Chris (Christopher) "Jesus" Ferguson was born on April 11, 1963 in Los Angeles, California. He started playing cards at the early age of 10, and later when he enrolled into computer sciences at UCLA he started playing poker in IRC chat rooms on the internet. This actually makes Chris Ferguson a pioneer of sorts as he was
among the first to envision online poker before the advent of online poker sites. In between exams and classes Chris Ferguson managed to play in tournaments in California, seeking out venues where he could polish his skills and disguising the fact that he was a college student with sunglasses and a hat. In 1995, he entered his first World Series of Poker tournament.
By 1999, Chris had spent exactly half his life at UCLA. After five years as an undergrad and another 13 as a graduate student, UCLA awarded Chris Ferguson a Ph.D. in Computer Science and told him it was time to leave the nest of academia. He went reluctantly, but instead of starting off his career, Chris immersed deeper into the world of poker and in the year 2000, just one year later, Chris Ferguson beat T. J. Cloutier at the main event of the 2000 WSOP and collected the $1.5 million prize.
As befits a man with a doctoral degree in Computer Science, Chris Ferguson has an intellectual and analytical approach to poker. He often says that intelligence and the ability to reason well are the most important qualities for a poker player, and that his reason comes into play especially when he is faced with deciding which alternative to take in a hand raise, call or fold. Chris Ferguson offers advice in regards to those situations: "If you're not sure whether to fold or call, fold. If you're not sure whether to call or raise, raise."
In 2004, Chris Ferguson used his online experience to help launch the online poker site Full Tilt Poker.
Ferguson finished runner-up to Phil Hellmuth in the 2005 National Heads-Up Poker Championship. He made the finals again in 2006, but again finished second, this time to Ted Forrest. In 2008 he made the finals for the third time, this time defeating Andy Bloch and winning the title. He has the most wins in the four-year period of the tournament, with an overall match record of 16-3
A son to two doctoral degree holders in mathematics, Chris Ferguson has spent a fair amount of time thinking about poker and analyzing it. He Claims that except for information divulged from tells, which are conscious or subconscious actions that a person makes that give an indication of the strength of his hand, another way of knowing what the other player has in mind is the way they play hands, and their way of thinking about hands. Chris Ferguson prefers analyzing opponent's actions to using Tells. He tries to get inside his opponent's head and then make plays that put that opponent in situations unusual and uncomfortable for him or her. "I try to play the style that gives my opponents the hardest time."
Chris Ferguson – Recent cashes
• 2000 - $2,500 Seven Card Stud - Won $151,000
• 2000 - $10,000 No Limit Texas Hold 'em World Championship – Won $1,500,000
• 2001 - $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo Split Eight or Better – Won $164,735
• 2003 - $2,000 Omaha Hi-Lo Split Eight or Better - Won $123,680
• 2003 - $2,000 1/2 Limit Hold'em - 1/2 Seven Card Stud - Won $66,220
