Johnny Chan is one of the prominent names in poker. Erik Seidel described him as a terrific player and psychologist who could read others excellently. This man, as a teenager, turned $320 to $30,000 within one week of play. Interestingly, he is the first poker player to reach 10 WSOP bracelets, raising the bar in the eyes of Vegas Aces Casino.
Johnny Chan was inducted into the esteemed Poker Hall of Fame in 2002. He is undoubtedly one of the greatest poker players, which entails the need to know more about him. Today’s casino news, thus, highlights the most notable moments in the legend’s poker career and his influence beyond the poker table.
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Johnny Chan: First Poker Player To Reach 10 WSOP Bracelets
Johnny Chan was born in 1957 in Canton, also called Guangzhou, China. His family relocated to Hong Kong when he was 5 in search of a better life. However, the civil unrest in the city during the 1960s caused the family to move again after four years, this time to another continent entirely. In 1968, they arrived in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. Some 5 years later, the family left the state to settle in Houston, Texas. Here, they joined Johnny’s grandfather, who had been living in this town since 1945. They opened a restaurant named Hoe Sai Gai, interpreted as “Great Whirl.”
How Johnny Chan Discovered Poker
Johnny Chan, at 16, worked in his parents’ restaurant while he attended Houston’s Lamar High School. He loved chess, pool, and bowling, which he played until he found poker. He learned about the game by watching some of their customers play poker behind his father’s restaurant.
Within a few months, Johnny had learned to play poker, winning and cashing out from other players. Although Johnny was young, he decided to go on a gambling tour in Las Vegas. Once he got to the city, he entered the Golden Nugget Casino. Young Johnny didn’t waste time exchanging his gold chain for $120 and taking out the $200 in his card.
Back then, casinos and casino owners were not strictly regulated. All they wanted was your money. With $320, Johnny Chan set himself at the table, and, in just one week, he had won $30,000. He returned home with the cash, continued with his academics, and kept on working in his parents’ restaurant. However, his experience in Las Vegas reinforced his passion for poker.
The Orient Express
After high school, Johnny Chan studied hotel and restaurant management at the University of Houston, all the while playing poker. However, at 21, he couldn’t hold back his passion for poker anymore and went for it.
Johnny left college for poker and relocated to Las Vegas to play professionally. His aggressive play and strategy always took his opponent by surprise. However, his hot temper and uncontrolled emotions soon began to take their toll on him—he started losing money.
At some point, he had nothing left in his account.
He then had to stop playing poker and take regular jobs in Las Vegas to build up his bankroll again. After working for months and accumulating enough cash, Johnny Chan was back at the table.
He played his first recorded tournament in 1982, Bob Stupak’s America’s Cup of Poker. He won the game and earned a seat at the final table, where he demonstrated his remarkable skill. Johnny won the tournament’s $130,000 cash prize. It was after this event that Bob Stupak nicknamed him “Orient Express.”
Having found his feet, Johnny Chan proceeded to other tournaments, including the Amarillo Slim’s Superbowl Of Poker and the Stairway to the Stars tournament.
Johnny Chan’s Notable Wins
In 1985, Orient Express won his first bracelet and $171,000 in the $1,000 Limit Hold ‘Em event, which launched his journey as a poker legend.
From 1987 to 1988, Johnny Chan achieved the impossible at the WSOP. He won the $10,000 No Limit Hold ‘Em World Championship (the Main Event) two years in a row. He won his second and third bracelets from these years’ events and a cash prize of $1,325,000.
The 1988 WSOP tournament is famous for the battle between Erik Seidel and Johnny Chan. Johnny had lost about $1.2 million pot to him until he made his notorious comeback to win the $700,000 first-place prize.
In 1994, Johnny Chan secured his fourth WSOP bracelet at a $1,500 Seven-Card Stud event. With this win, he showcased his mastery of different poker variants. Three years later, in 1997, he claimed his fifth WSOP bracelet in the $5,000 No Limit Deuce to Seven Draw tournament.
At the end of the 20th century, Johnny won his sixth bracelet in a $1,500 + 70 Pot Limit Omaha event, earning a cool $179,400.
Collection of WSOPs in the 21st Century
Johnny Chan began the new decade with the stellar performance he was known for. At the 33rd WSOP, he secured his seventh bracelet.
In 2003, he added two more WSOP bracelets to his impressive winning portfolio, bringing the bracelet count to nine. In 2005, Chan clinched his tenth WSOP bracelet in a $2,500 Pot Limit Hold ‘Em event.
Other Off-the-Poker-Table Episodes
Away from the poker tables, albeit poker-related, Chan took part in some other, and very successful, activities, to wit:
Cinema poker bluff
In the 1998 poker-themed film “Rounders,” Johnny Chan pulled off one of cinema’s most iconic poker bluffs. As the antagonist, he faces off against the film’s protagonist, Mike McDermott (Matt Damon), in a high-stakes game. In the now-famous scene, Chan tricked McDermott into betting his entire chips, only to reveal that he was bluffing all along. The scene replicates the final hand that Johnny Chan and Erik Seidel played in the 1988 WSOP Main Event.
Chan’s Texas poker room
Johnny Chan had opened a poker room in Houston, Texas some time ago. It was a hub for poker aficionados, which offered a variety of games and tournaments. However, the poker room closed its doors in 2021 and was sold out to a new owner, who rebranded it as the 101 Poker Club.
In a Nutshell…
Johnny Chan’s career achievements have spanned several decades. From his legendary WSOP Main Event wins to his ten WSOP bracelets, his accomplishments remain a feat fit for a legend in poker history. However, there’s a lesson to be learned here, especially from him: you have to be skilled to win poker often, but you can’t win every time.
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