Full Tilt Poker Strategy Guide

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Phil Ivey

    * 7 WSOP Bracelets

    * 1 WPT Championship

    * $12.8 Million in Career Tournament Earnings

Phil Ivey plays online exclusively at Full Tilt Poker.

Raised in New Jersey, Phil's poker career began in Atlantic City. He made his name as a high-stakes player before moving on to the live tournament circuit in 2000. It was then, at the age of 23, Phil won his first World Series of Poker title, beating Phil Hellmuth and Amarillo Slim in the $2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha event.

Phil Ivey

2002 saw Ivey claim three more WSOP bracelets, winning the $1,500 Seven-Card Stud, $2,500 Seven-Card Stud Hi/Lo and $2,000 SHOE events. Over the next couple of years, his success continued with wins in a World Poker Open event, two Bellagio and two Commerce events. In addition to these performances, he also made several WPT final tables – impressive results for a player only 25 years of age.

In 2005, Phil earned his 5th WSOP bracelet in the $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event, and made two WPT final tables. He finished in 2nd place in the WSOP Circuit Event at Harrah's Lake Tahoe, before winning the Monte Carlo Millions tournament for $1 million in prize money. Phil then went on to win a further $600,000 just 24 hours later, with a first-place finish at "The FullTiltPoker.Net Invitational Live from Monte Carlo."

Phil Ivey

In January 2006, Phil was named Player of the Year by the UK Gaming awards, Bluff Magazine and All In Magazine. His incredible run continued at the 2006 WSOP, with a 2nd place finish in the $5,000 Omaha Hi/Lo event and a 3rd place finish in the $50K HORSE event, winning over $800K in total. He also increased his reputation through the heads-up Phil Ivey vs. Andy Beal challenge, where he won over $16 million in just three days by playing against the poker billionaire.

The following year, Phil won the "Earphones Please" episode of Poker After Dark for $120K before making the final table in the 2007 WSOP $5K HORSE event. In 2008, Phil made his 8th appearance at the WPT Championships, where he won his first ever WPT title and landed in the top ten on the all-time tournament money list.

In 2009, Phil has proven himself as one of the greatest players of all time by winning two WSOP bracelets and by making it to the final table of the Main Event.

His 6th gold bracelet came in the $2.5K No-Limit Deuce-to-Seven Lowball event when he bested a field of 147 entrants, including some of the world's top poker players, for more than $96K. He won his 7th bracelet in the $2.5K Omaha/Seven-Card Stud Hi/Lo event for over $220K in prize money, a victory which ties Phil in fourth place with Billy Baxter for All-Time Bracelet wins.

The 2009 WSOP Main Event final table saw another command performance from Ivey. He finished in 7th place, adding just over $1.4 million to his career tournament earnings. To date, he has cashed in 36 WSOP events.

Phil started 2010 on a high note, taking the top spot on the All-Time Money List with a 2nd place finish in the Aussie Millions AU$100K Challenge, bringing his career tournament earnings to over $12.8.

Phil currently lives in Las Vegas. When he's not playing poker, he can often be found playing golf near his home.

Howard Lederer

    * 2 WSOP Bracelets

    * 2 WPT Titles

    * 2003 WPT Player of the Year

Howard The Professor Lederer plays online exclusively at Full Tilt Poker.

An icon in the world of poker, Howard Lederer has two WSOP bracelets, two WPT titles and almost $5 million in career tournament earnings. He is one of the most inspirational and encouraging players on the circuit today, admired for his disciplined play and willingness to act as a poker educator and ambassador on television, radio and in print.

Howard Lederer

In the 1980's, Howard discovered poker in the back room of a New York chess club. His realization that the critical thinking and strategy he'd reserved for the board could benefit him at the poker table ended his fledgling chess career. For the next two years, Howard played poker obsessively, often up to 80 hours a week, determined to master the game.

