November Nine Player Focus: Darus Suharto

Could the PokerStars qualifier become the next Moneymaker?

By Simon Hopper 18th July 2008

"I was a donkey. I'm still a donkey. Hey, but the good thing is, I was a donkey in 2006 and I made the money!"

Darus Suharto’s journey to the final nine has echoes of Chris Moneymaker’s rags to riches story from 2003.

November Nine Facts:
Darus Suharto

Age: 39
Location: Toronto, Canada Chip Count: 12,520,000
Chip Position: 6 of 9
Betting Odds: 9/1
Total Live Winnings: $26,389
Sponsor: PokerStars
More Info: Wiki

The amateur qualified for the Main Event via an $80 satellite on PokerStars, which got him through to a $650 satellite, which in turn brought him here.

Like Moneymaker, he is an accountant by day (he was expected back from vacation the day he made the November Nine) and has just one previous live cash to his name: ironically in the 2006 ME (where he finished 448th for $26,389).

Indonesian-born Suharto relocated to Canada at a young age and now resides in Toronto, where he only gets to play at weekends (he says he can fit in about 15 hours a week of poker).

Missed the WSOP? Never mind - get yourself over to the Irish Open for as little as five bux:


He has an MBA from Indiana University and started playing poker there two years ago, ‘just for fun’, with friends. In fact, he said he didn’t know what the WSOP was until he saw a Stars qualifier running in 2005 which got him to his first Main Event.

Darus appears to be very modest about his poker ability and in an interview with Poker Listings he said: “It's my second Main Event. I played in 2006; I was a donkey. I'm still a donkey. Hey, but the good thing is, I was a donkey in 2006 and I made the money!”

The 39 year-old also said that he started playing poker to try and pay off his mortgage; with a guaranteed $900,670 in his pocket it’s safe to say he has accomplished his mission.

He will resume on a medium 12.5million stack and if he went on to win the big one he would surely be crowned the new Moneymaker.

More November Nine Player Profiles:
Dennis Phillips, 53, Missouri, 26,295,000
Ivan Demidov, 27, Russia, 24,400,000
Scott Montgomery, 26, Canada, 19,690,000
Peter Eastgate, 22, Denmark, 18,375,000
Ylon Schwartz, 38, New York, 12,525,000
Darus Suharto, 39, Canada, 12,520,000
David Rheem, 28, California, 10,230,000
Craig Marquis, 23, Texas, 10,210,000
Kelly Kim, 31, California, 2,620,000

18/07/08