One of the most recognizable poker faces in the world this long haired bearded figure is always accompanied with sunglasses and a cowboy hat. The nickname Jesus arose from his looks and has stuck with him at the table. Beating out TJ Cloutier at the 2000 World Series of Poker was a memorable event for Chris. The hand was A 9 and TJ held a AQ, Chris caught his lucky nine on the river and the rest is history.
Chris stated in one interview that the final table was his home and his favourite place to play. This is apparent as he does not travel the circuit like he used to. Instead he enjoys the finer things in life such as Swing Dancing in his home in California. Do not let the dancing fool you as Ferguson holds five World Series of Poker titles including two of them in 2003.
Born on April 11th 1963 in L.A. Ferguson resided in his birthplace to attend UCLA in 1999. Focusing on artificial intelligence Ferguson earned a Ph.D. in computer science. This field was nothing out of the ordinary as his parents both have degrees in mathematics. Ferguson began to play in poker tournaments in 1994 still in California. In 1995 he made his first trip to the World Series of Poker.
This is where he conquered the renowned T.J. Cloutier in 2000 to win the 1.5 million dollar prize.
It should be noted that Chris has other abilities with cards and not just to play the game.
He has been recorded throwing cards at the speed destined to cut through bananas and pickles! Ferguson may not appear in the circuit as often as he used to but he is still in the poker world as much as ever. Chris is part of the design team for a successful poker website called Full Tilt which opened in 2004.
In fact, you can go there and play Chris at his very own private table. As of 2005 it is recorded that his tournament winnings alone total over 5 million dollars.
Some of Chris Ferguson Accomplishments:
5/02/00 2500 Stud 1 151,000
5/09/00 1500 Razz 8 3,875
5/13/00 5000 Omaha/8 7 17,325
5/18/00 10000 NLH 1 1,500,000
4/23/01 1500 Omaha/8 1 164,735
4/24/01 2000 NLH 12 10,265
4/30/01 2500 Stud 12 5,530
5/03/01 2500 PLO 12 5,355
5/05/01 2500 Stud/8 5 19,885
5/08/01 3000 PLH 24 3,945
5/05/02 3000 PLH 2 98,700
5/11/02 2000 SHOE 6 10,760
4/19/03 2000 Omaha/8 1 123,680
4/25/03 2000 H/S 1 66,220
4/28/03 5000 DeuceTo7 4 32,820
4/30/03 1500 OmahaHi 12 2,700