Howard found his way to the famous Mayfair Club, meeting a group of like-minds that were among the first to experiment with No-Limit Hold 'em in New York City. This unlikely collection of players included fellow Team Full Tilt member Erik Seidel and a host of now famous WSOP bracelet winners. Howard played for up to 10 hours a day, leaving as late as 2 AM. After the game was over, many of the players, Howard included, would head out to review their hands and dissect their opponent's strategies. In 1987, Howard placed 5th in the WSOP, beating five other Mayfair Club regulars who all placed in the top 15.

In 1993, Howard left New York for Las Vegas and began his string of high-profile wins. The first came at the 1994 Hall of Fame Poker Classic when he won the $2.5K No-Limit Deuce to Seven Draw event, and his second followed in 1995 when he defended his title in the same event.

Howard Lederer

Howard won his first gold bracelet in the $5K Limit Omaha Hi/Lo event at the 2000 WSOP. At the 2001 WSOP he won his second in the $5K Deuce to Seven event. His success continued with a WPT Championship title at Foxwoods in November of 2002, which he quickly followed with a second WPT Championship win in the $5K Limit Hold 'em event on The Poker Million cruise in March of 2003.

Howard continued his run, earning three Bellagio titles in quick succession. He won the $2.5K No-Limit Hold 'em event at the 2003 Bellagio Five-Star World Poker Classic,  the $2.5K No-Limit Hold 'em event in April of 2004, and took down the $5K Pot-Limit Omaha event just 13 days later.

He started 2008 with a major victory, banking $1.25 Million at the Aussie Millions $100K No-Limit Hold 'em event. Howard kept his winning streak with three deep runs at the WSOP, including two final tables. Less than two months later, Howard took 3rd place at the £2.5K HORSE event at the WSOPE in London. By the end of 2008 Howard added over $1.4 million to his career tournament earnings.

Howard is well recognised by veterans and newcomers across the industry thanks to his numerous television wins. In 2007, he crushed his opponents twice on Poker After Dark, taking home a total of $240K. He also made the final televised table at Poker Millions VI in London, where he finished 5th for $125K.

Howard The Professor plays an analytical strategic game based largely on complex poker theories. He has provided commentary and analysis on Full Tilt Poker's "Learn from the Pros" and the Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament.

Howard contributed to the notable poker coaching titles Dead Man's Hand and Little Green Book and created the instructional video series Secrets of No-Limit Hold 'em. Taking his role as an educator further, he created the Howard Lederer Poker Fantasy Camp which gave players the opportunity to learn from the best in the game.

You can find Howard playing online exclusively at Full Tilt Poker.

Chris Ferguson

    * 5 WSOP Bracelets

    * 3 WSOP-C Rings

    * National Champion, Heads-Up No-Limit Hold 'em, 2008

    * WSOP Main Event Champion 2000

Chris Ferguson plays online exclusively at Full Tilt Poker.

Chris Jesus Ferguson was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. As the son of two mathematicians, Chris was destined to join the academic world. He spent a total of 18 years at UCLA, with five years as an undergrad and 13 as a graduate student. In 1999 he graduated with a Ph.D. in computer science and left the comfort of university life.

Chris Ferguson

Chris started playing poker on an Internet Relay Chat (IRC) channel – one of the first forms of online poker - during his student years, and quickly became the highest ranked tournament player. He applied this knowledge of game theory to live poker in the LA area in 1994 and played his first World Series of Poker event just a year later. After leaving academia, Chris decided to concentrate on his game.

Chris Ferguson

Within five years, Chris made seven WSOP final tables and cashed in 12 events. He won his first bracelet in the $2.5K Seven-Card Stud event, before going on to win the 2000 WSOP Main Event bracelet and $1.5 million the same year. Known for his versatility, Chris won his next WSOP bracelet in 2001 in the $1,500 Omaha Hi/Lo Split event, followed by two further WSOP bracelets in 2003. The first of these was the $2K Omaha Hi/Lo Split event, followed by the $2K Limit Hold 'em & Seven-Card Stud event.

