Berry Johnston is an American professional poker player who was born in 1935 in Bethany, Oklahoma. He has been finishing in the money in the World Series of Poker tournaments since 1982. A true poker veteran, Berry Johnston is considered to be one of the finest players of the game.
He has always been regarded as a gentleman. If he is to be described in two words, quiet and unassuming are the ones that would best suit his demeanor at the table. Even if he suffers a loss in the game, Berry Johnston does not get angry or upset; instead, he walks to the other players at the table, gives them a handshake, and wishes them good luck. Legendary poker player Doyle Brunson said “What I admire most about Berry is not Berry the great poker player, but Berry the man. He is a deeply religious and devoted family man, who has always been a gentleman at all times.”
Berry Johnston had only two dreams regarding his poker career. The first was to earn enough money playing poker to make a living out of it and the second was to become a world champion. He succeeded in making both his dreams a reality within a decade of his professional poker career.
Berry Johnston started playing poker in 1970 and moved to Las Vegas in the early 1980s, a move that made a huge difference in his career. He was the second runner-up at the 13th Annual World Series of Poker in 1982. He walked away with $104,000 in winnings from the No-Limit Hold’em event of this tournament. The following year, Berry Johnston won his first ever gold bracelet at the World Series of Poker in the No-Limit Hold’em event. He managed final table finishes at the 1984 and 1985 WSOP tournaments as well and cashed $178,000. He struck gold at the 1986 World Series of Poker Main Event, where he bagged more than half a million dollars and his second gold bracelet for his first-place finish. On May 11, 1990, Berry Johnston took home $254,000, along with his third WSOP bracelet, for his win in the No-Limit Hold’em event at the 21st Annual World Series of Poker. In the Hall of Fame Poker Classic tournament on December 14, 1990, he was the runner-up in the Limit Omaha event and pocketed $51,000. During the following three years of the WSOP, Berry Johnston finished in the top three places in three separate events. In 1995, he won his fourth gold bracelet in the Limit Omaha event, earning $91,200 for his victory.
From 1995 to 2000, Berry Johnston had impressive cashes at many different tournaments. On November 19, 2000, he finished second in the race for the World Poker Finals title and made $81,600 in the No-Limit Hold’em event. The next year, he won his fifth bracelet at the 32nd Annual WSOP, where he earned $83,810 in the WSOP Limit Razz event.
Berry Johnston has made it to the final table of the WSOP 30 times. He finished in the money over 55 times, the highest being at the 1986 WSOP. As of 2008, he has cashed in tournaments 76 times, made over $3,200,000 in winnings, and holds the record for the most cashes in the WSOP Main Event by a single player. For his commitment to the game throughout his career and for his reputation as a gentleman, Berry Johnston was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2004. He has taken up playing online as well on Full Tilt Poker.
