Our Verdict:
When Daniel Negreanu said of Patrik Antonius, “dude is too pretty to be good at poker”, he was speaking from experience. Not of how good looking Antonius is – we all know that just by looking at the former model as he sits at the poker table – but of how talented the 26-year-old Finn is when is comes to playing cards.
Antonius came up against Negreanu online but without realising who Negreanu (who was playing under the screen name “KidPoker”) was. It wasn’t long before Negreanu had taken Antonius, a relatively rookie at the tables at the time, for $90,000.
Antonius offered more than a glimpse of the genius that would became his hallmark, however, in the way in which he responded to that particular setback. Far from being overawed or allowing his head to drop, Antonius was sure he could overcome his mystery opponent next time round. And so it proved – in 10 online rematches, Antonius triumphed nine times for around $400k.
In a style that has since become his hallmark, Antonius merely explained that he felt confident about facing "KidPoker" again after the initial setback because he thought he had a "pretty big edge over him." As he explained to Bluff Magazine: "I had a really good feeling for where I stood on most hands, and he would steam a little bit when I put some beats on him," he said.
An insatiable desire to learn, improve and adapt has been a feature of Antonius’ short but illustrious poker career. When his chances to become a top-class tennis player were cut short by injury, Antonius began seeking a new outlet for his competitive instincts. After wandering into a casino in 1998, he tried his hand a poker and found he had the right skills to make a success of the game. He honed his game organically – in other words, by working his way up through the buy-ins online rather than reading books – and was able to turn pro in 2002.
Antonius - who plays under various aliases including "Luigi66369", "-Antonius-" and "I_Knockout_U" - is best known as a high-stakes cash game specialist, regularly playing the $200/$400 no limit games online. As a pro he’s quit his homeland and moved to Las Vegas, found a fiancée and bought a property he’s currently renovating. He’s the youngest player to ever regularly participate in the 'Big Game', the world-famous high-stakes cash game held at the Bellagio.
Although he built his reputation online – and has a huge following among railbirds who like to study his performances – Antonius has also enjoyed considerable success in offline tournaments. In 2005 he won the Scandinavian Open in Stockholm ($66,261 prize money) and came third at the EPT Barcelona event to claim $145,068. Just three weeks after his triumph in the Catalan capital, Antonius added victory in the Baden Baden EPT event to cement his position among the best newcomers in the game.
As he explains on his MySpace page, he landed the $343,366 first prize in Baden Baden even though he arrived for the tournament five hours late, by which