Understanding Chris "Jesus" Ferguson

The Rio card room hosted the 2005 World Series of poker (WSOP). An enormous space, the area reminded onlookers of a fancy airplane hanger more than a place to play cards. Despite the huge amount of square footage, the room was so packed with tables, players, and fans during the main event that it was nearly impossible to move about. I pushed my way through the masses. Along the way, a member of the poker press I was accompanying walked past famous professionals such as Daniel Negreanu and Phil Gordon without noticing their presence. With so many people, everyone seemed to blend into the crowd. That is, almost all blended into the crowd.

You see, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson could be spotted from across the room. A black cowboy hat reading "Full Tilt" hid only a small portion of his amazing long, dark hair. He moved toward his table quietly, nodding in appreciation to each fan that wished him well along the way. While his look is one of the most distinct in poker, his personality is surprisingly meek. Jesus is known to be simply one of the nicest guys in all of poker, but he is also relatively quiet and somewhat shy.

This can be surprising to some who only know him through his card-throwing antics that are spotlighted on poker broadcast. My wife and I had a chance to chat with Chris, and found him to be extremely kind and personable. His wide smile displayed his sincere appreciation he holds for his fans, as well as his humble nature.

A card player for most of his life, Chris's mathematical mind loved poker. With his other passion being computers, Jesus was among the very first concentrated online poker players on the internet. The beginnings of the online game were primitive compared to today, as a handful of players would use chat rooms to play for play money and prestige. He continued to discuss and play on the still-growing internet as he completed his studies at UCLA. He entered into tournaments in and around LA, attempting build a bankroll for the next step. Although he had his eye on the WSOP, he knew the lofty entry fees were too much for his poker finances at the time. He secured an entry into the 1996 main event and never looked back. He assured himself poker immortality by wining the main event bracelet in 2000. In all, Jesus has earned an amazing 5 WSOP bracelets (one in NLHE main event, two in Omaha HiLo, one in Stud, and one in ½ Limit Hold 'Em & ½ Stud) and a WSOP circuit event championship in 2005.

Chris is extremely intelligent. In fact, he earned his PhD in Computer Science in 1999 from UCLA. That is right folks, we should be calling him "Dr. Ferguson!" If doctorates were available for the art and science of poker, Chris would have certainly earned one in this area as well.

Chris Ferguson: Play Profile & Prediction

PLAY PROFILE: Chris is known to be completely unreadable at the table. When the cards are dealt, his dark sunglasses, cowboy hat, and long hair combine with his statue-like pose to make a perfect poker pose. Staring Jesus down is a futile effort, as you'll never see him ooze a single tell. While he seems to be unreadable, many regard him as one of the best at reading weakness in his opposition. He analyzes each portion of a hand to determine his best play, and reacts with timely moves. He's won at every type of poker game invented, as evidenced by the fact that he's won WSOP bracelets in Hold 'Em, Omaha, and Stud. Many pros feel that Chris's best overall game is Omaha and Omaha HiLo. This would make solid sense, as Omaha HiLo involves quite a bit of mathematics and probability with so many draws and re-draws. Chris is very much in control of his emotions, and seems to never allow tilt to negatively affect his game.

PREDICTIONS: Chris is one of the most well liked guys on the tournament trail. He is genuine and sincere, and this overall likeability should resonate with fans and advertisers. We can expect to Chris to pick up contracts to promote products as poker continues to gain mainstream television interest. In fact, Chris put his degree in computers to work when helping to formulate the popular poker website Full Tilt. This website continues to gather some of the biggest names in poker as endorsers and gets great reviews from its customers.

Jesus has the total poker package: he understands poker math, poker psychology, and is unreadable. Likewise, he knows every poker game inside and out. With that combination, it seems like an easy prediction to say that he'll be filling up his arm with more WSOP bracelets in the next few decades. I think that Omaha may soon gain more attention from the poker masses as attention is diverted from the myriad of No Limit Hold 'Em tournaments. Knowing that Jesus is an amazing Omaha player, the table may be set for more and more big-time Ferguson victories.

More Poker Player Profiles

♣ Andy Bloch ♣ Annie Duke ♣ Antonio Esfandiari ♣ Chris Ferguson ♣ Dan Harrington ♣ Daniel Negreanu ♣ Doyle Brunson ♣ Greg Raymer ♣ Gus Hansen ♣ Howard Lederer ♣ James Woods

♣ Jennifer Harman ♣ Johnny Chan ♣ Mark Seif ♣ Mike Matusow ♣ Phil Gordon ♣ Phil Hellmuth ♣ Phil Ivey ♣ Phil Laak ♣ Poker Hotties ♣ Sam Farha ♣ TJ Cloutier

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