John "JJ" Juanda
John Juanda is nothing short of a poker genius, with an MBA from Seattle University and an award as a bible salesman. His experience as a poker player dates way back in the year 1996, when he started competing in poker tournaments. He has been one of the most triumphant poker players in the world since 2000 with some of his poker earnings going towards his younger sisters' education.
He was born in the month of July in the year 1971, in the north of Sumatra, Indonesia where he spent his early childhood. He unveiled his poker talent while still in college and since then there was no going back. He gained the gambling genes from his father who also used to gamble. Though overly underrated and unappreciated, he is one of the greatest poker stars the world has ever seen. Just as stated, the year 1996 was when he uncovered his winning streaks at poker events, though 1999 was when he first went to a chief poker tournament. His major win came in the year 2000 when he won a lump sum cash reward of 159,000 dollars in the No Limit Hold em' tournament at Atlantic City after clinching the second position.
In the year, 2001 was not bad either for him, for he was able to claim the first position in more than one tournament. The worst position during that year was 26th, which is still very tremendous in poker tournaments. That year alone, he was able to amass more than half a million in all the tournaments he participated. In the No Limit Hold 'em Championship $ 5,000 event he was ranked first and won a staggering 283,000 dollars. In another No Limit Hold em' tournament, which he was ranked second he banked in around 131,000 dollars.
In the year 2002, he was also able to come first in more than three events with his highest reward being more than 200,000 dollars in the World Series of Poker tournament held in Las Vegas, which he was ranked second.
In 2003 he had another brilliant year, cashing in more than half a million dollars. After competing in the No Limit Hold em' tournament, he was rewarded more than 100,000 dollars after finishing first in the 1500 dollar event. He also won two different World Series of Poker tournaments. Another event in that year where he won big was the WPT, where he emerged in the seventh position with prize money of over 100,000 dollars. The same winning streak continued in the year 2004and 2005, winning more than a hundred grand in several events.
In the special year of 2006 that is when he cracked the pot. This year was the official payday for Juanda, who won a mouth watering 1,000,000 dollars in the Australian Poker championship after claiming the first position. This was not the last year he had the biggest smile on his way to the bank, for he was also able to win over eight hundred grand in 2008 at the World Series of Poker after being ranked first in the 10,000 dollar event. The same year of 2008, he also checked in over 300,000 dollars in the European poker championship held in London.
His winning streak is continuing until this day and he is said to have amassed more than 9 million dollars during his lifetime as a poker player. The self-composure he has developed as a Buddhist has really contributed to his success, for it has enabled him to remain relaxed irrespective of a win or a loss, making him very unreadable. At his free time, one will find John playing online at Full Tilt Poker. With such a rap sheet, he is undoubtedly one of the greatest all time poker players in the world.