Understanding Antonio "the Magician" Esfandiari

Antonio "the Magician" Esfandiari has a smile, charisma, and playing style that leads him to be one of the most popular figures on the tour to date. His infectious personality was evident at his appearance as a lecturer at Phil Hellmuth's poker camp in 2006. As I was dashing around mingling with the pros and securing interviews for upcoming magazine articles, I was surprised to see the wide corridor of the Caesars Palace's conference area completely clogged with onlookers.

Rising to my tip-toes to see, I found Antonio and his buddy wowing the crowd with impromptu magic tricks. The organizers of the event needed to pry Antonio out of the hallway to lead him to the podium so he could actually talk some poker. His poker talk was just as entertaining as his magic tricks. His lecture sometimes sounded like a comedy routine, as he quipped jokes about Phil Hellmuth's antics at the table.

Antonio was born in Tehran (where it is illegal to own playing cards). He and his family moved to the USA when he was about 9 years old. When he started his US schooling in 3rd grade, he couldn't speak any English and was confused by the culture.

Sometime after high school Antonio found his love of magic. By the age of nineteen he had logged thousands of hours practicing a variety of magic tricks, and he explored magic as a profession. Starting out doing tricks in bars and restaurants for fun, he ended up with a full-time schedule of appearances and private parties as a professional magician soon after. Things were going so well that he dropped the idea of completing college and sunk himself completely into the realm of professional magic.

Soon he found his way into a casino and found the lively nature of the games and people to fit his personality perfectly. He was immediately attracted to the game of poker. With his roommate Phil "the Unabomber" Laak, he grew into a hyper-aggressive poker playing style that led him to success in tournament-style games and No Limit games. Still in his early 20's, Esfandiari burst onto the poker scene with impressive showings at some major events. In 2004 he secured a World Series bracelet in Pot-Limit Hold 'Em, and his recognizable arm-waving celebrations and great play highlighted his win at the Commerce Casino event of the WPT in 2004. The WPT win made Antonio the youngest ever winner of a million dollar event! Popular online poker room Ultimatebet took notice of Esfandiari and his marketing appeal, signing him to a contract to promote their site. Antonio lives in California, traveling to the major poker events across the country and across the world.

Antonio Esfandiari: Play Profile & Prediction

PLAY PROFILE: Antonio's play style is pretty easy to characterize: aggressive. "Gus and I have the same mentality," Antonio Esfandiari told me, talking about his buddy Gus Hansen. "We put the pressure on the other guy to make a decision. We push and push and push. With someone like me, I'm either out on the first day of a tournament or I'm at the final table. There is nothing in between." He says that his favorite hand is 7-9, as he honestly feels that any two cards can win. He loves to see flops, come over the top of an opponent's raise, and basically apply all of the pressure to others. "It is hard to make a pair in Hold 'Em," Antonio explains. "I want to make the other guy make the decision. Does he really want to put his chips on the line? The things I do, they're sick. They are not for everyone, they are just sick." His attacking style actually seems to make opponents sick. You see, Antonio is rarely foolishly aggressive. Instead, he uses position and a read on his opponent as fuel. He has a keen ability to read opponents, and will certainly attack the first sign of weakness with massive raises.

As you might imagine, No Limit and Pot-Limit tournaments are in line with his style. Most players consider Hold 'Em his best game, although Antonio does play Omaha to some success as well. Since he's only been playing poker seriously since 2003, his game is still actually very much in the development stage. He logs tons of hours playing online, which reflects his aggressive style. He is known to be affected by tilting. As he matures as a person and as a player, I'd have to guess that this will be less of a factor in his game. In the short-run, though, it is possible that Antonio could flame-out of a tournament or two because he's allowed his emotions to get the best of him.

PREDICTIONS: Antonio once told me that he loves being the most aggressive bully at the table. The one thing that a hyper-aggressive player hates to see at his table is an equally aggressive player. The problem with this is that many new poker players are falling into the ilk of Gus Hansen, Phil Laak, and Antonio the Magician with this 200 miles-per-hour style. In other words, Antonio is going to have to adapt his style to the plethora of maniacs that are hitting the tournament tables lately After interacting with him, I am certain that he has the intelligence and savvy to make the necessary adjustments. He is very young, meaning he'll have tons of opportunities to secure more tournament wins in his career. I envision him getting a couple more WSOP bracelets over the next decade or so, as tournament play is a certain strength of his.

Antonio is extremely intelligent, fun-loving, personable, and handsome. Still in his mid-20's, he appeals to the newest generation of poker players. That combination will probably assure him some nice marketing and endorsement deals in the future. I can imagine Antonio being one of the "face guys" that the power players in poker would rely upon to promote the sport and their brand. If he plays his cards right, Antonio could rise to become on of the biggest names of the next generation of poker greats.

More Poker Player Profiles

♣ Andy Bloch ♣ Annie Duke ♣ Antonio Esfandiari ♣ Chris Ferguson ♣ Dan Harrington ♣ Daniel Negreanu ♣ Doyle Brunson ♣ Greg Raymer ♣ Gus Hansen ♣ Howard Lederer ♣ James Woods

♣ Jennifer Harman ♣ Johnny Chan ♣ Mark Seif ♣ Mike Matusow ♣ Phil Gordon ♣ Phil Hellmuth ♣ Phil Ivey ♣ Phil Laak ♣ Poker Hotties ♣ Sam Farha ♣ TJ Cloutier

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