John Juanda


John Juanda is an Indonesian professional poker player based in California.

Juanda was born in 1971 in Indonesia, even though he is Chinese. As a child in Indonesia, he lived with his grandparents for several years because his parents were involved with the start-up of a business. He returned to his parents' household after the business was steady.

His father, a serious gambler, lectured him about the risks involved with gambling and advised him not to gamble when he grew up. But Juanda was shooting marbles for money even in elementary school.

Juanda moved from Indonesia to the United States in 1990 to attend Oklahoma State University. On the flight over, his friend taught him the basics of poker, like basic strategy and the odds. Juanda graduated with a bachelor's degree in marketing and management and then moved to Seattle to pursue his MBA at the University of Seattle. After that, he worked a variety of jobs, from selling bibles door-to-door to trading stocks. During this time, he was also spending some time at a cardroom in Seattle, building his poker skills and his bankroll. By 1996, he had the confidence and bankroll to attempt playing poker full-time.

In 1999, he made the final table in his first two WSOP tournaments. In 2000, he finished in 2nd at the US Poker championships for $159,000. The next year, he finished 2nd again for $ 131,100. That same year, he he won his first tournament after he flew to Tunica to play in the Jack Binion World Poker Open, winning the $5,000 No Limit Hold 'Em Championship for $ 283,240.

In 2002, he won $278,240 in the WPT $10,000 no-limit event at the Five Diamond World Poker Classic. Still in 2002, he won his first bracelet in the Triple Draw Lowball event for $49,620. He then won two more bracelets in 2003 in the $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha for $203,840 and $2,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo Split for $130,200. In both 2001 and 2002 he was Cardplayer tournament Player of the Year.

In 2004 he won the inaugural Professional Poker Tour event at Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut for $225,000.

In 2006, he defeated a field that including Mike Sexton, Barry Greenstein, Phil Ivey, and Tony G to win the first prize of AUD$1,000,000 ($732,901) in the Crown Australian Poker Championship AUD$100,000 speed poker event.

In 2008, he won his 4th bracelet in the 2008 WSOP Europe £10,000 Main Event for £868,800 (over $1.5 million). And over a week later, he finished 2nd to Jason Mercier at the European Poker Tour's £20,000 High Roller event, earning £327,000 ($598,770).

As a player, Juanda is known as an respectful, intelligent, and quietly contemplative player. Nonetheless, he can be intense and aggressive. As a person, he is known to be one of the nicest people in the poker world. With his winnings to date, he has taken his sister into his home and is putting her through school.

As of 2009, he has 4 WSOP bracelets, 50 WSOP cashes (9th place all time), 17 WPT cashes, 6 WPT final tables, and total live tournament winnings exceeding $9,600,000. Juanda is a member of "Team Full Tilt" at Full Tilt Poker.

COMMENTS:

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agree again bad

headlessman1964 on January 2, 2007

Here's a guy I wouldn't want on my left. Aggressive and unpredictable, a very dangerous combination. Solid player. One of the best out there and a tru class act. One of my favorite professionals

bad_dog76 on January 2, 2007

pound for pound,best poker player alive,,and a class act,,when he gets up,you cant tell if he won or lost,,we need more of those,,go johnny

headlessman1964 on December 31, 2006

wow you won the ppt at foxwoods

alan on August 4, 2006

the best pre-flop player in the game.

jarrel on July 25, 2006

Used to be a calling station; not anymore

????? on March 24, 2006

good player..I like how he plays. made several final tables

TheNextBigThing on September 29, 2005

C'mon John you always play good kid i will win this last roll of the dice and pay you back double the 300.00 you initially gave me if you can catch me before i get to my car and speed out of the horseshoe.

TJ Cloutier on August 9, 2005

If your in my way when i pay the parking attendant in the horseshoe parking lot im going to run you over john but dont take it personal i already blew thru my 2000 and 2005 wsop winnings so that 300 means a lot to me.

TJ Cloutier on August 9, 2005

I like him just because he's indonesian

Dolce/Valentino/allin on July 31, 2005

This guy was lucky to finish as high as he did in the wsop main event thanks to his full tilt pal lederer dumping his chips to him.

