Without poker, Linus Dahlström’s life would be quite ordinary, and short $10,000.

Dahlström, a 19-year-old City College student from Sweden, hit the jackpot Saturday, Oct. 27, in the $75,000 Fall Poker Classic at the Chumash Casino Resort.

“When I turned 18, I was so glad that I finally could start playing online,” he said. “I have always been a gambler so this was a dream come true.”

The international finance major began playing recreational poker with friends in Sweden when he was younger, but as he got older, he realized poker was more than just a hobby.

The no limit Texas Hold ‘em tournament began at 9 a.m. with 542 players and lasted a total of 12 hours. The buy-in was $200.

“It was the biggest tournament of the year, and a big prize too,” Dahlström said.  “So me and my friends went just for fun.”

After a long day of poker, Dahlström agreed to split the remaining $51,000 in prize money with the lasting players.

“When there were 16 people left, they asked me if I wanted to make a shot and split the money,” he said,  “but I wanted to wait longer because I was in the lead and the longer I was going to wait, the more money I was going to get.”

At the final table, they asked Dahlström again if he wanted to make a shot and he agreed, splitting the remaining money and sending him home with $10,000.

“After some thinking, I just accepted,” he said.  “The $20,000 was really tempting, but it could have been really unfortunate and I could have ended up with something like $1,000.”

The room, Dahlström said, was filled with middle-aged men and women.

“They were playing pretty badly,” he said. “Especially when we got close to the money.”

In Europe, Dahlström said he was the “loser” because everyone he played online and in tournaments made a living off poker.  In the European poker world, 50 to 60 percent of the field lives on their winnings.  In the U.S., Dahlström is no longer the underdog.

“I was a little nervous in the beginning of the tournament and when I was all in for all my chips the first time,” he said. “But after I won that all in, I gained confidence and the nervousness started to disappear.”

Four of Dahlström’s Swedish friends, Per Naslund, Anton Snickert, Thomas Heggland and Gustav Nyberg also made the journey to the Chumash Casino to participate in the fun.

“The five of us had a goal that at least one of us was going to get in the money, which 80 out of the 542 players did,” Dahlström said.  “And since one of us became 20th and I won, we were really happy with the outcome.”

Naslund, a film production major, came to the U.S. in August with the same agency as Dahlstroem and met him in their apartment complex.

“It was my first time in a casino,” Naslund said.  “And when I went there, I didn’t know Linus was as experienced as he was.  I had no idea he had played in European poker tournaments.”

Naslund, 21, believes he will need to practice more if he wants to get anywhere near as good as Dahlström.

“He plays very tight and doesn’t play many hands,” he said. “He is very secretive and keeps the same facial expression throughout the game.  It is hard to know what he is thinking or what he is going to do. He seems to be in control.”

Snickert, 20, and a finance major, began playing poker in Sweden around age 16 with friends, but he created an online account as soon as he turned 18.

“He is very calm and knows what he is doing,” Snickert said.  “I think he is very good at calculating and reading other people to see if he has them.”

Dahlström looks forward to another poker tournament at the Chumash Casino in the spring.

“I definitely plan to play the spring tournament,” he said. “I think my friends will too because we all had a really good time. You are allowed to play even if you have won before.”

Naslund believes Dahlström’s big win might send the wrong message to students about gambling.

“I think [students] might look at this and think ‘Oh, Swedes did it, so anyone can do it,’ but I don’t think they realize how much time we spent online learning how to play poker properly,” Naslund said. “If you’re going to play in those big tournaments, you have to be confident that you have some sort of chance at winning.”

As for Dahlström, he will continue to play poker until something stops him.

“I have thought about stopping a couple of times but every time I don’t win a tournament, I just want to

play more,” he said. “So I will probably play my whole life.”

Linus Dahlström during the Fall Poker Classic, Saturday, Oct. 27, at the Chumash Casino Resort. (Photo courtesy Anton Snickert.)