miikka anttonen
about the author
Miikka Anttonen (born December 19, 1986 in Helsinki, Finland) is a Finnish professional poker player with $2,400,000 in career earnings and a world championship title under his belt. Miikka is one of only three Finns who have appeared on the cover of Card Player.
Miikka has also received worldwide recognition for his writing. His blogs have been read millions of times, and his articles have been published in over 20 different magazines in several different languages. His three-part memoir, Once A Gambler, was published in 2016, and the book has frequented Amazon's bestseller lists ever since its release. |
ONCE A GAMBLER
about the memoir
Miikka has played poker for a living since 2008, a lifestyle that most of us can only dream of. But below the surface he's lived a completely different life -- one plagued by addiction, turbulent relationships, insecurity, and costly mistakes. In his three-part painfully honest memoir Once A Gambler, Miikka tells the entire story for the first time.
Once A Gambler provides the reader with a unique view of both sides of the gambling world, as Miikka goes from dropping out of high school to jet-setting around the world, nights on park benches to $100,000 paydays, and from appearing on magazine covers and talk shows to becoming the black sheep of the entire poker-playing community. |
part 1: the escape
THE EARLY DAYS
Miikka Anttonen started gambling when he was ten years old, when most kids were playing with Pokémon cards and PlayStations. Throughout his teens, he spent long nights at the library analyzing sports betting odds, resulting in many large wins - but on the flip side, his "hobby" also led to him dropping out of high school. The Escape is a journal of those early days discovering gambling, awkward prom memories, growing pains, and that magical night when Miikka first found his calling, at twenty years old, in the most unlikely of places.
The Escape takes the reader to many of the most exciting cities in the world, as the narrative takes place in metropolises such as Sydney, Helsinki, Barcelona, Berlin, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas. Celebrity cameos include Paris Hilton, Daniel Negreanu, Patrik Antonius, Nightwish, Jasper Pääkkönen, Jeff Lisandro, Jens Kyllönen, and many others. |
Part 2: the drift
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