My First THM Line #2

It’s the second edition of My First THM Line. This time, we take a look at five players who’ve had successful starts to the 2014 poker season and when they earned their very first THM line…

OLE SCHEMION

›› April 2011: Berlin, EPT Berlin 1K NLH Side Event, Grand Hyatt Berlin, Win, € 54,200

We kick off this edition of My First THM Line with the man of the hour, 2013 GPI Player of the Year and current EPT Player of the Year leader Ole Schemion (GPI#1). It’s no surprise to find out that Schemion’s very first THM line was a big victory. Schemion would win € 54,200 in a 1K side event victory in his home country at EPT Berlin, defeating fellow German Manfred Hammer (GPI#3326) heads-up.

Schemion has since added 9 other titles in this his fourth year on the live tournament circuit. Remarkably, the #1 player in the World had been unable to play America until recently … he turned 21 last August. Schemion has already collected over 5M USD in career winnings.

VANESSA SELBST

›› July 2006: Las Vegas, 37th World Series of Poker 2K NLH Event, Rio, 7th, $101,285

Vanessa Selbst (GPI#2), who has also been in contention all season in the European Poker Tour Player of the Year race, got her first cash at the World Series of Poker in 2006, three year after Chris Moneymaker’s (GPI#2443) monumental victory would change poker forever.

Two years later, Selbst would win her first bracelet, winning a $1,500 PLO event at the 39th WSOP and collecting over 225K USD for her efforts. She would add a second bracelet in 2012, winning the 10 Game Six Handed event for her biggest single score at the WSOP. Selbst has collected 13 wins in this her 9th year on the circuit and is a few dollars short of hitting the 10M USD career mark.

KEVEN STAMMEN

›› Nov 2006: Las Vegas, Five Diamond World Poker Classic, Bellagio, 1st, $21,895

Just like Selbst, Keven Stammen’s (GPI#58) first THM line was obtained in 2006 … and just like Schemion, his first score was a win! Stammen would win a 1K side event at the Five Diamond World Poker Classic at Bellagio. In fact, Stammdogg would leave Las Vegas with three Five Diamond scores under his belt, not a bad way to kickoff a career on the live tournament circuit!

Stammen, who leads the 2014 GPI Player of the Year race heading into May, won the WPT World Championship in Atlantic City over the weekend, collecting a career-best $1,350,000 USD for the victory. He has also earned over 5.5M USD playing MTT tournament online, according to our friends at PocketFives.

MUKUL PAHUJA

›› June 2008: Atlantic City, Borgata Summer Open $300 Side Event, Borgata, 37th, $511

It’s a far cry from his career earnings that will soon break the 3M USD barrier, but many poker fans will relate Mukul Pahuja’s (GPI#7) first-ever score … a modest $511 score at the casino he calls home, the Borgata in Atlantic City. The 37th place finish was in a $300 side event at the Borgata Summer Open.

Life has certainly changed for Pahuja, who was presented with the WPT Season XII Player of the Year trophy at Borgata last week. He has already crossed the 1M USD in earrings mark for 2014 and this, for the second time in his career.

ROGER HAIRABEDIAN

›› Mar 1999: Paris, Spring Tournament Pot Limit Seven Card Stud, 5th, $594

Roger Hairabedian (GPI#32) has already collected 18 cashes this season on the live tournament circuit … 18 !!!! His 176 career cashes to date place him in the Top 50 All-Time for total number of cashes. More affectionately known as “Big Roger”, Hairabedian is only a few cashes away from joining the likes of Thor Hansen, Allen Cunningham and Surinder Sunar inside the Top 40.

His very first THM line comes from a Pot Limit Seven Card Stud score from the Spring Tournament Series in Paris over 15 years ago. Hairabedian would earn 3,600 French Francs for the 1999 score. He would end up finishing in 5th place in that event. His next THM would include his first win on the circuit, three years later in that same Spring Tournament Series presented at the Aviation Club de France.