GENERATION NEXT: Justin Zaki

“I just want to win one so bad”

For Florida poker pro Justin Zaki, life on the live tournament circuit is good, but there is just something missing from his poker resumé – a major championship.

Zaki’s career on the live circuit got off to a roaring start as two of his first four cashes were final table cash-outs at major events.  He would final table a $1,500 buy-in NLH (Michael Linn) event at the World Series of Poker in June of 2010.  He would follow that up less than a year later finishing third at the inaugural WPT Seminole Hard Rock Showdown (Taylor von Kriegenbergh), collecting over 415K USD for the largest payout of his live tournament career.

Zaki has enjoyed some success so far in 2013, he has already cashed in 7 events so far but things could have gone so much better.  In recent WPT tour stops in Hollywood (Florida) and Jacksonville, Zaki has set himself up for success early during tournament play but things haven’t gone as planned later on: “I’m going good early, but I’m just not winning the flips on Day 3 and Day 4” Zaki told me while on dinner break.  “You just have to stay positive”.

The Florida man is very entertaining on Twitter.  He is not shy to share his thoughts either.  Most recently, Zaki commented on younger generation players who complain about “never running good” in the most absurd of situations – “I label them as terrible” – he makes no bones about it.  But it’s all in jest for the most part!

The World Series of Poker is right around the corner and Zaki can’t wait!  When asked why Fantasy Poker Managers should pick him for the Series, Zaki decided to stay humble “I’m a solid player!”

You’ll often find Zaki wearing a hat from a Tampa Bay sports team, mostly the Rays: “I want to represent teams from my home”  – the way Zaki has performed, we’re sure that the folks in Florida are happy with the way Justin has been representing them on poker’s live tournament circuit.

We thank Justin for his time and wish him the best of luck here at the PartyPoker WPT Canadian Spring Championship and beyond.

Be sure to follow Justin on Twitter @Justin_Zaki.

Ready to add Justin to your FPM team?  Head on over to Facebook and signup to play the GPI Fantasy Poker Manager …  FPM is the official Fantasy game of the World Poker Tour and the World Series of Poker!

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