John Juanda
Johnson "John" Juanda[2] (born July 8, 1971)[3] is an Indonesian[4] professional poker player of Chinese descent based in Tokyo, Japan.[1] He has won five World Series of Poker bracelets.
| John Juanda | |
|---|---|
 John Juanda at the 2008 World Series of Poker. | |
| Nickname(s) | JJ, Luckbox |
| Residence | Tokyo, Japan[1] |
| Born | July 8, 1971 Medan, North Sumatera, Indonesia |
| World Series of Poker | |
| Bracelet(s) | 5 |
| Final table(s) | 32 |
| Money finish(es) | 65 |
| Highest ITM Main Event finish | 31st, 2005 |
| World Poker Tour | |
| Title(s) | None |
| Final table(s) | 6 |
| Money finish(es) | 19 |
| European Poker Tour | |
| Title(s) | 1 |
| Final table(s) | 3 |
| Money finish(es) | 5 |
Personal life
Juanda was born into a Hoklo family in Medan, North Sumatera, Indonesia on July 8, 1971. He was a high school track star for the 200 meter sprints to 5000 meters races. Juanda arrived in the United States in 1990 to enroll at Oklahoma State University. He earned an MBA from Seattle University.
Juanda is fluent in both Mandarin Chinese and English. He currently resides in Tokyo, Japan.[1]
Poker career
In both 2001 and 2002, he was Card Player Magazine's tournament Player of the Year, winning four World Series of Poker titles, and a World Poker Open Championship title.[5] In November 2004, he won the inaugural Professional Poker Tour event at the Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut.
In November 2005, he earned nearly $500,000 in Monte Carlo, Monaco after winning the Monte Carlo Millions Consolation tournament, finishing sixth in the Monte Carlo Millions Main Event, and finishing second at "The FullTiltPoker.Net Invitational Live from Monte Carlo." In January 2006, Juanda defeated a field including Jeff Lisandro, Mike Sexton, Barry Greenstein, Tony Bloom, Tony G, and Phil Ivey to win the A$1,000,000 ($732,901) first prize in the Crown Australian Poker Championship A$100,000 speed poker event. Juanda won the 2008 World Series of Poker Europe £10,000 No Limit Holdem Main Event, earning £868,800 ($1,580,096). A little over a week later, he finished runner-up to Jason Mercier at the European Poker Tour's London £1 Million Showdown, a non-title no limit holdem event also known as the £20,000 High Roller event, earning £327,000 ($598,770).
Although Juanda has made six World Poker Tour final tables, he has never captured a WPT title. He has finished 2nd (Bellagio Season 1), 3rd (WPT Invitational Season 2), 4th (Mirage Season 3), 5th (twice; Aruba Season 3 and Niagara Falls Season 5), and 6th (Bellagio Season 3) at the six final tables he has appeared at. He has also finished 7th (PartyPoker Cruise Season 2) and 8th (Legends Season 5), just missing two more opportunities at another final table. As of 2014, his total live tournament winnings exceed $16,000,000.[6] Juanda's 54 cashes at the WSOP account for $4,702,392 of his live tournament winnings and place him tied for 8th for all time WSOP cashes.[7]
In 2015, he was selected to be part of the Poker Hall of Fame along with Jennifer Harman.[8]
World Series of Poker bracelets
| Year | Tournament | Prize (US$) |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | $1,500 Triple Draw Lowball Ace to Five | $49,620 |
| 2003 | $2,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo Split | $130,200 |
| 2003 | $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha | $203,840 |
| 2008E | £10,000 No Limit Hold'em Main Event | $1,539,250 |
| 2011 | $10,000 2–7 Draw Lowball Championship | $367,170 |
An "E" following a year denotes bracelet(s) won at the World Series of Poker Europe
References
- HARTWELL, LOUIS. "John Juanda : A gentleman at the poker table". somuchpoker.com. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
In 1971 John Juanda was born in Medan, Indonesia, before later moving to the USA in 1990 so that he could join Oklahoma State University. He reportedly first played poker on the flight over, and through the next 7 years, the foundations of a great poker career were slowly being built. Despite moving to the states for education purposes, and spending large part of his poker career there, in recent years he has relocated to Japan, where he currently lives. According to Juanda, the city of Tokyo, its hospitality, and its food were defining reasons for his taking up permanent residence there.
- Danny Aller (July 28, 2007). "Reading John Juanda". Retrieved July 23, 2008.
- John Juanda Archived February 18, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Worldpokertour.com. Retrieved on December 7, 2012.
- "John Juanda: Hendon Mob Poker Database". pokerdb.thehendonmob.com. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
Nationality: Indonesia
- Shulman, Allyn Jaffrey (December 3, 2004). John Juanda: Sometimes, Nice Guys Finish First. Cardplayer.com
- John Juanda. The Mob Poker Database
- World Series of Poker Earnings Archived October 30, 2009, at the Wayback Machine www.worldseriesofpoker.com
- Jen Harman and John Juanda Selected as Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2015.