Chris Jesus Ferguson - Top Poker Player and Scholar
Chris Ferguson is more than just a superb poker player – he is also an academic having spent decades in university.
Ferguson – The Poker Player With an Education
One might not traditionally associate professional, successful poker playing with someone who not only has an education, but who is also actually a scholar. Well, Chris Jesus Ferguson is exactly that. Not only has he won many poker tournaments over the years including the famous World Series of Poker (WSOP) twice as well as 5 bracelets (almost unprecedented), but he has also spent more than two decades getting a much envied education from UCLA, where he ultimately netted a Ph.D for himself in Computer Science too. It’s one thing being a mega poker player, but what makes this poker player profile so fascinating is that the other side of his brain is equally brilliant.
Poker Playing Takes Off After Chris Leaves Academia
It wasn’t out of choice, but since Chris Ferguson left academia, he began looking for something else to do to fill up his time. There was just something about the man that didn’t want to stop learning. So he didn’t. The guy really is mega skilled. He has a rather interesting talent of being able to cut a carrot in half by throwing a card from a distance of 10 feet! And it’s not a magic card either! He also likes to have fun and enjoys a good dance at his local club. All in all, it is obvious that Chris is mega talented.
How Chris’s Poker Playing Career Really Took Off
He found his niche pretty soon and within a year won the Main Event at the WSOP. That was 2000 and it was just the beginning for what was to be a great career in poker playing for Chris. He got in to online poker playing before it became mega popular too and was soon ranked the highest tournament player. But again, Ferguson was using his education skill set. He had a wide knowledge of game theory which was incredibly powerful and he used that to play the local LA tournaments. Gaining confidence from that, Chris went on to play his first WSOP event in 1995, and, despite his limited experience, did really well, peaking at fourth place.
Bracelet, Bracelet and Yet More Bracelets for Chris
Chris got on his roll after 2000 and, having won the WSOP, went on to win a staggering 5 bracelets. According to poker statistics, Chris has won more bracelets, had more money finishes and made more final tables than any other poker player. He has certainly made it all financially worth his while too, taking home millions of dollars from his poker wins.
What Does He Look Like?
So why is the man nicknamed Jesus? Well, one might say he looks a bit like the man with his long brown hair and beard. Or it could be a twist of irony since the man is actually an atheist. He also wears sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat, perhaps so that his fellow players can’t get a sense of what is going on inside that mega brain of his, or, maybe he just likes them!