-Christopher Philip Ferguson-Jesus-
Christopher Philip Ferguson was born on April 11, 1963 in Los Angeles, California He is one of the American professional poker player. In his career he has won five World Series of Poker bracelets, including the bracelet for the 2000 WSOP Main Event, and was the winner of the 2008 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship.
Ferguson attended UCLA where he earned a Ph.D. in computer science Focusing on virtual network algorithms, in 1999 after five years as an undergraduate and 13 years as a graduate student. His style is highly mathematical, using a strong knowledge of game theory and developing computer simulations to improve his understanding of the game.
Ferguson satrted playing poker before age 10. In college he honed his skill on IRC playing poker for play money in chat rooms. In 1994, he began playing in tournaments in California and in 1995, he entered his first World Series of Poker. Ferguson beat T. J. Cloutier at the main event of the 2000 WSOP to win the $1.5 million prize. In 2004, he made another deep run in the WSOP main event, earning $120,000 for his 26th place finish (out of 2,576 players). Also in 2004, Ferguson helped launch the online poker site Full Tilt Poker.
Ferguson finished runner-up to Phil Hellmuth in the 2005 National Heads-Up Poker Championship. He made the finals again in 2006, but again finished second, this time to Ted Forrest. In 2008 he made the finals for the third time, this time defeating Andy Bloch and winning the title. He has the most wins in the four-year period of the tournament, with an overall match record of 16-3.
In 2008, Ferguson cashed for US$677,905 at the WSOP a number that greatly exceeded his 2007 WSOP cash total of $84,562. As of 2009, his total live tournament winnings exceed $7,800,000. His 59 WSOP cashes account for $4,031,499 of those winnings and his 59 cashes put him in 3rd for most all time cashes at the WSOP.
When he’s not playing poker, Ferguson can be found dancing West Coast Swing in his local club or showing off his incredible card tricks. Ferguson 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.