Hossein Ensan Looks to Add a WSOP Main Event Bracelet to His Decorated Resume
Born in Iran, 55 year old Hossein Ensan moved to Germany at the age of 25 and has been crushing the poker scene since 2013, although he started playing when he was just 18 years old.
Ensan started out with mixed game variants when he was a kid, eventually honing his hold'em skills and going on a tear in Europe. "I love poker," smiled Ensan. He has accumulated over $2.6 million in earnings and earned a World Series of Poker Circuit ring in 2017 in Rozvadov in Event #11: €1,650 No Limit Hold'em Main Event for €184,812.
He finished in third place in the 2014 European Poker Tour (EPT) € 5,300 Main Event in Barcelona for €652,667. Since Ensan came just short of winning his first EPT title in that year, he decided to give it another shot in 2015 in the €5,300 EPT Prague Main Event and took the whole thing down for €754,510, making it his biggest career score.
Now, Ensan is on poker's biggest stage and looks to add a WSOP bracelet to his decorated resume.
When asked if he is nervous, Ensan told PokerNews: "I am experienced since 2002 in hold'em. Experience is more important than books. Poker is from skill, luck, good run and strategy. So, this is the point."
Winning the entire Main Event generally comes with added pressure of being an ambassador, and Ensan is certainly capable of this. The current chip leader mingling with everyone and enjoying the short breaks is a bit of a rare sight these days.
Ensan also mentioned that winning the Main Event would be validation for the hard work he has put in this last year. "This confirms my game, and I know I can play poker. This is nice!" exclaimed Ensan.
How He Got Here
| Day | End-of-Day Chip Count | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1c | 180,000 | 137/3,647 |
| 2c | 209,000 | 531/1,793 |
| 3 | 336,000 | 603/1,084 |
| 4 | 3,250,000 | 14/354 |
| 5 | 7,100,000 | 24/106 |
| 6 | 34,500,000 | 2/35 |
Key Hand
A huge hand on Day 7 went down against Nick Marchington to bring Ensan over 100 million in chips. During Level 34: 250,000-500,000 with a 500,000 big blind ante, Ensan raised to 1 million from the cutoff and Marchington defended his big blind.
The flop came 
and Marchington checked. Ensan continued with the aggression and bet 1 million again. Marchington check-raised to 4 million and Ensan thought about it before tossing in a call. The turn was the 
and Marchington led out for 9.5 million. Ensan decided to call, swelling the pot to almost 30 million in chips.
The dealer completed the board with the 
and Marchington decided to fire out a bet of 25 million this time. Ensan wasted no time and snap-called, tabling 
for aces up. Marchington mucked, but the live stream revealed he had 
for bottom pair.
"I have history with him (Marchington)," explained Ensan. "I played two days with him, so I know how he plays - with pressure and aggressive. He just called and no three-bet. If he three-bet, maybe I fold before the flop. Eights, maybe. But fives, I have a five blocker. I am deep and I have two pair," explained Ensan.
His gut was right, and the call put him squarely out front of the pack with the final table getting closer.
What to Watch For
Based on his intuition in the key hand above, Ensan's experience is going to be what allows him to rise to the top in this event. Between his deep EPT runs for close to a million dollars, and the amount of years he has been on the felt, it's likely Ensan will be calm and focused while playing for $10 million.
Breaking down hands is another skill of Ensan's, as he was able to correctly call against Marchington's three streets of aggression to take a massive lead on Day 7. Reading his opponents and figuring out why they are betting in certain spots will be critical skills that Ensan will put to use as he tries to navigate his way to a victory in the 2019 WSOP Main Event.