John Juanda

John Juanda is one of the world’s greatest poker players. He is a known name not only because of past successes but also thanks to much resent results in the big poker events. His talent has made him a millionaire and as a member of the Full Tilt Poker team he shares his insights with anyone interested in learning from him. His decision to study in the U.S. was detrimental in bringing him to the poker table as a full time player.

A Chinese in Indonesia

John Juanda is Chinese but he grew up in Indonesia. He was the eldest son and as such he received a lot of attention. This made him feel very special and contributed to the self esteem he shows around the poker table. His father was also a gambler albeit with a drinking habit. John picked up on the gambling but seems to have had sense enough to leave the bottle out of the game. His mother worked very hard and she encouraged him to do the same and have a competitive attitude.

Moving to America

Despite a warm and comfortable life with the family in Indonesia John Juanda decided to take the leap and study in America. He flew to America in 1990 and studied at Oklahoma State University. He later earned a MBA from Seattle University. It was on the actual flight to the new country that he started to play poker but little did he know where this game would bring him only a decade later.

Accomplishments

John Juanda holds four World Series of Poker bracelets. The latest he won as recent as 2008 in the £10,000 No Limit Hold'em Main Event. This victory won him an astonishing $1,539,250 and brought his total earnings to exceed $9,300,000. Only a week after this great performance he placed second at the European Poker Tour’s London £1 Million Showdown and this earned him another $598,770.

In 2002 John Juanda was dubbed the tournament Champion of the Year as he won four World Series of Poker titles. Juanda has made it to 6 final tables in the World Poker Tour which has earned him huge sums of cash but no title. In January 2006 he took home the first place in the Crown Australian Poker Championship with a prize sum of $732,901. Online he plays for Full Tilt Poker and he continues to achieve great results also in this forum.

A Brilliant Mind and Pleasant Personality

John Juanda is known for his brilliant play and he does belong to the group of professional poker players with a background in higher education. But it is not only his sharp mind and wise decisions that has won appreciation among his peers. Even in pressured situations around final tables he knows to make relaxed remarks jokingly. If it is an expression of strategy or simply part of his personality is hard to tell but many of the greatest poker players in the world speak fondly of playing at the same table as John Juanda.