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Poker Star Profile: Chris Ferguson

October 17, 2009

  • 5 WSOP Bracelets
  • 3 WSOP-C Rings
  • National Champion, Heads-Up No-Limit Hold ‘em, 2008
  • WSOP Main Event Champion 2000

Chris Ferguson plays online exclusively at Full Tilt Poker.

Chris “Jesus” Ferguson was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. As the son of two mathematicians, Chris was destined to join the academic world. He spent a total of 18 years at UCLA, with five years as an undergrad and 13 as a graduate student. In 1999 he graduated with a Ph.D. in computer science and left the comfort of university life.

Chris started playing poker on an Internet Relay Chat (IRC) channel – one of the first forms of online poker – during his student years, and quickly became the highest ranked tournament player. He applied this knowledge of game theory to live poker in the LA area in 1994 and played his first World Series of Poker event just a year later. After leaving academia, Chris decided to concentrate on his game.

Within five years, Chris made seven WSOP final tables and cashed in 12 events. He won his first bracelet in the $2.5K Seven-Card Stud event, before going on to win the 2000 WSOP Main Event bracelet and $1.5 million the same year. Known for his versatility, Chris won his next WSOP bracelet in 2001 in the $1,500 Omaha Hi/Lo Split event, followed by two further WSOP bracelets in 2003. The first of these was the $2K Omaha Hi/Lo Split event, followed by the $2K Limit Hold ‘em & Seven-Card Stud event.

More recently, Chris won the 2008 NBC Heads-Up Championship after battling through a tough 64-person field. He then made two more impressive finishes at the 2008 WSOP, with a 3rd place finish in the $1.5K No-Limit Hold ‘em event and 2nd place finish in the $5K World Championship 7-Card Stud Hi/Lo event. Chris got off to a good start in 2009 with a 2nd place finish at the Aussie Millions in the AUD 10K HORSE event in Melbourne.

Chris Ferguson

Chris 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.

Chris has also played an active role in the evolution of online poker, working with players and programmers to design Full Tilt Poker. He’s also dedicated himself to helping players improve their game by contributing to publications including “The Full Tilt Poker Strategy Guide: Tournament Edition” and the “Little Blue Book: More

Lessons and Hand Analysis in No Limit Texas Hold ‘em”. He later proved the value of bankroll management with the Chris Ferguson $10K Challenge, demonstrating how to turn $0 into $10K.

When he’s not playing poker, Chris can be found dancing West Coast Swing in his local club or showing off his incredible card tricks. You can play poker with Chris Ferguson online at Full Tilt Poker.

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I have searched around the net and some of the poker books that i have read for some good statistics on probabilities of hitting some big hands. Although it is all mathematics to most, it is this very jargon that can separate the losers from the winners. Flush Probabilities Probability of being dealt suited cards 23.5% Probability of flopping a flush when holding two suited cards 0.8% Probability of flopping a flush draw when holding two suited cards 10.9% Probability of hitting a flush draw (both turn/river, needing one card to hit) 35% Straight Probabilities Probability of hitting an open-ended straight draw (i.e. 4 straight cards, need one on either end to hit on turn or river) 31.5% Probability of hitting a gutshot draw (inside straight draw) on turn or river 16.5% Pocket Pair Probabilities Probability of being dealt a pocket pair 5.9% Probability of hitting a three of a kind or quads at the flop when you hold a pocket pair 11.8% Probability of being dealt AA 0.45% Unpaired Hole Cards Probabilities Probability of making a pair with one of your hole cards (example: hitting an ace or a king if you hold AK) 32.4% Probability of hitting two pair on the flop with each of your hole cards (example: hitting both an ace and a king on the flop, when holding AK) 2% Ace Probabilities Probability that at least one of your hole cards is an ace 14.9% Probability of no one holding an ace, assuming you do not have an ace. Note: this can be used for any card (because the chances of you being dealt an ace or a king is exactly the same). # Players Probability 2 84.5% 3 70.9% 4 59% 5 48.6% 6 39.7% 7 32.1% 8 25.6% 9 20.1% 10 15.6% Probability someone else does not have an ace, assuming you do have an ace, by total number of players: # Players Probability 2 88.2% 3 77.5% 4 67.6% 5 58.6% 6 50.4% 7 43% 8 36.4% 9 30.5% 10 25.3%