WSOP Final Table: Darus Suharto

by Bodog Poker | Oct 19 2008

When asked by the World Series of Poker media what he was planning on doing to prepare for the WSOP Final Table, Darus Suharto said, “The last few weeks before the Final Table, I plan to play lots of poker, both live and online, read some books, and will possibly seek some advice.”

And Darus Suharto is doing just that. On Oct. 15 Suharto finished Day 1C as the chip leader of the 2008 North American Poker Championship. His biggest bump came when he took down a 90,000 pot with a full house against John Phan.

This was probably a crucial performance for Suharto as he is among the least experienced players heading into the WSOP Final Table. It may give him the confidence boost he needs to compete well at what will be one of the most watched and richest tables poker has ever seen.

So it seems that Suharto is on the ball and will be ready to bring his A-game to the WSOP Final Table on Nov. 8 and 9. And according to Bodog oddsmakers he’s going to need all the confidence he can get. Although he’s coming into the Final Table sixth in chips with 12,520,000, his inexperience has resulted in only being given 17-2 odds, putting him in seventh place, right behind Chino Rheem, who has over 2 million fewer chips.

Thirty-nine-year-old Suharto is a resident of Toronto, Canada. He is an amateur poker player who only has time to play on the weekends. Much like the man who led the poker explosion, Chris Moneymaker, Suharto is an accountant, has very limited live poker experience and won his seat to the WSOP Main Event through an online satellite.

The November Nine's Hometowns and Chip Counts:
Dennis Phillips - Cottage Hills, Ill. - $26,295,000
Ivan Demidov - Moscow, Russia - $20,400,000
Scott Montgomery - Perth, Ontario, Canada - $19,690,000
Peter Eastgate - Denmark - $18,375,000
Ylon Schwartz - Brooklyn, N.Y. - $12,525,000
Darus Suharto - Toronto, Ontario, Canada - $12,520,000
David Rheem - Los Angeles, Calif. - $10,230,000
Craig Marquis - Arlington, Texas - $10,210,000
Kelly Kim - Whittier, Calif. - $2,620,000

Suharto’s only other live cash came in 2006 when he finished 448th and cashed for $26,389. A humble man, Suharto said in an interview with Poker Listings, “It's my second Main Event. I played in 2006; I was a donkey. I'm still a donkey. Hey, but the good thing is, I was a donkey in 2006 and I made the money!”

Suharto has an MBA from Indiana University and only began playing poker for fun in 2005, the year he won an online qualifier that got him his first Main Event seat. Like all of the members of the WSOP Final Table, he has already received the minimum amount that can be won, $900,670. He has used it to pay off his mortgage. Other than that, Suharto has stated that since making the Final Table, his life hasn’t changed much.

“I still get up in the morning and go to work everyday. I watch lots of baseball games, hang out with my friends and family and play online poker on the weekends. The only difference that I notice is that more people know me now and I do not have to worry about my mortgage anymore.”

You can bet on Darus Suharto, or any other member of the WSOP Final Table, in the Bodog Sportsbook. And you can play online poker at Bodog Poker.