Anil Olgun Ozdemir

Anil Olgun Ozdemir studied at Istanbul Technical University (İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi) from 2013 to 2018 and joined PokerStars as a professional poker player in January 2016. He started at low-stakes online tournaments, and with a solid foundation and continuous study, he gradually transitioned to live tournaments where he achieved his breakthrough.

Major Results

Ozdemir’s live tournament highlight came at the 2017 PokerStars Festival Bucharest Main Event. Among 736 entries, he entered the final table as chip leader and finished second after a heads-up battle against British player Sam Grafton, earning €96,993 (~$108,000). During the event, he demonstrated excellent adaptability, particularly in the heads-up phase where he employed a limp-jam strategy to apply pressure on his opponent.

He also recorded a result on the World Poker Tour (WPT): 136th place in the 2025 WPT Prime Cyprus Championship Main Event for $1,940.

Ozdemir is known for a tight-aggressive style, with a narrow preflop range but strong postflop exploitation of position and opponent weaknesses. At the 2017 Bucharest event, he executed successful bluffs postflop, such as check-calling and then leading the river to force folds. In heads-up play, he flexibly adjusted from aggressive raising to a limp-jam approach, using the opponent’s aggression against them to accumulate chips.

• Label: Known in the community as “Turkish Titan” for his steady style and solid technique.
• Anecdote: In the Bucharest Main Event heads-up, he was rivered by a straight when holding two pair, but afterwards warmly embraced champion Sam Grafton, showing excellent sportsmanship.
• Personality: Ozdemir keeps a low profile, rarely gives media interviews, and focuses on improving his online and live game.

Anil Olgun Ozdemir is one of the leading figures in Turkish poker. His success stems from dedicated study of fundamental theory and emotional control in crucial moments. As a long-term PokerStars pro, he continues to gain experience in both online and live events, with potential for further breakthroughs in the future.