World Poker Tour

Juha Helppi “Peasant“

Birthplace
Turku, Finland

Birthday
March 4

Total Winnings
$634,064

When Juha Helppi does something, he gives all of his efforts to it and comes out on top. During his youth, it was sports, specifically soccer, and he excelled in the sport. He also played paintball and was the captain of the Finnish national paintball champion team. And in his spare time, he was a member of Magic: The Gathering and, again, did it well. When he was introduced to poker at the age of 21, he took a job as a casino dealer through which he learned the finer points of the game by watching others play the game. He also spent time with friends who taught him several variations of the game, and he studied books to improve his skills.

Juha took his game to the next level by beginning to play online. In a relatively short period of time, he was a winning player on the Internet and in live cash games, and he has lived on his poker winnings ever since. By 2001, he took his success to live tournaments and immediately saw the results of his time and study. He took third place in the Helsinki Freezeout hold'em event, then moved on to warmer climates for a shot at the World Poker Tour at the UltimateBet Poker Classic in 2002, which he won for the first prize of $50,000.

The poker world was only seeing the beginning of what Juha was capable of doing with his poker game when he put his mind to it. In 2003, he cashed in two World Series of Poker events, one of those being fourth place in the $2000 no-limit hold'em tournament. Among his other accomplishments were the second place finish at the 2004 Monte Carlo Millions main event and a number of final tables at international tournaments. He made another WPT final table at the 2005 Grand Prix de Paris where he finished in second place for over $300,000, then another second place at the 2006 WSOP in the $1000 no-limit hold'em event. Most recently, he took down the Premier Poker League championship in England. When Juha Helppi puts his mind to something, there's no stopping this professional.