Johnny Chan – Professional Poker Player Review Series

It’s the same actually. If you are from the east and want to be a great player like Johnny Chan, you might get a nickname like orient(al) express II. It sounds strange. But for personalities like Johnny Chan, orient(al)express is the most suitable nickname. He was born in Guangzhou (Canton) in 1957. His family moved from his birthplace to Hong Kong in 1962. After that, they all moved to Phoenix, Arizona.

Again, in 1973 they moved to Houston, Texas. His family owed restaurants there. Chan had an earlier plan to join her family business after completing his studies. Following that plan, he joined the University of Houston majoring in hotel and restaurant management. But something more exciting awaited Chan. It started when he was only 16 years old. He went on a trip to Las Vegas, Nevada. When he was 21 years old, he dropped out of school and moved to Las Vegas to become a professional gambler.

Chan was the first Asian player who played for the first time as an Asian against many. His early successes show that even an Asian can be a dangerous player like him. But as a serious opponent, he appeared on the field in the late 1980s. He won the WSOP (World Series of Poker) championship event two years in a row, i.e. 1987 and 1988. But for the third time he finished second! place and missed the golden opportunity to make a haystack!

Jerry Buss, another betting record maker, promised him an NBA championship ring if he won three in a row. In 2005, Chan defeated Phil Laak to become the first to win ten World Series of Poker titles in a Texas Hold’em event. He is currently tied with Doyle Brunson for second with 10 World Series of Poker bracelets behind Phil Hellmuth (11). In 2002, he was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame. He did it in the $400,000 Poker Superstars singles tournament in February 2005.

He later completed Poker Superstar II during the summer of 2005 and there he defeated 22 of the best players and went on to the final. There he won against Todd Brunson. He also awarded the 2004 and 2005 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions and also presented the National Heads-Up Poker Championship in the same year. Johnny Chan has won $3,744,331 at the World Series of Poker through 2006. His live tournament prize pool exceeded $6,300,000 in 2008.

It is very interesting that Chan has kept his family business after all his poker activities. He now has his own fast food franchise at the Stratosphere Hotel in Las Vegas. He has written for Card Players magazine. He also writes regularly for Trader Monthly. He also advises various casinos and game creators. Apart from this, he has participated in some TV game shows. As a legendary poker player from Asia, he is called Orient (al) Express.