This week, InterPoker pro Juha Helppi will take to the felts of the Poker Million VIII final, a made-for-television event that will also feature players like Luke “FullFlush1” Schwartz, 2009 World Series of Poker November Nine member James Akenhead, Taylor “Green Plastic” Caby, Dag Martin Mikkelsen, and Peter Vasiliou. Poker News Daily sat down with Helppi to get his take on the festivities.
Poker News Daily: Talk about going up against the likes of Schwartz, Akenhead, and Caby in the Poker Million VIII.
Helppi: I have no problem playing against any of them. We are playing short-stack poker and I’m better at that anyway. They might have an advantage with deeper stacks, but the chip leader only has 39 big blinds.
PND: Talk about being a bit older than the rest of your opponents, some of whom are accomplished internet pros. Does that give you an edge?
Helppi: I have played a lot of these made-for-television events, so I might have a small advantage in that I know what I am doing. They’re not getting the better of me because I’ve played a lot of these. I’ve also played a lot of sit and gos online and know the strategy you need to win. I know they’ll be aggressive, but I’m not afraid.
PND: Whose game out there do you respect the most?
Helppi: Probably Phil Ivey if he tries to win. If he really tries, he’s good. In most events, he gambles to get a big stack, but if he gets a stack, he tries hard. If it doesn’t work out, then he just signs up for another event. That’s the way many pros go about it because the fields are so large.
PND: You’ve been involved in a variety of unique tournaments over the course of your poker career, including an underwater event and a tournament on ice. Which one stands out to you the most and why?
Helppi: The underwater one because it was the first time I went diving. We went 30 feet underwater, which isn’t that far, but my mask started filling with water and I had to empty it many times. It’s simple to do, but when I did it for the first time, it wasn’t too easy. I know they’ve held a few more of those extreme events. They are a lot of fun and it’s nice to have different types of poker tournaments.
PND: How did you get started in poker?
Helppi: I was working as a dealer, although not in poker, in small clubs. My colleagues played poker and I was beating them a bit in live games. I started playing online, but that was back in 1998 and there weren’t many games to choose from. It was all Limit Hold’em since No Limit Hold’em hadn’t become popular yet.
PND: When did you decide to turn pro? How did your friends and family react?
Helppi: I decided to turn pro after I won the World Poker Tour Aruba Poker Classic in 2002. I took a year off from work and decided to try it. It went well, although my mom wasn’t happy. My dad was, but now they are both okay with it.
PND: Tell us about your paintball career. Do you still play?
Helppi: I still play. Last year, we finished third in the national league and the two previous years, we won. I have five national championships total. We mostly play during the summer because during the winter, it’s impossible to play outside. We have indoor places where you can play too, but they’re small.
PND: Are there any aspects of paintball that translate over to poker?
Helppi: It’s all about strategy. You have to build a strategy and guess how the other team plays. You have to somehow get into other people’s heads and know what they’re thinking.
PND: Are there still noticeable differences in player quality between tournaments held in the U.S. and Europe?
Helppi: There are. Tournaments held in France, Spain, and Italy are really soft. There are a lot of really aggressive players and a lot of really tight players. They play either too tight or too loose. In tournaments in Europe, the average level of play has been a lot better in the last two or three years. There are also a lot of U.S. players in these tournaments nowadays.
