Bodog Flight Club Winner: Alper Sar Interview

by Bodog Poker | Apr 20 2009

Bodog Flight Club has been sending players to the biggest poker events all over the world. The latest Flight Club winners are getting a ticket into the biggest poker tournament of them all, the World Series of Poker Main Event. One Flight Club winner will be flying in from Turkey for his first visit to the WSOP. Alper "ThunderFX" Sar will test his poker skills against the best in the world for millions of dollars and a chance for poker immortality in early July against what many think will be a field of over 7,500 players.

Alper is a 23-year-old investment banker who also finds time to play high stakes MTT's and limit holdem online. He's been out of school for just over a year, but somehow finds the time to do his job and balance a heavy schedule of online action. He's been looking forward to playing the main event this year, but is unable to play in other events because of his demanding work schedule.

"I can only find the time to play the main event. Maybe next year I'll go earlier in June and play in three or four smaller events. Unless I do really well it costs me too much money to be away".

Sar's live game poker experience is different than most young players. Living in Turkey there are no casinos to play poker in, and players have to travel to play organized tournaments with big prize pools. Turkish players have to play underground or in home games to avoid a Turkish legal system that frowns on the game. Even playing online is risky, and players have to take measures to not be found out. He hasn't played any EPT events yet, but he's hoping to find the time in the future.

Like most young successful internet players Alper likes to party with friends and drive fast cars. His 60-hour work week and 20 hours of poker play leaves him little time to relax. He doubts he'll ever become a poker professional. He likes being an investment banker and thinks he'll always stick with the guaranteed income.

"I wouldn't want to stop my job for poker. I like what I do and it pays me very well. Poker is for fun, I don't think I would want to play it all the time"

As "ThunderFX" he's consistently in the 80% percentile on Bodog Poker. He plays a combination of MTT's, sit-and-go tournaments, and limit holdem cash games. That kind of experience is exactly what a player needs to go deep into a big tournament like the WSOP Main Event. The kid seems to have the Midas touch; maybe he'll be able to transfer that into a deep performance in the big show. 

Get in on all of this year's 2009 WSOP action at Bodog Poker today!