Antonio Esfandiari

Antonio Esfandiari was born in Iran in 1978 and was then given the name Amir Esfandiari. At the young age of nine he left Iran for the United States and moved with his family to California. As a teenager, while working as a waiter he was shown a magic trick and from this time, he then became fascinated in magic. He began to learn all about magic tricks and then started to impress others with his techniques and skills. When he was nineteen years old, Antonio first tried his hand at poker. Following this introduction to the game, he found that poker was something that he was interested in and decided to study how to play the game properly. Today, he is a professional poker player that is also known as 'the Magician' and who is the proud owner of a WSOP bracelet. Antonio Esfandiari was a magician before exchanging his magic tricks for different tricks and bluffing at the poker tables.

Antonio Esfandiari: Career Highlights

Antonio Esfandiari's first appearance at the World Series of Poker was a very unsuccessful tournament for him as he lost his game and lost the money he came with. However, some good did arise from this championship as he was able to reflect on his poker gaming skills, study more about the game and learn about money management. Antonio appeared to reach the conclusion that losing is a part of the poker game. It could be that accepting this made him even more determined to win.

Antonio did bounce back in style. At the World Poker Tour (WPT) LA Poker Classic in 2004, Antonio made a name for himself in the poker world by winning the massive amount of $1.4 million. At the time, this was the one of the largest amounts to be won by such a young player at the tables. After this splash, he next turned his attention to the WSOP.

Antonio's positive impact at the WSOP took place in 2004 where he competed shortly after his LA Poker Classic success. This time at the WSOP, he came away with a prestigious WSOP bracelet for finishing in 1st place at the Pot Limit Hold'Em event. This event involved a $2,000 buy-in and he earned prize winnings of $184,160.

In 2005, Antonio entered a WSOP Circuit event that took place at Harrah's New Orleans. At this event, he earned the impressive amount of $221,445 in prize winnings, when he finished in 3rd position at the $10,000 No Limit Hold'Em event.

In 2009, Antonio reached additional success at a WSOP event. He made the significant prize winnings of the amount of $352,832 at the WSOP World Championship NL Texas Hold'Em event.

Antonio Esfandiari: Poker on TV

Antonio Esfandiari has appeared and competed in the popular NBC show 'Poker After Dark' where poker pros pit their wits against each other.

Antonio offers the poker community and interested readers a range of poker related advice and tips on his own web page.