Poker Pros
John Juanda and Phil Ivey
Learn about two of the greatest poker players in history
John Juanda is an Indonesian professional poker player, who currently lives in the United States. He moved to the US back in 1990, when he started college at Oklahoma State University. His first contact with the game of poker came in 1996, and in just five years he completed his journey from novice to pro, by winning his first big event, the World Poker Open Championship. One year later he would add a World Series of Poker bracelet to his trophy collection.
John Juanda, also known as Luckbox, is currently the proud holder of four WSOP bracelets, spanning four different forms of poker: Triple Draw Lowball Ace to Five (this is the first tournament he won, in 2002), Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo Split (this was the tournament in which he won his first WSOP bracelet in 2003), Pot Limit Omaha (for which he added another bracelet in 2003) and No Limit Hold’em (this got him his fourth and final – so far – bracelet, in 2008).
Outside the poker world, John “JJ” Juanda is a friendly, modest guy, with a keen eye for reading into people’s character – a trait that has definitely helped him in his poker career. Unlike other players, who plan on staying in the game well into their old age, there have been reports that John will quit pretty soon. The reason is baffling: he plans on entering a medical school, becoming a doctor and moving back to his home country of Indonesia. His dream is to give the Indonesian people a cheap, good medical system. Now that’s giving back to the community!
John claims he is a very lucky guy, not only in poker, but all of his life, thus truly earning his nickname – Luckbox. He says he never invested any money in poker, and we quote: “I should’ve framed that $100 bill I used to buy in to my first poker game. […]I just kept winning, so I just kept playing. The $100 bill was the only money, to this day, I ever invested for poker out of my pocket that wasn’t a direct result of money won playing poker.”. This not only shows his great ability as a poker player, but an extraordinary sense of managing his bankroll.
With four World Series of Poker bracelets under his belt, a European title (won in 2008 at the WSOP Europe Main Event), three “Best All Around Player” awards and over nine million dollars won in his career, it’s safe to say that John Juanda is one of the best, most complete, successful players in the world.
Phil Ivey is a professional poker player and he is listed as the player with the most winnings in tournament poker. He is perceived as the best contemporary all-around poker player worldwide. Phil showed interest in the game of poker from an early age, interest that was passed on to him by his grandfather, who taught him the first rules of Five Card Stud, and the first ways to cheat, in order to serve as a warning. Phil first started playing professionally in the late 1990s, either against his colleagues at his telemarketing job, or by sneaking into casinos in Atlantic City. Although he didn’t make any money during this period, he gained a lot of experience.
Ivey won his first World Series of Poker bracelet in 2000, which marked the beginning in a long line of winnings, and marked his first big cash win, totaling $200,000. Since then, he has won seven WSOP bracelets, which places him at number six in the ranks of players with most bracelets. He is also the youngest player ever to have won seven bracelets. Apart from live poker tournaments, Phil Ivey is also active in the online poker game, being part of Team Full Tilt Poker, as he is exclusively playing at Full Tilt Poker. As opposed to other players, Ivey isn’t very active in writing articles and teaching other players from his experience.
His versatility has made him into a legend. His seven bracelets span through almost every game type in poker:
- In 2000, he won his first bracelet playing Pot Limit Omaha.
- In 2002, he won his second by playing 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo.
- Also in 2002 he added a third to his collection by winning a S.H.O.E. tournament.
- Completing an outstanding 2002, he won his fourth trophy by playing 7 Card Stud.
- He added another bracelet in 2005, after winning another Pot Limit Omaha tourney.
- 2009 was another great year for him, as he started by winning a No-Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball tournament…
- …and finished by winning his seventh bracelet in Omaha Hi/Lo / 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo.
Apart from his life behind the poker table, Phil Ivey is a well-known philanthropist, giving money to several charities and organizing his own charitable foundation.
In the end, let me leave you with this quote by the man himself, in which he explains his view on being the best player in the world: “To be the best, you have to be good at everything. You have to play in the biggest games in the world and win. There’s no way that a guy who’s successful in just tournaments is the best in the world. If a guy’s done well in tournaments but can’t beat the live games, he isn’t the best player.
“It comes down to who makes the most money. […] You need to play no-limit, pot-limit Omaha, no-limit deuce-to-seven, limit hold’em, stud, Omaha eight-or-better. Not only do you need to know how to play all of those games, you need to know how to win at them.”