John Juanda is a highly successful, professional poker player, residing in Los Angeles, California. Juanda has made the final table in a host of major poker tournaments, awarding him more than $6,800,000 in cash winnings over his career. He is currently a member of Team Full Tilt.

Johnson “JJ” Juanda was born and raised in Indonesia, of Chinese decent, on July 8, 1971. Juanda was an athletic student growing up. In high school, he was a track star, specializing in 200-meter sprints and 5,000-meter races. John spent some time as a door-to-door salesman, peddling Bibles.

Juanda moved to the United States in 1990, where he attended Oklahoma State University, then Seattle University, earning his MBA (Master of Business Administration). John showed great interest in becoming a doctor, and would have done so had he not made the game of poker his life work.

John Juanda began playing poker professionally in 1996, entering various tournaments and major events. It was not until 2001 that Juanda saw his first real success, winning the World Poker Open Championship. His career has flourished ever since.

John Juanda and the WSOP
At the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in 2002, John took down an A-5 Triple Draw Lowball event, awarding his first bracelet and cash winnings of $49,620. In the 2003 WSOP, Juanda found himself the proud owner of two more WSOP bracelets, winning the $2,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo Split and $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha events. Juanda received $130,200 and $203,840 respectively for the victories.

Though not for lack of trying, Juanda has not received a WSOP bracelet since 2003. His success has not faltered, though. John continued to earn millions over his career in other major events.

John Juanda and the WPT
Juanda has made 6 final tables in World Poker Tour (WPT) events, along with a few near misses, though he has yet to take first place. In the WPT’s first season, at the Bellagio Casino, Juanda finished in 2nd place. In the second season, John finished in 3rd place in the WPT Invitational and just missed the final table, finishing 7th in the PartyPoker Cruise. Juanda saw three final table finishes in the third season of the WPT, taking 4th place at the Mirage, 5th in Aruba and 6th at the Bellagio. John came back again in WPT season 5, earning 5th place at Niagara Falls and 8th in the Legends event.

John Juanda’s Other Poker Accomplishments
Juanda found himself in the runner up position, both in 2001 and 2002, for the Card Player’s Tournament Player of the Year award. However, he did receive the Tournament Champion of the Year award in 2002. Over his distinguished career, John Juanda has been presented with three Best All-Around Player awards.

In 2004, John Juanda skillfully climbed to the top, winning the first Professional Poker Tour. He made 14 other final tables in the same year. The Five-Star World Poker Classic and National Heads-Up Poker Championship of 2005 both saw John Juanda finishing in 5th place.

2005 was a great year for John, taking 6th place and $500,000 cash in the Monte Carlo Millions, followed by a win at the Monte Carlo Millions Consolation Tournament. Juanda then entered the “FullTiltPoker.Net Invitational, Live from Monte Carlo”, where he finished in second place.

Juanda’s skills kept improving as 2006 rolled around. He flew to the land down under to take on a field of big names in the poker industry at the Crown Australian Poker Championship in Melbourne, Australia. Competing against the likes of Tony Bloom, Tony G, Barry Greenstein, Phil Ivey, Jeff Lisandro and Mike Sexton, John Juanda bested them all, taking first place and the $1,000,000 AUD prize in the Aussie Millions Speed Poker Million Dollar Challenge.

John Juanda and Team Full Tilt
John Juanda is currently a member of Team Full Tilt. He can be seen playing online poker exclusively at Full Tilt Poker on his Mac computer. Members of Full Tilt Poker can find Juanda regularly playing in a variety of poker games at the online poker room. Juanda is happy to chat with other players, offer his advice or take on a challenge.

As a part of Team Full Tilt, poker enthusiasts can visit Juanda’s official site and profile at Full Tilt Poker to read tips from the pros and news from the poker world, or view a gallery of images depicting John Juanda in his element.

More About John Juanda
John Juanda resides in Los Angeles, California. In the poker world, Juanda goes by the nickname “JJ”, short for his full name, Johnson Juanda.