Chris Ferguson

Chris Ferguson, a US-based player of professional poker, is popularly known as Jesus because he wears his brown beard and hair long. Ferguson has five World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets to his credit, which he won in 2000, 2001, and 2003, playing poker tournaments of variants such as NL Hold’em, Omaha Hi Lo Split Eight or better, 1 By 2 Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud, and Limit Hold’em. He is also the only poker player who has won 5 WSOP Circuit titles.

Poker Career

Born at Los Angeles in California to a couple of mathematical geniuses, Chris Ferguson ended up getting a Ph.D. in network algorithms. His interest in poker dates back to the days when he was just 10, and in college, he always found the time to play real money poker on IRC.

He participated in his first World Series of Poker (WSOP) in 1994, during which he defeated T. J. Clouteir at the tables of the WSOP Main Event and won a whopping sum of $1.5 million. He was back at the WSOP Main Event final tables in 2004, and this time he finished 26th, winning a prize of $120k. The same year, he got together with a group of other professional poker players to establish Full Tilt Poker, which grew to become one of the most prestigious online poker rooms in the industry till the US federal government cracked down on it and confiscated its domain name in April 15, 2011.

Ferguson has also achieved considerable success in the National Heads Up Poker Championship events in 2005, 2006, and again in 2008. The year 2008 was lucky for Ferguson as far as the WSOP was concerned because he won $677,905.

By 2010, Ferguson had collected more than $8 million playing live poker tournaments. He stands behind professional poker players Men Nguyen and Phil Hellmuth, having 63 WSOP cashes.

Ferguson’s Personal Challenge

Ferguson challenged himself to convert $1 into a bankroll of $20,000 in just six months playing online poker. He spoke about this personal challenge when he was invited to be a guest at the Poker Night Live event. Just by participating in freerolls at Full Tilt Poker, Ferguson converted $0 into a cool poker bankroll of $10,000. Although he has achieved his goal, Ferguson continued with his challenge and created a bankroll of over $20,000.

Ferguson’s Playing Style

Ferguson is a very quiet, simple, and unassuming player at the poker tables; simultaneously, he is a formidable force to reckon with. In a bid to look older than his years, he took to wearing sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat, which is now almost a part of his physical appearance.

Since he had a strong mathematical background with sound working knowledge of computer simulations and game theory, he understands poker better than any other poker player.

Chris Ferguson is also the president of an UCLA swing dancers’ club. He is also blessed with the rare ability to cut bananas, melons, and carrots by throwing playing cards at them at high speed.