About Ilari Sahamies

Name	Ilari Sahamies
Birth Place	Helsinki , FI

If you're a high stakes action fan, it's likely you've heard of Ilari "Ziigmund" Sahamies. This Finn makes waves at the high stakes tables on Full Tilt Poker as he takes on some of the world's top pro poker players including Gus Hansen and Phil Ivey.

It's not just his winning ways that have people checking out Sahamies. It's suspected that he's won millions of dollars playing online poker, but what the fans come out for is his table talk. He has no problems calling out well-respected players on a hand and trash talking them into tilting. What makes Sahamies special is that he has no problem putting his money where his mouth is.

Sahamies made his first appearance at Full Tilt Poker in 2006 and was playing the high stakes within months. However, his poker career began long before that.

Ziigmund got the poker bug at the tender age of 15 when he started playing in a game with friends. That game was joined by Patrik Antonius as well, who Sahamies had met at the local billiards hall.

It wasn't long before poker became his top priority instead of school, and once he graduated high school he was ready to make poker his profession.

After he turned 18, Sahamies headed to the Grand Casino in Helsinki to try his luck at the felt and around that same time he got signed up at a couple of online poker sites. He started at the 25/50 cent levels and moved up quickly.

There were a few times Ziigmund went broke because he was eager to move up so fast, but when he hit Full Tilt Poker for the first time in 2006 he'd smoothed out his game and bankroll management. It wasn't long before he was at the big boys' tables and making big money.

Sahamies still takes on the live games in Helsinki and has been spotted at the tables in Las Vegas, Barcelona, London and Amsterdam. He may not take in many of the major live tournaments either, but he can often be seen at the cash tables where the tournaments are playing.

Sahamies profile also got a boost in the public eye with appearances on Poker After Dark and High Stakes Poker in 2009.