 13 cashes at the WSOP account for $511,949 of those winnings.
Helppi is a high level paintball
player and the captain of the Finnish national paintball champions 1997,2003,2007 and 2008. When younger, he played Magic: The Gathering
successfully for several years.
On March 4 2007, his 30th birthday, Helppi won the inaugural Premier League Poker title, defeating some of the all-time greats along the way, such as Phil Hellmuth
and Dave "Devilfish" Ulliott
.
Juha is rumored to be the online highstakes player "Lokoisback".
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...
.
Career
Juha was originally a poker dealerPoker dealer
A poker dealer distributes cards to players and manages the action at a poker table.-Professional dealers:Any casino with a poker room must hire a staff of dealers. Casinos generally pay dealers minimum wage. However, a dealer's primary source of income is not salary, but tips from players*...
, but made a name for himself in the 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) event in Aruba
Aruba
Aruba is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km east of Guajira Peninsula...
, where he eliminated Kathy Liebert
Kathy Liebert
Kathleen H. Liebert is an American professional poker player.- Poker :Liebert started her professional poker career as a prop player in Colorado...
on the way to defeating professional player Phil Gordon
Phil Gordon
Philip Stewart Gordon is an American professional poker player, commentator and author.-Personal life:Gordon was born in El Paso, Texas. He spent his formative years in Stone Mountain, Georgia. Gordon began attending Georgia Tech at the age of 15 while still attending high school...
in a heads-up challenge match. He has since made two other WPT final tables, with a 4th place finish in the Season 1 Battle of Champions and a 2nd place finish to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
's Roland De Wolfe
Roland De Wolfe
Roland De Wolfe is an English professional poker player and a former writer for the poker magazine Inside Edge.After winning first prize in an event at the 2004 Gutshot Poker Festival, he went on to make a money finish in the $1,000 No Limit event of the 2005 World Series of Poker.In July 2005, he...
in the Grand Prix de Paris 2005 event. In addition he had a 10th place finish in the Season 3 Championship event.
He has also finished in the money of five World Series of Poker
World Series of Poker
The World Series of Poker is a world-renowned series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas and, since 2005, sponsored by Harrah's Entertainment...
events, and his career winnings to date amount to over $2,420,000.
In November 2005, Helppi faced Phil Laak
Phil Laak
Philip "Phil" C. Laak is a professional poker player, now residing in Los Angeles, California. Laak holds a World Poker Tour title, a World Series of Poker bracelet and has appeared on numerous nationally-aired television shows.-Early life:...
and Kenna James
Kenna James
Kenna James is an American professional poker player, television commentator and consultant who currently resides in Costa Mesa, California....
in the first ever underwater poker tournament and was awarded the Caribbean Poker Classic Extreme Poker bracelet.
As the winner of InterPoker's first extreme poker tournament, he earned the right to choose the next year's location. He chose to play it in Kemi
Kemi
Kemi is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located very near the city of Tornio. It was founded in 1869 by royal decree, because of its proximity to a deep water harbour....
on the frozen Gulf of Bothnia
Gulf of Bothnia
The Gulf of Bothnia is the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It is situated between Finland's west coast and Sweden's east coast. In the south of the gulf lie the Åland Islands, between the Sea of Åland and the Archipelago Sea.-Name:...
. He finished second, losing to former WSOP champion Robert Varkonyi
Robert Varkonyi
Robert Varkonyi is an American poker player, best known for winning the main event of the 2002 World Series of Poker.-Early years:Varkonyi was born in and raised in New York...
.
As of 2010, his total live tournament winnings exceed $3,000,000. His 13 cashes at the WSOP account for $511,949 of those winnings.
Helppi is a high level paintball
Paintball
Paintball is a sport in which players compete, in teams or individually, to eliminate opponents by tagging them with capsules containing water soluble dye and gelatin shell outside propelled from a device called a paintball marker . Paintballs have a non-toxic, biodegradable, water soluble...
player and the captain of the Finnish national paintball champions 1997,2003,2007 and 2008. When younger, he played Magic: The Gathering
Magic: The Gathering
Magic: The Gathering , also known as Magic, is the first collectible trading card game created by mathematics professor Richard Garfield and introduced in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast. Magic continues to thrive, with approximately twelve million players as of 2011...
successfully for several years.
On March 4 2007, his 30th birthday, Helppi won the inaugural Premier League Poker title, defeating some of the all-time greats along the way, such as Phil Hellmuth
Phil Hellmuth
Phil Hellmuth is an American professional poker player. He is best known for holding a record 11 World Series of Poker bracelets, for winning the Main Event of the 1989 World Series of Poker and for his temperamental, "poker brat" personality...
and Dave "Devilfish" Ulliott
Dave Ulliott
David A. Ulliott , known by the nickname Devilfish, is an English professional gambler and poker player. Formerly, Ulliott was a minor figure in the Hull underworld, but went on to become a World Series of Poker bracelet-winner, and a mainstay of televised poker...
.
Juha is rumored to be the online highstakes player "Lokoisback".