Juan Manuel Pastor

A popular name on the Spanish poker scene is Juan Manuel Pastor. He is known not only for playing poker, but also commentating on it and contributing content online.

Juan’s most notable achievement of his poker career came back in 2011 when he made the final table of the EPT London £5,000 Main Event. To get there, the Spaniard outlasted legends of the game including Doyle Brunson, Bryn Kenney and Mustapha Kanit. While Pastor exited in fourth for $312,598 as it was aggressive German Benny Spindler that went on to seize the trophy, Juan did get a memorable bluff through on the eventual winner. Down to five-handed play, Pastor raised Ah8d from the CO and the German flatted from the button with KhJd. After the flop checked through on TsJc4d, Spindler led out on the 9s turn and bet for thin value on the Kd river. Punishing this and putting his blockers to good effect, Juan raised Spindler’s river bet and got Benny – a player known for his tenacity and heart in pots – to back down from the best hand.

The majority of Juan’s live tournament winnings have come on the European circuit, but the Spanish pro does have a collection of WSOP cashes to his name as well. He was formerly sponsored by PokerStars and was appointed as a contributor to the PokerStars.es blog, writing regularly for the site between 2008 and 2010. You can read his archived posts here.