Poker Profiles: Johnny Chan
Johnnny Chan is one of the most distinguished names in Poker. His numerous aachievements has made him so.
Born in China, Johnny moved to the United States with his family in 1968. He was 11. At first, the Chan family settled in Phoenix, Arizona. It was not long afterwards that they decided to call Houston, Texas home. There, Johnny's family put up family restaurants. Supposedly, manning the food business was Johnny's destiny. When he got a taste of Poker, however, his life was turned upside down.
Johnny was first introduced to Poker at the age of 16. At 21, while he was starting to shape up for the chef's suit, he decided to quit school and take on Poker full time. He was then enrolled at the University of Houston. The name Johnny Chan did not make noise until after the person who owns it made successful strikes at the World Series of Poker. Johnny was named a WSOP champ for two consecutive years (1987 and 1988) and has not looked back ever since. This piece of history would have added more glitter to Johnny's start if only he snatched the win in the 1989 event as well. That's all water under the bridge now, however.
Johnny did not make three consecutive wins but he did made up for it in other things. In fact, he has managed to collect ten WSOP bracelets, an achievement that put him in an elite club where he brush elbows with Doyle Brunson and Phil Hellmuth. Aside from holding a second best record among players who have the most WSOP bracelets, Johnny is also member of the Poker Hall of Fame. He was inducted in 2002. True enough, those achievements are more than enough to pay for Johnny failure to snatch three year winning streak at the most illustrious Poker tournament.
It is not at all surprising that Johnny's well satisfied with his career. Although managing to get a three-win feat would have given him an NBA championship ring as promised by LA Lakers owner Jerry Buss.
Johnny did not focused his mind on just one tournament. In fact, he is a usual attendee in almost every high stake Poker tourney there is. He has graced numerous events as well including the World Poker Tournament, the Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament, the National Heads-Up Poker Championship, NBC's Poker After Dark, and the World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions, among others.
While his Poker career is quite steady, Johnny have also given up his time to manage a fastfood franchise situated at the Las Vegas Stratosphere Hotel. He also works as a consultant for some casinos and game makers. Johnny is also a writer. He contributes for Card Player and Trader Monthly magazines. Apart from that, he has also published books, which mainly talk about the decisions you need to make to win at Poker. His greatest dream is to build his own playing ground -- a casino!