The Legend of Chris "Jesus" Ferguson
Eric Schomburg
September 14, 2005
My family has been a fan of gambling ever since I can remember, which is actually 25 years ago. I haven’t been a big fan of gambling, but I have been a fan of card games. While I love blackjack, I found poker to be too complicating to play and therefore I steered clear away from poker. That is until I watched Chris "Jesus" Ferguson play Texas Hold’em.
With his notorious black Stetson, his dark shades that seemed to reflect back on the poker table, and his long hair, Chris Ferguson was almost like a wrestling gimmick. But, don’t count Jesus short, he is indeed the messiah of Texas Hold’em. With 5 World Series of Poker bracelets, 23 final tables, 36 cashes, and close to 3 million dollars in prize money, it’s safe to say that Chris Ferguson is a legend at the poker table.
Chris is fun to watch on television. Sometimes it seems that he silent and deadly, and then sometimes he’s having fun just shuffling his chips (a trick I have yet to perfect). Chris also has endorsement deals with every poker company you can think of. From Pokerstars to FullTilt. He’s even modified in pixels as you can play him in the World Series of Poker the video game. Chris is even sponsored by Milwaukee’s Best Light Beer.
But where did the Messiah of poker come from? How did he get into poker? It’s simple really, he’s been playing since he was a little kid. By high school he would play every weekend with his friends. He attended UCLA in which he majored in computer science. He spent five years as a undergrad and another 13 years in a doctrine course. Finally, he was kicked out of UCLA in 1999, but his destiny lied with poker, not computer science.
Finally, it got to a point where he would assert himself and his knowledge of poker to Las Vegas. In 22 visits, he only lost twice. Chris would go on IRC chat rooms and play online. It was until 1996 where he won an opportunity to play in the World Series of Poker, and from then on he has been playing and being in the main event ever since.
In 2000, Chris Ferguson won his first poker bracelet in a game of five card stud, he would also go on to win the 2000 World Series of Poker world championship bracelet. Out of all the tournaments he has participated in the lowest ranking he’s ever gotten was 26th place.
Putting his knowledge of poker and computer science to use, he help construct and design Full Tilt Poker, a website that allows players online to play with the pros. Such pros like Jennifer Harman, Phil Ivey, and even Chris Ferguson himself.
With the poker boom increasing in popularity, and the fact that 60 billion dollars is being gambled every year, Chris Ferguson can reassure himself as the messiah of poker.
With his notorious black Stetson, his dark shades that seemed to reflect back on the poker table, and his long hair, Chris Ferguson was almost like a wrestling gimmick. But, don’t count Jesus short, he is indeed the messiah of Texas Hold’em. With 5 World Series of Poker bracelets, 23 final tables, 36 cashes, and close to 3 million dollars in prize money, it’s safe to say that Chris Ferguson is a legend at the poker table.
Chris is fun to watch on television. Sometimes it seems that he silent and deadly, and then sometimes he’s having fun just shuffling his chips (a trick I have yet to perfect). Chris also has endorsement deals with every poker company you can think of. From Pokerstars to FullTilt. He’s even modified in pixels as you can play him in the World Series of Poker the video game. Chris is even sponsored by Milwaukee’s Best Light Beer.
But where did the Messiah of poker come from? How did he get into poker? It’s simple really, he’s been playing since he was a little kid. By high school he would play every weekend with his friends. He attended UCLA in which he majored in computer science. He spent five years as a undergrad and another 13 years in a doctrine course. Finally, he was kicked out of UCLA in 1999, but his destiny lied with poker, not computer science.
Finally, it got to a point where he would assert himself and his knowledge of poker to Las Vegas. In 22 visits, he only lost twice. Chris would go on IRC chat rooms and play online. It was until 1996 where he won an opportunity to play in the World Series of Poker, and from then on he has been playing and being in the main event ever since.
In 2000, Chris Ferguson won his first poker bracelet in a game of five card stud, he would also go on to win the 2000 World Series of Poker world championship bracelet. Out of all the tournaments he has participated in the lowest ranking he’s ever gotten was 26th place.
Putting his knowledge of poker and computer science to use, he help construct and design Full Tilt Poker, a website that allows players online to play with the pros. Such pros like Jennifer Harman, Phil Ivey, and even Chris Ferguson himself.
With the poker boom increasing in popularity, and the fact that 60 billion dollars is being gambled every year, Chris Ferguson can reassure himself as the messiah of poker.