Amir Vahedi

Amir Vahedi is a funny and charming professional poker player from Teheran, Iran. The early stage of his life was tumultuous to say the least: he left the Iranian army at his mother’s request and bounced from country to country as a war refugee before finally landing in Los Angeles. Amir owned several businesses in the United States before playing poker full-time. Amir was the first poker coach of actor Ben Affleck, and he deserves most of the credit for Affleck’s win at the 2004 California State Poker Championship.

Amir says he is not the best No Limit or Omaha player in the world, but he knows that he is a great tournament player; this attitude separates him at the table. His playing style is aggressive and unpredictable, and he plays poker to win, not to survive: Amir wants the first place, not the seventeenth or tenth. His opponents have a hard time trying to read him. Vahedi was named No Limit Texas Hold’em player of the year in 2001. He made nine No Limit Hold’em final tables in 2003 and he even collected a gold bracelet for his win in the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event at the World Series of Poker.

Vahedi finished second to Men Nguyen for Card Player Magazine’s 2003 player of the year award; also in 2003, he was ranked 1st for tournament player of the year. Amir has a good sense of humor and an overall attractive personality; however, his smoking habit is not appreciated by his opponents. His advice to the serious aspiring poker players is to stick to poker and overcome the urge to gamble at other games or sports.

Amir Vahedi knows that his skills are what have kept him winning at poker all these years, though he admits that the beauty of poker is that it’s possible to beat the best players at any skill level any time. His most recent first place win was in the $10,000 No Limit Hold’em Ultimate Poker Challenge Final in 2005 in Las Vegas. He recently placed sixth in the $2,500 Super Satellite at the Five Star World Poker Classic in April 2007. Amir currently resides in Sherman Oaks, California.

World Series of Poker Bracelets

Year	Tournament	Prize (US$)
2003	$1,500 No Limit Hold'em	$270,000