Ever since the “poker boom” that took the world by storm, there have been amazing players popping up from places all over the globe. One of those great players is the young man from Vantaa Finland named Patrik Antonius. After bursting onto the scene in the 2005 World Series of Poker, Patrik Antonius has made a name for himself as not only one of the best European players in the game, but one of the best players in all of the world.

One of his most crowning achievements as a pro came in the 2005 European Poker Tour event in Baden bei Wien as he earned first place honors and a prize of nearly 300,000 Euros. There is nothing quite like winning a major poker tournament, but Antonius might be most happy with his 2nd place finish in the 2005 World Poker Tour event called the Diamond World Poker Classic. His efforts earned him just over $1 million, not too shabby for finishing runner up.

Those tournaments in 2005 no doubt gave him a great deal of confidence as he moved further in his career. Through the end of 2009, Antonius is reported to have earned approximately $2.8 million in all of his live tournaments with almost $800,000 of that money coming on the biggest stage in the World Series of Poker events.

It is true that Antonius is a dominant force in the high stakes tournament arena, but he has also made a killing playing in cash games. Both online and live, Patrik Antonius has been making it a habit to rake in massive pots. He is no stranger to the hit TV show “High Stakes Poker” where he regularly plays against the fiercest competition in the game. One of the best aspects of Antonius is his demeanor at the table. He rarely shows emotions even after he lost a poker pot worth over three quarters of a million dollars to the animated Jamie Gold. That loss did anything but deter Patrik because he continued to play the richest cash games in the world and he has the distinct honor of winning the biggest single pot ever recorded in the history of internet poker, $1,356,946.

Even though he has quite a lustrous past playing in high stakes cash games and huge buy-in live tournaments, his passion remains heads up poker. The thrill of playing against a single opponent and the massive amounts of money that is up for grabs seems to really make his poker clock tick. His confidence is so high that he is willing to play for almost any amount of money at any time. He even agreed to play against fellow poker star Tom Dwan in a heads up battle for $1 million dollars. The marathon poker challenge has not been finished yet, but one thing is for sure, whether Antonius wins or loses, we will remain one of the best and richest players in the world.

At table “Mirasol” on Full Tilt poker, two heads up specialists collided in a session of $1,000 / $2,000 Limit Hold em. Patrik “Finddagrind” Antonius went one on one with Matt “Hoss_TBF” Hawrilenko. They grinded it for two hours, exchanging chip leads every few hands in the first hour. Hawrilenko was soon leading for the remainder of the session. Antonius missed many of his draws while his opponent seemed to be hitting them repeatedly. In the end, Hoss_TBF was seen sitting with $289,000, of which, $200k came from Finddagrind. Apparently tilted, Antonius left every table on Full tilt after he lost his last reload to Hawrilenko.

“Finddagrind misses a straight flush draw in a 32k pot”

Full Tilt Poker Game #5541536484: Table Mirasol (6 max) – $1000/$2000 – Limit Hold’em – 18:25:00 ET – 2008/03/07
Seat 3: FinddaGrind ($67,927.50)
Seat 6: Hoss_TBF ($101,916)
Hoss_TBF posts the small blind of $500
FinddaGrind posts the big blind of $1,000
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Hoss_TBF raises to $2,000
FinddaGrind raises to $3,000
Hoss_TBF calls $1,000
*** FLOP *** [2s 4s 8d]
FinddaGrind bets $1,000
Hoss_TBF raises to $2,000
FinddaGrind raises to $3,000
Hoss_TBF calls $1,000
*** TURN *** [2s 4s 8d] [4c]
FinddaGrind bets $2,000
Hoss_TBF raises to $4,000
FinddaGrind raises to $6,000
Hoss_TBF raises to $8,000
FinddaGrind calls $2,000
*** RIVER *** [2s 4s 8d 4c] [Jd]
FinddaGrind bets $2,000
Hoss_TBF calls $2,000
*** SHOW DOWN ***
FinddaGrind shows [5s 3s] a pair of Fours
Hoss_TBF shows [4d As] three of a kind, Fours
Hoss_TBF wins the pot ($31,999.50) with three of a kind, Fours
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $32,000 | Rake $0.50
Board: [2s 4s 8d 4c Jd]
Seat 3: FinddaGrind (big blind) showed [5s 3s] and lost with a pair of Fours
Seat 6: Hoss_TBF (small blind) showed [4d As] and won ($31,999.50) with three of a kind, Fours

“Hoss rivers the split pot”

“Finddagrind tries to bluff a 30k pot”

