An Orbit With Ilari "Zigmund" Sahamies

[user76023]

Ilari Sahamies is one of the best known online high stakes cash players in the world. He's also the chip leader at EPT Barcelona, so we've taken time out to follow an orbit of poker with him at the table.

Hand #1:

Sahamies was on the button, he looked fed up, probably wishing he was out partying but still decided to raise to 11,000 and everyone folded. He almost smiled for a second, then didn't.

Hand #2:

Pascal Hartmann raised to 10,000 from the hijack, Sahamies, looking nonplussed, made it 23,000 from the cutoff and Hartmann quickly backed down.

Hand #3:

Sahamies was in the hijack, it's folded to him and he somehow folded with a confused look on his face as if he's never experienced the feeling of folding during an unopened pot. Ugnius Simelionis raised the button to 10,000 with {K-Clubs} {Q-Hearts} and called Dennis Otten's all in, the latter's {Q-Clubs} {9-Spades} doesn't get there.

Hand #4:

Sahamies is UTG+2, he folded, perhaps daydreaming about whether it would be possible to build a house made out of bottles of Cristal.

Hand #5:

Sahamies is UTG+1 and, still thinking about his champagne bottle house, he folds preflop.

Hand #6:

Sahamies raised to 10,000 from UTG, mortified that he has folded three hands in a row. Ugnius Simelionis made the call to see a {J-Diamonds} {7-Hearts} {4-Clubs} flop. Sahamies bet 21,000 and Simelionis made the call.

On the {3-Clubs} turn, the Finn looked down and grabbed a 100,000 stack of blue chips and shoved it in the middle. Again Simelionis called. Both players checked the {Q-Clubs} river and Sahamies said, "Sixes, a pair of sixes." Simelionis showed {9-Hearts} {9-Clubs} to win the pot. Sahamies looked unimpressed, but that might be down to thinking about the logistics and structural problems of building a house made out of bottles of Cristal.

Hand #7:

Ugnius Simelionis raised to 10,000 on Sahamies' big blind, "Zigmund" is more interested in his head massage and mucked his hand.

Hand #8:

Anders Hansen raised to 11,000 from the hijack and Sahamies made the call in the small blind. The flop came {6-Spades} {8-Diamonds} {6-Diamonds} and Sahamies check-called a bet of 13,000 from his Danish opponent. On the {7-Diamonds} turn, Sahamies checked again and Hansen bet 29,000, the Finn looked momentarily perplexed but then made the call to see the {8-Hearts} on the river.

Sahamies thought for about a minute then moved all in, covering Hansen's remaining stack of about 160,000. Sahamies looked sleepy. Hansen tanked for several minutes and Sahamies, clearly wanting the action to keep moving, called the clock.

Hansen then made the call and Sahamies turned over {9-Clubs} {8-Clubs} for the rivered full house and Hansen flashed {10-Spades} {9-Spades} for the turned straight before leaving the table.

So there you have a round with Sahamies, he three-bets casually, turns pairs into bluffs and then overbet jams all in to force other players into leveling themselves, and he does this all while looking as though he'd rather be anywhere but here. Having started with 1 million chips, he finished with over 1.3 million and nearly broke into a smile after that last hand.

I said nearly.