More recently, Chris won the 2008 NBC Heads-Up Championship after battling through a tough 64-person field. He then made two more impressive finishes at the 2008 WSOP, with a 3rd place finish in the $1.5K No-Limit Hold 'em event and 2nd place finish in the $5K World Championship 7-Card Stud Hi/Lo event. Chris got off to a good start in 2009 with a 2nd place finish at the Aussie Millions in the AUD 10K HORSE event in Melbourne.

Chris is recognized as one of the most skilled poker players in the world. He's made 25 WSOP final tables, won five WSOP bracelets, cashed 42 times in a range of WSOP events and won three WSOP Circuit championship rings. His WSOP earnings alone total over $6.7 million.

Chris Ferguson

Chris has also played an active role in the evolution of online poker, working with players and programmers to design Full Tilt Poker. He's also dedicated himself to helping players improve their game by contributing to publications including The Full Tilt Poker Strategy Guide: Tournament Edition and the Little Blue Book: More Lessons and Hand Analysis in No Limit Texas Hold 'em.

In 2006, Chris took on one of his hardest but humblest challenges – to turn $0 into $10K. Using strict bankroll management rules that he'd set for himself, Chris started with nothing but a Full Tilt Poker account. In what became known as the Chris Ferguson $10K Challenge, it took Chris over 18 months of hard work to reach $10K, which he donated to the Save the Children Foundation.

When he's not playing poker, Chris can be found dancing West Coast Swing in his local club or showing off his incredible card tricks. You can play poker with Chris Ferguson online at Full Tilt Poker.

John Juanda

    * 4 WSOP Bracelets

    * 2008 WSOP Europe Main Event Champion

    * 3 Best All Around Player awards

    * Over $9 Million in Career Tournament Earnings

John JJ Juanda plays online exclusively at Full Tilt Poker.

John Juanda has earned 4 World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets and reached 16 WSOP final tables and 6 World Poker Tour (WPT) final tables. He's won many notable tournaments including the 2006 Aussie Millions Speed Poker $1 Million Challenge and the 2008 WSOP European (WSOPE) Main Event. His career tournament earnings currently stand at over $9 million.

John Juanda

Five years after starting on the tournament circuit, John became the 2001 World Poker Open Champion, winning over $280K. In 2002 he earned his first World Series of Poker bracelet in the Ace to Five Triple Draw Lowball event for almost $50K. These achievements saw John honored as runner-up for the Card Player "Player of the Year" awards in 2001 and 2002, and he was named 2002 Tournament Champion of the Year.

In 2003, John gained two more WSOP bracelets in the $2.5K Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo Split event and the $2.5K Pot-Limit Omaha, totalling over $320K in prize money. The following year he cashed in six WSOP events including a 2nd place finish in the $1K No-Limit Hold 'em event for more than $193K.

In 2005, John made 15 final tables and earned over $160K for placing 5th in both the Five-Star World Poker Classic and the National Heads-Up Poker Championship. He also won the Monte Carlo Millions Consolation tournament, finished 6th in the Monte Carlo Millions Main Event, and placed 2nd in the "The FullTiltPoker.Net Invitational Live from Monte Carlo", banking almost $500K.

In 2006, John beat several top poker players to win the Aussie Millions Speed Poker Million Dollar Challenge, winning AUD 1 million. He added a further six WSOP cashes in 2007, and in the televised Poker After Dark Series he won the week 9 tournament and placed 2nd in week 17.

John's extraordinary success continued into 2008 with two top-10 finishes at the WSOP, alongside the title of WSOPE Main Event Champion, walking away with his 4th bracelet and over $1.5 million in prize money. John finished the year with a 2nd place finish in the EPT London £1 Million Showdown, for $570K.

If you'd like to see John in action, look for him playing online at Full Tilt Poker.