From crazy man to philosopher

Author: Simon Dexter

Becoming a millionaire on two continents inside six months is not something many poker players achieve, so hats off to John Tabatabai, often labelled the “craziest poker player in the UK” for his win this week in Swaziland’s All Africa Poker Championships. After trousering .06 million at the WSOP* last year, Tabatabai won a million rand last week, a sum which may equate to a rather more modest £62,000, but “a win is a win” as they say.

We imagine the ‘crazy’ label is a term which is attributable to John’s, ahem, more aggressive or erratic style of play as opposed to any serious condition he may be suffering from, although considering he’s just become a ‘millionaire’ for the second time in six months, he probably doesn’t care too much about what he’s called.

Indeed, to prove he isn’t crazy, Tabatabai had some advice for aspiring African poker players:
“Do not try to become a pro or make poker your sole income,” he said. “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.”

We reckon the ‘crazy’ tag should be dropped in favour of ‘philosopher’ or ‘grasshopper’ (people who recall David Carradine in Kung Fu will get that one) because after lines like that, either one seems considerably more appropriate.

*World Series of Poker and WSOP are trademarks of Harrah’s License Company, LLC (”Harrah’s”). Harrah’s does not sponsor or endorse, and is not associated or affiliated with Littlewoods Gaming or it’s products, services, promotions or tournaments.

Tags: All Africa Poker Championships, John Tabatabai, poker

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 20th, 2008 at 10:54 am and is filed under News & Promotions Blog.