WELWYN, ENGLAND--Practically motionless sitting at the table with his head down, Aki Pyysing is watching everything.
Yesterday, in a tight heads-up game against Peter Hedlund, Pyysing prevailed, winning $20,000 in the Lennaárd Invitational, a freeroll tournament sponsored by PartyPoker.
Pyysing left investment banking for poker after reading David Sklansky's Theory of Poker.
"I realized you can play better than the others and earn a living by playing poker," he said. "You can win and luck doesn't matter."
Learning poker from his father, Pyysing got serious when he started playing in cash games at a Helsinki casino in 1995. He said he read Sklansky's book many times, studying it.
He doesn't want to be known as a tournament pro because he doesn't play enough of them and he prefers cash games.
"I have a wife and children so I have to be careful. I don't care about the fame," Pyysing said. "Most young guys care about the glamour and fame of being a big time winner."
A patient player, Pyysing said he rarely goes all-in. He doesn't like to; he prefers to wait.
Recently, in a hold-em pot limit cash game he waited three and half hours before playing a hand. Never seeing a flop, he waited for the opportunity to pounce eventually being chip leader of the game.
"My only strength is discipline."
