"I'm not a professional; I do it for fun," said Michael Schulze when he was asked about his grand and most surprising victory in the No Limit Hold'em tournament of the Polish Open, an EPT Season 4 event. "I think it's one of the most amazing days in my life," he added, "it's very powerful knowing it will happen one time in my life and that's it."
And indeed Michael Schulze is one of the most astonishing phenomena in the professional poker scene. Michael Schulze is an amateur poker player by both definition and tournament record. He defines himself a conservative and careful player, and his viewers and critics confirm that Michael Schulze indeed takes this approach, plays carefully and rarely takes unnecessary risks and bets.
So how does one like Michael Schulze get to play his first ever live professional poker tournament and take the first place? No one can be too sure about the "how", but everyone is quite certain that it did happen. On March 15th, 2008, Michael Schulze, an anonymous amateur poker player from Germany, took the 1st place of the EPT Season 4 Polish Open No Limit tournament, along with an amazing sum of €609,782 (about $800,000). Not too shabby for an amateur, especially for one such as Michael Schulze, who keeps on saying he's probably never going to do anything like this again. Poker's too risky for a cautious man, is it not?
Everything's calculated in the game of Michael Schulze, and it seems that his life is pre-planned as well: as the days of the EPT Polish Open No Hold'em tournament went by, Michael Schulze called his travel agency on a daily basis, making plans, booking tickets and hotels for the next day, in case he'd both be eliminated from the game or continue to the next table. His travel agent must've liked him a little less after this experience, but it was worth it for Michael Schulze, an amateur who made it all the way to the top and won his 15 minutes of fame and an overnight glory.
Michael Schulze Quick Facts
Cashes: 1
Total Winnings: €609,782
First Place Finishes: 1
WSOP Bracelets: 0