Poker Community Mourns Sad Loss Of Amir Vahedi

The poker community have been paying tribute to the much loved professional poker player Amir Vahedi, who sadly passed away on 8 January 2010, due to complications from diabetes.
Amir Vahedi was a true character of the game, and was everyone’s favorite cigar-chomping poker genius and a fun person to be around on the poker circuit. He was also willing to share his poker expertise with those he met, and became a fine poker teacher to many, including Hollywood celebrity Ben Affleck.
Former WSOP tournament director Jeffrey Pollack, commented, “Amir was one of my favorite people in poker…. This is so sad, RIP my friend, your laugh will always be missed!”
Amir Vahedi was born in Tehran, and served as a soldier in the Iranian army, where he fought in the Iran-Iraq war, before eventually becoming a war refugee and leaving the country to settle in Los Angles.
Amir Vahedi’s poker career started in 1997, and by 2001, he had been named the “no limit Texas hold ’em player of the year.” Throughout his remarkable career, Amir won in excess of $3,250,000 from live tournament play, including capturing a WSOP bracelet at $1,500 NLHE, in 2003. He also cashed in 9 times at WSOP events, for a combined total of $671,216 in prize money.
Tributes have been flooding in for this colourful, respected poker player, with Annie Duke tweeting “RIP Amir Vahedi. Sweet man and a good friend. I am so sad,” while Howard Lederer tweeted “Amir Vahedi was one of the good guys. I’m very sad. RIP.”
 
Mark Seif placed a comment on his website which read, “I’ve just been told by close friends of Amir Vahedi, that Vahedi passed away in Las Vegas on January 8, 2010, due to complications involving blood sugar levels.  Waiting for for more details.  Devastating news.  Very very sad.”
Amir Vahedi was known as a solid, aggressive poker player and was quoted as saying, “If you want to live, you can’t be afraid to die.” Describing his style, at the time, Amir said:
“A lot of people think I’m aggressive, but really, I’m an opportunist. I take advantage of opportunities that arise during the game. I don’t call that aggression because there are times when I’ll sit on my stack for hours and hours. You have to know when to change gears. But I’ll exploit any opportunity I see, and that takes a lot of hard work. You have to be so aware of what’s going on at the table in order to recognize those opportunities.”
Amir Vahedi’s achievements in the game are there for all to see, and he will be sadly missed by family and friends alike.