Finn Ville Wahlbeck To Quit Pro-Poker While He’s Ahead
Ville Wahlbeck is giving up profesisonal poker. But don’t feel sorry for the 33-year-old from Finland. Because he’s giving it up $900,000 richer from just this year’s World Series of Poker alone. Before the 2009 WSOP, Wahlbeck had accumulated fewer than $200,000 in cashes, but this year was clearly Wahlbeck’s year.
He won the $10,000 Mixed Game World Championship, giving him a place in history as the first Finnish poker player ever to win a gold bracelet at the World Series of Poker. And that was just one of his top 3 finishes this year. He also placed 2nd in the $10,000 Deuce-7 Draw Lowball World Championship and 3rd in the $10,000 Seven-Card Stud World Championship.
In addition he reached 13th place in the $10,000 Omaha World Championship and 12th in $2,500 Razz.
Online poker players get an encouraging lesson from Wahlbeck’s example as he admits developing his poker skills online, with most of the hours he’s logged playing poker is his rough and rocky 6-year career being online. During that time he admits suffering some harsh bad beats.
Ville is one of the leading contenders for Cardplayer Magazine’s POY (Player of the Year) Award.
In announcing his “retirement” from professional poker, Wahlbeck doesn’t rule out possible future tournament play, but he insists he’s done with cash games. We suppose we should be grateful that he’s leaving the playing field open for some other up and coming players to excel and someday, maybe, also be able to quit while they’re ahead.
