Antonio Esfandiari managed to become a professional poker player growing in a country where the fact if holding cards in your hands was prohibited by the law. Antonio managed to overcome different obstacles and now he is one of the most famous poker players.
A Wonderful Biography
Antonio's biography, on his real name Amir did not start his poker career like the regular poker player: playing cards since he was a child, then becoming a dealer and then becoming pro. No, Antonio was born in Iran and in Iran gambling and cards are prohibited. His parents decide to move to America when he was 9 and there at the age of 11, he managed to sell newspapers subscriptions by phone, making more than $400 per week.
After high school, where everybody called him Anthony, he decided to go to college, but he once saw in a bar a guy making magic tricks, and that got him hooked. He bought a deck of cards and practiced with them many hours per day. He practiced and practiced and by the age of 21 he managed to become a professional magician and he dropped college.
He later changed his name to Antonio.
The Magical Player
He then started playing in casinos and he realized he was good at it, he had the ability to read the opponents and he had very great confidence. He isn't afraid of loosing while playing poker because he knows that comes with the job. He thinks every poker player should expect to lose when the time comes.
He won in 2004 the Pot-Limit Hold'em at the WSOP and also in that year the No-Limit Hold'em at the WPT. He still does some tricks at various casinos to entertain the crowd.
