John Tabatabai is a Welsh professional poker player (Lisvane, Cardiff) based in London, England. He was the runner-up to Norwegian poker player Annette Obrestad in the first World Series of Poker Europe Main Event.[1]
| John Tabatabai | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Kunkuwap |
| Residence | Cardiff, Wales |
| World Series of Poker | |
| Bracelet(s) | None |
| Money finish(es) | 1 |
| Highest ITM Main Event finish | None |
Education
editTabatabai was a Law graduate of the University of Reading.[2]
Early chess career
editBefore embarking on a professional poker playing career, Tabatabai was a chess player. He represented Wales in numerous international competitions as a junior.[3]
Poker
editWorld Series of Poker Europe
editIn the final hand Annette Obrestad had a slight chip lead with 3,851,000 over Tabatabai with 3,381,000. In the small blind flat, called Obrestad's big blind, Obrestad raised the pot from 68,000 to 138,000. Tabatabai flat called the preflop raise which brought the pot to 208,000. The flop was and Obrestad lead out with a 250,000 bet, bringing the pot to 458,000. Tabatabai re-raised an additional 750,000. Obrestad then went all-in, which was called by Tabatabai who had flopped two pair with , however Obrestad had flopped top set with . Tabatabai was in need of two running cards (fives or sixes) to win the hand or two running cards for a straight; the turn brought the , securing Obrestad the win. The irrelevant river card was the .
Tabatabai earned £570,150 for his second-place finish.[1][3]
Other Events
editIn March 2008 John Tabatabai won the 12th All Africa Poker Tournament collecting the one million Rand ($127,584) pot.[4]
In January 2009, John won the $5,000au heads up event in Australia for $120,000au.[5]
As of November 2010, his live tournament earnings exceed $1,360,000.[6] His lone cash at the WSOP accounts for $912,240 of those winnings.[7]
References
edit- ^ a b "2007 World Series Of Poker - Europe, World Championship No Limit Hold'em". The Hendon Mob. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
- ^ Blincoe, Robert (19 July 2008). "Deal or no deal?". The Good Gambling guide. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
- ^ a b Pitt, Matthew. "Best of British: Betfair Pro John Tabatabai". betfair.com. Retrieved 15 July 2008.
- ^ Carter, Barry (14 March 2008). "Britain's John Tabatabai Wins All Africa Poker Champs | PokerNews". PokerNews UK. Archived from the original on 29 June 2013.
- ^ Carter, Barry (22 January 2009). "John Tabatabai wins Heads Up Championship, What Obama could mean for UK players and more | PokerNews". PokerNews UK. Archived from the original on 5 June 2010.
- ^ "John Tabatabai's profile on The Hendon Mob". The Hendon Mob Poker Database. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
- ^ "John Tabatabai". WSOP.com. Retrieved 30 March 2024.