Cliff Josephy, nicknamed “JohnnyBax” is a former Wall Street broker who started playing poker full time when the company he worked at shut down. Among the earliest legends of online poker, Josephy, a resident of Syosset, New York, has made a successful transition to live tournaments. Josephy has often topped leaderboards at some of the most respected online poker destinations.
Having spent years playing poker online, Cliff Josephy adapted to the live tournament scenario instantly, winning a World Series of Poker bracelet in his third only major live tournament appearance in June 2005. Competing in a field of 472 entrants with $651,360 to play for, Josephy came out on top in the $1,500 Seven Card Stud, picking up a winner’s check for $192,150. He picked up his second major tournament in the $25,000 No Limit Hold'em World Poker Tour Championship at the Fourth Annual Five-Star World Poker Classic in Las Vegas, where his 12th place finish was good for a cool $146,460.
Cliff Josephy’s largest single-tournament earnings came at UltimateBet Aruba Poker Classic in September 2006. Competing in the $5,000 Championship Event, Josephy played well to reach the final table, but was forced to settle for second place after losing in the heads-up event to Devon Miller. However, his impressive showing helped him pick up a sizeable $446,975 check. Cliff Josephy continued his good run in the remainder of 2006, first at the World Poker Finals in Mashantucket in November, where he finished 2nd in the $4,800 No Limit Hold'em event, and then with a 20th place finish in the $15,000 Doyle Brunson North American Poker Classic No Limit Hold'em event at the Fifth Annual Five Diamond World Poker Classic, Las Vegas in December.
Josephy managed two in-the-money finishes at the 38th World Series of Poker in Las Vegas in June 2007, including a disappointing 448th place finish in the $10,000 No Limit Hold'em World Championship. Despite no major wins, he picked up four other significant cashes in 2007, rounding off a quiet but successful year.
Cliff Josephy returned to the $10,000 No Limit Hold'em World Championship at the 39th World Series of Poker in Las Vegas in July 2008, hoping to improve upon the previous year’s poor performance. He, however, managed to perform only marginally better, finishing in a disappointing 386th place and picking up $28,950. One of the few to garner success in both the online and live tournament forms of poker, Cliff Josephy has amassed impressive live tournament career earnings of $1,397,004.
