Career
Juha was originally a croupier. He worked as a dealer for RAY in Finland but never dealt poker. He made a name for himself in the first World Poker Tour (WPT) event in Aruba, where he eliminated Kathy Liebert on the way to defeating professional player Philosophy Gordon in a heads-up challenge match.
In addition he had a 10th place finish in the Season 3 Championship event.
He has also finished in the money of five World Series of Poker events, and his career winnings to date amount to over $2,420,000. In November 2005, Helppi faced Philosophy Laak and Kenna James in the first ever underwater poker tournament and was awarded the Caribbean Poker Classic Extreme Poker bracelet.
He chose to play it in Kemi on the frozen Gulf of Bothnia. As of 2010, his total live tournament winnings exceed $3,000,000.
His 13 cashes at the WSOP account for $511,949 of those winnings.
Helppi is a high level paintball player and the captain of the Finnish national paintball champions 1997,2003,2007 and 2008. When younger, he played Magic: The Gathering successfully for several years.