While it is possible that some poker players might be better than Johnny Chan, it would be difficult to find one. The man is a truly talented poker player.

Chan was born in China in 1957. Later Chan and his family moved to Hong Kong. College ultimately brought Chan to the United States where he still resides.

Johnny Chan didn’t start out as a poker player. When he arrived in the United States he was enrolled as a student in the University of Houston. Chan was majoring in restaurant management which would allow him to continue with the family business which was the ownership and running of restaurants. When he turned 21, Chan realized that spending the rest of his days tied to a restaurant was not for him, that he was meant for bigger and better things, so he told his family that he was going to be a professional gambler, and quite school.

The idea that he was going to be a professional gambler couldn’t have been too big of a surprise for his family. During his sixteenth year Chan took a trip to Las Vegas where he not only fell in love with the city, but also with the game of poker.

History will always remember Chan for his feats at the World Series of Poker. This event is nearly impossible to win, and Chan has won it twice. Even more remarkable is that his World Series of Poker wins were back to back. He came close to making the wins a trifecta but ended up finishing second instead of first. Many experts feel that the ever increasing number of players participating in the World Series that there will never be another back to back winner again,

Even people who barely know anything about the game of poker have seen his 1988 World Series of Poker game. The reason so many people have seen it was because it happened to be featured in the 1998 Matt Damon movie, Rounders. In addition to showing video footage in the movie, Chan even did a cameo guest spot.

Since his PokerStars.com wins, Chan has been slightly under radar. After his second win at the World Series of Poker, Chan really didn’t place well in a tournament until 1992, and then not again until 2008.

One of the things that set Chan apart from other poker players is the orange that he sets on the table when he plays. Chan, who was once a smoker, says he started carrying the orange because it helps filter the scent of his game partners cigarette smoke. Now having the orange with him is a habit that he shows no desire to break. At first no one really paid much attention to Chan’s orange, but when he won the World Series for the second time in a row, several players started carrying fruit around with them, hoping for just a little more luck.

Chan was honored as a poker great and the Poker Hall of Fame inducted him in 2002.