Chris “Jesus” Ferguson
Name – Christopher Ferguson
Birthday – April 11, 1963
Location – Pacific Palisades, CA
Online Screen Names – Chris Ferguson (Full Tilt Poker)
Endorses – Full Tilt Poker
Website – chrisferguson.com
Chris Ferguson is one of the most recognizable professional poker players in the world today. Cutting a familiar figure with his long hair, beard and cowboy hat, any fan of poker would be able to identify him a mile off! However, it was not always this way!
Born in Los Angeles, Chris Ferguson was not ten years old when he first showed an interest in playing poker. An inquisitive child, he was taken by the amount of skill and wit involved in the game, as well as the logical side that he could totally relate to. Ferguson demonstrated his mathematical ability in various areas of his life, and poker called to him as a result.
Ferguson has spent the majority of his life in academic institutions. Spending a grand total of eighteen years at UCLA, he emerged with a PhD in computer science, with a specialism in virtual network algorithms. You could say that he was following in his family’s footsteps because his father and mother also had doctorates in related subjects. However, his father actually aught game theories and had studied the concept for many years. He was therefore well equipped to help out his son, not that Ferguson needed any help at all!
Ferguson had been playing poker competitively since he joined UCLA and won money on Internet chat rooms, otherwise known as the IRC network. He worked his way up to be the highest-ranking player on there in 1994. Not content with his achievements online, he began to take part in tournaments in the Los Angeles casinos to hone his game theory and playing skills. It was just a year later that Ferguson felt confident enough to enter his first World Series of Poker event. It was just five years later that he actually won the WSOP Main Event and took home the $1.5 million prize money. He beat T J Cloutier in the heads up and established his spot at the table with the best. Considering he had only left education the year before, Ferguson’s record was up there with the best of them.
Ferguson did not stop there. He finished 2nd in the National Heads-Up Poker Championship in 2005, losing to Phil Hellmuth, and again in 2006 to Ted Forrest. This is impressive considering he started with nothing, building up a bankroll of $20,000 from just $1 during the course of six months. Loving the challenge, he has set himself another target of building $10,000 on Full Tilt Poker, the website he is sponsored by, from literally nothing.
Ferguson cuts one of the most recognisable figures in poker today with his beard and long hair, hence the nickname “Jesus”. The sunglasses he wears are designed to make him appear less of an academic and he often remains completely still to avoid being read. It has served him well, with over $5 million to his name so far!