On PokerGO’s recent high-stakes cash streams, Antonio 'The Magician' Esfandiari isn’t just playing cards; he’s directing attention from the dealer's first pitch to the fall of the final river card.
Watch a little more closely. While the pot builds, street by street, he’s already working a trademark effortless charm and disarming opponents with a probing, humorous needle or two.
It’s a perfectly timed distraction, from years of experience on the live felt. As an opponent drifts, he leans into the first crack in the armor that shows itself.
Antonio is a master of misdirection, but the real skill isn’t sleight of hand. It’s seeing people before they see themselves. That’s where the 'real magic’ comes into play.
It’s apparent. There’s more than one reason he’s called ‘The Magician.’
The Big One
Esfandiari will always be the man who won the biggest first-place prize in poker history. 14 years later, the record still stands: $18,346,673 for capturing the inaugural $1,000,000 buy-in Big One for One Drop 2012 WSOP bracelet event.
If you had asked Antonio, as he hoisted the trophy for the One Drop, if he knew a thing or two about poker at the time, he would have agreed wholeheartedly.
But things have changed for the father of three over the past 14 years. He’s not so sure he knows much of anything anymore.
“When I was a kid in my early twenties, I thought I knew how to really play poker,” says Esfandiari. “Now, 27 years later, I realized I still don't know how to play the game.
“Back then, I thought I was much better. Today I'm mature enough to realize that I don't know everything. But back then, I thought I was the shit."
What’s a 5-bet?
When asked about the modern game of stoic wizards and calculating solvers, he doesn’t pull any punches.
“The game has changed so much. In the old days, there was a raise, and then there was a 3-bet. That was the final step. No one would ever re-bluff with a 4-bet or a 5-bet. A 5-bet didn't even exist. You just called or came over the top. That's it.
“All of a sudden, when the computer solvers came out, and all these young wizards showed up – all these new terms came out, 'hijack', 'lojack' – I really don't know what that stuff means. But it was really interesting to see the progression of poker throughout the years.”
The Magician claims he’s never read a strategy book or watched a training video. He relies heavily on one of his strongest and innate gifts – keen observation.
“I feel like I just watched the wizards and kind of tried to adjust accordingly. Everyone plays like a super aggro-maniac now, so you just have to adjust.
“I realized, watching players like Tom Dwan on the OG high-stakes shows, that you don’t have to wait for a good hand. That you can really represent so much more than you have, depending on how the action plays out. In turn, it also helps you get paid when you do have a hand.”
This is only part of the story. The full conversation with Antonio Esfandiari drops soon on PokerOrg’s The Interview.
Images courtesy of PokerGO/High Stakes Poker/WSOP.
