Chris Ferguson Biography

Chris Ferguson plays online exclusively at Full Tilt Poker.

Chris “Jesus” Ferguson was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. As the son of two mathematicians, Chris was destined to join the academic world. He spent a total of 18 years at UCLA, with five years as an undergrad and 13 as a graduate student. In 1999 he graduated with a Ph.D. in computer science and left the comfort of university life.

Chris started playing poker on an Internet Relay Chat (IRC) channel – one of the first forms of online poker - during his student years, and quickly became the highest ranked tournament player. He applied this knowledge of game theory to live poker in the LA area in 1994 and played his first World Series of Poker event just a year later. After leaving academia, Chris decided to concentrate on his game.

Within five years, Chris made seven WSOP final tables and cashed in 12 events. He won his first bracelet in the $2.5K Seven-Card Stud event, before going on to win the 2000 WSOP Main Event bracelet and $1.5 million the same year. Known for his versatility, Chris won his next WSOP bracelet in 2001 in the $1,500 Omaha Hi/Lo Split event, followed by two further WSOP bracelets in 2003. The first of these was the $2K Omaha Hi/Lo Split event, followed by the $2K Limit Hold 'em & Seven-Card Stud event.

More recently, Chris won the 2008 NBC Heads-Up Championship after battling through a tough 64-person field. He then made two more impressive finishes at the 2008 WSOP, with a 3rd place finish in the $1.5K No-Limit Hold ‘em event and 2nd place finish in the $5K World Championship 7-Card Stud Hi/Lo event. Chris got off to a good start in 2009 with a 2nd place finish at the Aussie Millions in the AUD 10K HORSE event in Melbourne.

Chris is recognized as one of the most skilled poker players in the world. He’s made 25 WSOP final tables, won five WSOP bracelets, cashed 42 times in a range of WSOP events and won three WSOP Circuit championship rings. His WSOP earnings alone total over $6.7 million.

Chris has also played an active role in the evolution of online poker, working with players and programmers to design Full Tilt Poker. He’s also dedicated himself to helping players improve their game by contributing to publications including “The Full Tilt Poker Strategy Guide: Tournament Edition” and the “Little Blue Book: More Lessons and Hand Analysis in No Limit Texas Hold 'em”.

In 2006, Chris took on one of his hardest but humblest challenges – to turn $0 into $10K. Using strict bankroll management rules that he’d set for himself, Chris started with nothing but a Full Tilt Poker account. In what became known as the Chris Ferguson $10K Challenge, it took Chris over 18 months of hard work to reach $10K, which he donated to the Save the Children Foundation.

When he’s not playing poker, Chris can be found dancing West Coast Swing in his local club or showing off his incredible card tricks. You can play poker with Chris Ferguson online at Full Tilt Poker.