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A Man's Game
Majority of successful poker players are men. The profile of each player tells of a different story for every person. Some have been exposed to the card game at a very young age while others discovered it accidentally. Johnny "The Orient Express" Chan moved with his family to Phoenix in 1968 from his native Hong Kong . They eventually moved to Houston where his family operated their own restaurant. Poker has led him to active play in the early 80s away from the family business he was expected to continue. His face is familiar with movie goers due to the movie "Rounders", where he played himself and which featured his victory in the 1988 World Series. His ten gold bracelets include the two bracelets he won for back to back championship events in 1987 and 1988. The variety of games in which he has won is quite impressive which was acknowledged by being inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2002. Doyle "Texas Dolly" Brunson is one of the most accomplished players in the game and is most successful at the highest cash games. He was born in Longworth , Texas where he became a very rounded sports enthusiast playing basketball, baseball and running track in high school. He particularly excelled in basketball paving the way to having him named as one of the five best basketball players in the state of Texas . An accident at work where he snapped his knee in two places ended his days in competitive basketball. This was the time the game of poker caught his interest. He was able to finish college and received his Master's Degree in Administrative Education. He however decided to concentrate on the game as he was unable to find a 9 to 5 job that would make him more money than playing poker. He wrote a book called "Super System", which is considered the bible of poker. He also has his own online poker room - the Doyle's Room. In 2004, he was one of the three inductees into the Poker Wall of Fame. He holds ten World Series bracelets like Johnny Chan. Christopher Bryan Moneymaker was born in Tennessee in 1976. He earned a Master's Degree in Accounting from the University of Tennessee . It was while working as an accountant that he won a seat in the main event of the 2003 WSOP and the rest as they say is history. He quit his job to work as a celebrity spokesman for Harrah's Entertainment and Poker Stars. His autobiography is essentially about how an amateur poker player turned into a first prize winner to eventually become a poker superstar. Other worthy names in the game includes Noel Furlong, Scotty Nguyen, Stu Ungar, Huck Seed, Dan Harrington, Chris Ferguson, Phil Hellmuth Jr., T.J. Cloutier, Phil Ivey, Gus Hanson, Paul Phillips, Mike Matusow, David Williams, Amarillo Slim Preston, Howard Lederer, Barry Greenstein, Joe Hachem, Daniel Negreanu, Greg Raymer, Carlos Mortensen and Robert Varkonyi. Celebrities like Ben Affleck have helped to spark further interest in the game when he won the California State Poker Championship No Limit Hold'em Tournament at the Commerce Casino. The number of people seriously considering playing the game of poker as a means of livelihood continues to increase as its potential is being discovered. |
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