Chris Ferguson Poker Christopher Phillip Ferguson was born in 1963 in Los Angeles, California. He learned to play cards at an early age and one time in the fourth grade, he lost his last few cents in a game. He swore he would never go broke in a game again. He kept playing poker throughout high school and always managed to keep that vow.

Chris Ferguson Attending UCLA

When he graduated, he attended UCLA and spent the next the next eighteen years earning his bachelors and doctoral degrees in computer science. The university eventually had to kick him out to get him to leave. Ferguson’s parents both have doctoral degrees in mathematics. His father was part of the faculty at UCLA and taught both game theory and theoretical probability.

While in college, Chris Ferguson continued to play poker. He practiced his skill on IRC, a text-based chat room, during the early days of the internet. It was a time when few people used the internet and before the boom of online casinos and poker rooms. Back then the money was just virtual but the players were still serious. He soon earned the title as the highest ranked person online. Chris Ferguson also frequented the casinos of southern California and by 1994 he decided to try his hand at larger tournaments.

Chris Ferguson Poker Beginnings

Starting out, Ferguson played in numerous World Series of Poker events and did well. In 2000, he won his first gold bracelet at the World Series of Poker Limit 7 Card Stud event. The first place win earned him $$151,000.

Chris Ferguson WSOP Wins

It was in May of 2000 at the World Series of Poker that he made a name for himself when he defeated T.J. Coultier at No Limit Hold’Em. He took first place and won the $1,500,000 grand prize. It was his second gold WSOP bracelet. A year later at the 2001 WSOP Omaha Hi-Lo event, he won his third gold bracelet and $164,735. Two years later at the 2003 WSOP Omaha Hi-Lo he won his fourth bracelet and $123,680. His fifth bracelet was won a week later at the Limit Hold’Em/Seven Card Stud event when he took first and earned $66,220.

Some of Chris Ferguson’s other big wins include the 2003 WSOP Pot Limit Hold’Em event where he took second place and earned $115,560. In March 2004 at the Winning O’ the Green tournament, he took first in No Limit Hold’Em and won $144,000. At Harrah’s Rincon Poker Tournament in 2005, he took first place in No Limit Hold’Em and won $655,220. A few months later at the World Series of Poker he came in second place in Pot Limit Omaha and took home $210,460. Also in 2005 at Harrah’s Las Vegas Poker Tournament No Limit Hold’Em, he came in first place and took $362,088. Then in 2008 at the NBC National Heads Up Poker Championship he won first place in the No Limit Hold’Em National Championship and earned $500,000. In a four-year period of that tournament, Ferguson held the most wins of any other player.

Chris Ferguson's Intellectual Approach to Poker

Chris Ferguson has an intellectual regard for poker. He has stated that intelligence and the ability to reason are two of the most important skills in poker and that there are two types of information an opponent can unknowingly provide. The first is the physical tells an opponent gives off while at the table. The second is how they play their hands and how a smart player can get inside their opponent’s head and figure out how they think. Ferguson’s analytical mind is good at that. While his PhD is not necessarily in math, he still applies math to his game. When not playing in a tournament, he has computer simulation programs that he has developed to help him work out strategy and different scenarios.

Unlike many professionals in the business, Chris Ferguson prefers tournaments to cash games. In cash games, the goal is to reach a certain amount before cashing out and such games can drag on for many long hours. But in tournament play, the games are constantly changing and the only goal is to win. Ferguson has stated that it is easier for him to pay attention and remain focused during tournaments.

Chris Ferguson Lauches Full Tilt

In 2004, Chris Ferguson helped develop and launch the online site Full Tilt Poker. One of many poker sites on the internet, it has since become one of the more successful. It even has a team of sponsored professional players, known as Team Full Tilt, that play exclusively online at that site.

In 2006, Chris Ferguson conducted an experiment on the Full Tilt Poker site. He withdrew all the money out of his account and began a quest to go from a zero bank account and build it up to a $10,000 bank account. In just a few months, he accomplished that feat.

Chris "Jesus" Ferguson

Chris Ferguson’s nickname is ‘Jesus’, so named because of his long hair and beard. It is an ironic nickname since Ferguson is an atheist. He is known to sit motionless in an attempt to avoid being read by his opponent. He always wears a black cowboy hat and sunglasses while at the table. He claims that the image is a ruse, hoping it throws off his opponent into thinking he plays wild like the cowboy he appears to be.

Like a lot of professionals, Chris Ferguson will not appear on the World Poker Tour because of contractual disagreements. The WPT has all contestants sign a waiver that allows the WPT to use the players’ image and likeness in any WPT related products such as televised events, video games, or dvds.

Chris Ferguson Current Life

Chris Ferguson continues to pursue his academics and intellectual interest in computers and artificial intelligence. He is also an accomplished swing and ballroom dancer and back at UCLA was the president of the swing dance club. One odd skill he has demonstrated in the past is the ability to flick a card and slice a carrot in half. Ferguson only plays in big tournaments and no cash games. As of 2008, his total estimated tournament earnings are $7,300,000.