The History of Chris Ferguson

I know I sometimes rant too much about The Jesus Fish Chris Ferguson. So I thought I would do a bit of a Bio on him today. The guys got an interesting history that I think a lot of people don’t already know. It’s all listed on his website. For example did you know :

“By 1999, Chris had spent exactly half his life at UCLA. After five years as an undergrad and another 13 as a graduate student, UCLA awarded him a Ph.D. in Computer Science and told him it was time to leave the nest of academia. He went reluctantly.”

Not the life story I expected from the long haired man in the Stetson. PhD in Computer Science? The guy looks like he just rode in to town on a horse, but instead we find out he Pricelined his plane tickets on his lap top. I somehow can’t imagine him with a pocket protector. The article then goes on to say.

“He didn't wander very far. A year later and only 300 miles away, it was new school meets old school as Chris defeated TJ Cloutier to win the Main Event in the 2000 World Series of Poker. It marked the beginning of a professional career, with a record unmatched by any player of the last decade.”

This only goes to show how much I underestimate the connection between comp science and poker. Then after a long career on the green felt and several bracelets later, Jesus Fish decides to diversify into online poker. He couldn’t have picked a better time too. In these shaky days of poker the old staples are becoming a dying breed. Read this part of the article from his web page.

“Chris recently returned to the world of online poker, this time applying his own ideas to improve Internet poker. He put together a team of players and programmers to design the software for FullTiltPoker.com, and now focuses on ensuring that Full Tilt Poker's customers have the best software and the best games in the industry.”

With his fingers in all pots of poker, he’s stapled himself into the industry. His is a name that will never be forgotten. Let’s all raise a glass to Chris Ferguson.