Joep van den Bijgaart

Holland’s Joep van den Bijgaart initially studied Facilities Management at college, but it was bankroll management that soon occupied most of his time. He started playing poker with friends and became more and more interested in the game. He had to make a couple of deposits online after losing at first, but he was determined to succeed, and so read strategy books and discussed hands with other players. He was soon making a profit, and he is now one of the biggest up-and-coming poker talents in his home country of Holland.

Online poker provided Joep with the training ground to develop his skills, and he’s racked up plenty of success at the virtual felt. He’s a regular in the big tournaments at PokerStars and won $69,234 when he finished second in the PokerStars Sunday 500 during a very profitable January in 2009. The Dutch pro has also found success on the European live circuit, finishing in 34th place at EPT Deauville for $14,321, and runner-up at the Dom Classics, a popular tournament held in Utrecht in the Netherlands. He also final tabled a World Series of Poker* event - a big achievement for any poker player - when he finished in seventh place at the $1,500 Limit Hold’em Shootout, collecting $18,136.

When he’s not pursuing his next big tournament cash, Joep likes hanging out with friends and watching football - a great passion of his. He’s also a poker writer and contributes articles to various websites, and he credits involvement in the poker media with improving his play. Being a member of Team PokerStars Pro means a lot to Joep, and he’s looking forward to learning from his team mates and taking his game to the next level. Joep van den Bijgaart plays online at PokerStars with the user name ‘Pappe_ruk’.