The Stamp collects a pot from The Hellraiser(credit: World Poker Tour)
Jani Sointula has long locks of Viking hair. The young Finnish poker player, who is around 30 years old, and lives near Helsinki made headlines back in 2004 when he took down the Monte Carlo Millions, defeating countryman Juha Helppi. Known as ‘The Hellraiser’, Sointula’s razor sharp reads and aggressive style of play strikes fear in the hearts of many poker players.
Unfortunately for him, this was not the case at the 2006 World Poker Tour Grand Prix de Paris, held at the Aviation Club in the heart of the French capital. He was up against another Scandinavian player, a Danish poker pro, who made his fortune as a stamp collector. Yes, you read that right.
Christian Grundtvig, a former stamp collector, stared down the beast and won. Read on and see just one reason why he emerged victorious in this clash of the ‘Vikings’ if you dare:
Game Type: No Limit Texas Hold’em
Tournament: World Poker Tour Grand Prix de Paris
Players in hand: Jani Sointula, Christian Grundtvig
Starting Hands
Jani Sointula (J
, 7
)
Christian Grundtvig (K, 7
)
PreFlop
Jani Sointula - Jani, known as Hellraiser on the touring circuit, tried to raise some Hell with a raise to $125k. Christian Grundtvig - Christian wasn’t afraid - and if he could see Jani’s dominated hand he would have moved all in. As it was, he just called.
The Flop [10, 10
, K]
Christian Grundtvig, The Stamp, decided to slow play his kings up and simply taps the table, indicating a check. Jani Sointula, the younger player from Finland, thinks he will take a shot and fires 200k at the pot.
The Stamp goes into the tank and thinks things over for a bit. Could Jani have him beat? The odds are against him having a Ten or a King, so unless he is holding Aces - also very unlikely - then Christian is ahead.
But Hellraiser may have a hand that could outdraw The Stamp, so Christian isn’t taking any chances at this point. He takes a risk and moves all in.
There isn’t much need for going to the tank to think things over; Jani modestly mucks his hand.
Take that, Hellraiser!
Here, Jani Sointula chats with PokerNews while in London for the 2008 World Series of Poker. Don’t adjust your sound. The interview is conducted in Finnish and English:
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