Full Tilt Poker Game #5541737576: Table Mirasol (6 max) – $1000/$2000 – Limit Hold’em – 18:41:26 ET – 2008/03/07
Seat 3: FinddaGrind ($52,418)
Seat 6: Hoss_TBF ($117,404.50)
Hoss_TBF posts the small blind of $500
FinddaGrind posts the big blind of $1,000
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Hoss_TBF raises to $2,000
FinddaGrind calls $1,000
*** FLOP *** [Ah 2d As]
FinddaGrind bets $1,000
Hoss_TBF raises to $2,000
FinddaGrind raises to $3,000
Hoss_TBF calls $1,000
*** TURN *** [Ah 2d As] [6h]
FinddaGrind bets $2,000
Hoss_TBF raises to $4,000
FinddaGrind raises to $6,000
Hoss_TBF raises to $8,000
FinddaGrind calls $2,000
*** RIVER *** [Ah 2d As 6h] [Td]
FinddaGrind bets $2,000
Hoss_TBF calls $2,000
*** SHOW DOWN ***
FinddaGrind shows [4h 3d] a pair of Aces
Hoss_TBF shows [2h 2c] a full house, Twos full of Aces
Hoss_TBF wins the pot ($29,999.50) with a full house, Twos full of Aces
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $30,000 | Rake $0.50
Board: [Ah 2d As 6h Td]
Seat 3: FinddaGrind (big blind) showed [4h 3d] and lost with a pair of Aces
Seat 6: Hoss_TBF (small blind) showed [2h 2c] and won ($29,999.50) with a full house, Twos full of Aces

“Hoss disappoints his opponent with another completed draw”

Full Tilt Poker Game #5541906923: Table Mirasol (6 max) – $1000/$2000 – Limit Hold’em – 18:55:12 ET – 2008/03/07
Seat 3: FinddaGrind ($49,858)
Seat 6: Hoss_TBF ($186,712.50)
Hoss_TBF posts the small blind of $500
FinddaGrind posts the big blind of $1,000
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Hoss_TBF raises to $2,000
FinddaGrind calls $1,000
*** FLOP *** [Qc 2s 3c]
FinddaGrind checks
Hoss_TBF bets $1,000
FinddaGrind raises to $2,000
Hoss_TBF calls $1,000
*** TURN *** [Qc 2s 3c] [6s]
FinddaGrind bets $2,000
Hoss_TBF raises to $4,000
FinddaGrind raises to $6,000
Hoss_TBF raises to $8,000
FinddaGrind calls $2,000
*** RIVER *** [Qc 2s 3c 6s] [4d]
FinddaGrind bets $2,000
Hoss_TBF raises to $4,000
FinddaGrind calls $2,000
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Hoss_TBF shows [4h 5c] a straight, Six high
FinddaGrind mucks
Hoss_TBF wins the pot ($31,999.50) with a straight, Six high
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $32,000 | Rake $0.50
Board: [Qc 2s 3c 6s 4d]
Seat 3: FinddaGrind (big blind) mucked
Seat 6: Hoss_TBF (small blind) collected ($31,999.50)

“Finddagrind’s final hand”

Full Tilt Poker Game #5541997884: Table Mirasol (6 max) – $1000/$2000 – Limit Hold’em – 19:02:33 ET – 2008/03/07
Seat 3: FinddaGrind ($4,695)
Seat 6: Hoss_TBF ($284,561)
Hoss_TBF posts the small blind of $500
FinddaGrind posts the big blind of $1,000
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Hoss_TBF raises to $2,000
FinddaGrind raises to $3,000
Hoss_TBF calls $1,000
*** FLOP *** [Jd Tc 9s]
FinddaGrind bets $1,000
Hoss_TBF raises to $2,000
FinddaGrind calls $695, and is all in
Hoss_TBF shows [Kc 3c]
FinddaGrind shows [4c 4d]
Uncalled bet of $305 returned to Hoss_TBF
*** TURN *** [Jd Tc 9s] [Qc]
*** RIVER *** [Jd Tc 9s Qc] [Jh]
Hoss_TBF shows a straight, King high
FinddaGrind shows two pair, Jacks and Fours
Hoss_TBF wins the pot ($9,389.50) with a straight, King high
FinddaGrind is sitting out
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $9,390 | Rake $0.50
Board: [Jd Tc 9s Qc Jh]
Seat 3: FinddaGrind (big blind) showed [4c 4d] and lost with two pair, Jacks and Fours
Seat 6: Hoss_TBF (small blind) showed [Kc 3c] and won ($9,389.50) with a straight, King high