Juan Manuel Pastor

Juan Manuel Pastor

Spain’s Juan Manual Pastor worked in the marketing industry before turning to poker full time, specialising in television and the internet. Prior to that, he studied Industrial Engineering and Journalism at University. He’s been playing poker since he was just six years old, learning the game from his grandfather. Years later, what started out as nothing more than a fun family game has seen Juan develop into one of the most successful players from his country.

Juan has posted some impressive live tournament results, starting in 2006 when he finished in the top eight in two events at the World Heads-Up Poker Championships in Barcelona. He has also performed well at events on the Campeonato Espana de Poker - a regional poker tour in Spain. This includes a first place finish in the $600 No Limit Hold’em event at the Valladolid leg of the tour in April 2008, a victory that was worth a cool $35,045. More significantly, Juan has played well at events on the PokerStars European Poker Tour. His breakout year came in Season 5, with cash finishes at EPT Warsaw, EPT Prague and EPT Dortmund, worth a combined total of more than $31,000. He then came close to winning his first EPT title at the London leg of Season 8, busting in 4th place for $312,598 - the biggest cash of his career so far.

When he isn’t playing at the biggest poker events in Europe, Juan enjoys sports like Judo, Boxing, Handball and Rugby. He’s proud to represent his native Spain on behalf of PokerStars, and is looking forward to winning his first major title in the near future. He is a member of Team PokerStars Pro and plays online using the screen name ‘JUANPASTOR’.