A Champion’s perspective
John Tabatabai is probably one of the most level headed twenty-two year olds and has achieved more in his few years than many will achieve in their entire lives. Chess was his first passion and he played in European and World Championships. He turned to poker at University and used the skills and strategies of chess to enhance his poker arsenal.
He has a unique playing style that has more to do with who you are playing with rather than what cards you have. It is exactly this “philosophy” of poker that helped him make it through the first two days of the 12th All Africa Poker Tournament. The cards he had to play with would have eliminated a lesser player well before the final table. The final table made up for all the stress by blessing him with great hands and friendly flops that helped him eliminate all nine finalists single-handedly!
Coming second in the WSOPE (Europe) was the best and the worst experience of his life. He loved the challenge and the great players that he played with but second was heartbreaking. It left him shell-shocked and took him more than two months to recover from the disappointment.
His advice to the young players out there, “Do not try to become a pro or make poker your sole income. You will play better if you have a backstop, something that takes the financial pressure off. Never assume you are the best player. Listen to everyone, even players you consider weaker than yourself. They will give you an insight into how they think which will help you play against them.“
All Africa Poker is the first major tournament that he has won and it means the world to him. He had high praise for the organisation, the dealers, the players and the two beautiful new countries that he has discovered. He will not be able to defend his title in May but will try for the tournament after that. His next event is the EPT event in San Remo.
Catch all of John Tabatabai’s action in the 12th All Africa Poker Tournament on DSTV Channel 393 in eight weeks. You will be amazed.