Unregistered on July 29, 2005

he's a good plaer but i've seen him go on tilt too many times

toronto shark on July 29, 2005

juanda your a sucker, u got embarrassed by Phil Laak and Brenes at the Commerce LA WPT invitational..for u to say Stu Ungar was only an "ok" poker player is really stupid considering you've never come close to matching his accomplishments

andre on July 25, 2005

Posted by: on Jun 09, 2005 - IP=64.60.130.100Chris Moneymaker and Greg Raymer are excellent role models to the poker community. They have class and skill and are feared by most of all the top poker players today. They even are famous for their wins at the WSOP and have their website which you see on TV everyday. I feel that all you should respect them and admire their true ability to play cards at such a high caliber. I lso feel that they should have a signing session iwth Greg and Chris before every major tournament. Chris and Greg are NOT lucky...they are extremely skilled.....i wouldnt say greg is the best in the world. and moneymaker i think was lucky. i mean 5-4 offsuit is the worst starting hand oddwise to win the main event EVER!

JetsFan315 on July 22, 2005

johnson juanda is the finest indo u've ever seen.i want my 300$ back bitch

GO JOHNSON!! on July 21, 2005

he is one of the best heads up players in the world. and he is one of the full tilt crew members. go full tilt and go john.

loveland on July 19, 2005

john this is tj hey kid im stuck at the craps table can you lend me 300 ill pay you back if i cash out in the next tournament

tj cloutier on July 19, 2005

sexy beast!

lecherious monk on July 5, 2005

Absolutely fantastic tournament player, as coming 3rd in the cardplayer's player of the year is an outstanding achievement. What really appeals about John Juanda is his fantastic demeanour and how he never talks down to opponents or criticises their plays, unlike some people (Mike "the mouth" and Josh Arieh). Good luck in the WSOP this year.

Jonty Morgan on June 24, 2005

Chris Moneymaker and Greg Raymer are excellent role models to the poker community. They have class and skill and are feared by most of all the top poker players today. They even are famous for their wins at the WSOP and have their website which you see on TV everyday. I feel that all you should respect them and admire their true ability to play cards at such a high caliber. I lso feel that they should have a signing session iwth Greg and Chris before every major tournament. Chris and Greg are NOT lucky...they are extremely skilled.....

Unregistered on June 8, 2005

john i was wondering since you are a professional player do you ever feel guilty taking ppl money and feeding of ppl misery like a vampire sucking ppl blood because is likely most ppl you beat has a gambling problem. Naaaaaaaaaa im just kidding thats how i feel sometimes when im winning.

bruce on May 18, 2005

John Juanda is a very respectable poker player, being competitive and only plays to win helps him win. I will be more like him and will be most feared poker shark on any poker table.Way to go John you're my poker model. Very well done

DAVE on May 11, 2005

almost had cardplayer player of the year last year right

jambees on May 10, 2005

Can get to the final table but can't win. Cracks under pressure, would like to see him finish first for a change.

Dirk Diggler on April 18, 2005

his a very humble player. great to watch , great role model for the game of poker.

fooshayd on April 8, 2005

Juanda is definitely my favorite player. He's really skilled, classy, and likable. This guy is awesome!

Joe on April 8, 2005

love juanda stink eye when someone raises him!

richard on March 31, 2005

props to juanda

Unregistered on March 1, 2005

I finally have seen the best rounded player to date. Just pure class. he plays to win and looks even better when he lose's. Nice to see players like him around.

GT. on February 28, 2005

one of the best in the game

theboss on February 19, 2005

i was playing pot limit holdem at foxwoods this weekend and guess whos sitting across from me. John Juanda! talk about a world class player, this guy is the real deal. i was holding my own with everyone and taking my share of pots. but this guy has it down to a science.

mdemers9 on December 12, 2004

Thats slightly strange "mdemers"as i was lead to believe John is currently in Las Vegas playing at the Bellagio.Being a liar isn't impressive.

coreen mcglauchlin on December 12, 2004

last time i saw john juanda, he was sitting at table 47 with me in the $3000 buy-in at Bellagio on tuesday... doubt he went to foxwoods this weekend.

casey robbins on December 12, 2004

Dont go overboard on the praise will you richardeum.If he was okay he would be playing £10 buy ins at the grosvenor casino in Luton.

colineum on November 30, 2004

john is okay!

richardeum on November 22, 2004

John is definitely a very good poker player. I had the pleasure to sit right next to him on the Party Poker Million III cruise tournament. He finished 7th on that tournament, Eric and Daniel are the 1st and 2nd. BTW, his girl friend is pretty, well matched couple I would say. Good Luck to you John, you represent dude!

Raymond Wang on November 15, 2004

John is one of the best if not the best poker players in the world because it's almost impossible to read him. His eyes are buggy and he makes the right moves. Only complaint I have about him is that he doesn't seem to care about finishing 1st. He's happy just to be in the final table and will at times go all-in with a somewhat weak hand. I think that's his nice guy persona that makes him get off his game. There's really not many bad things that can be said about him and since I'm also Asian, I'm glad he's doing well for us.

Jesse/ "Meng The Master" on November 11, 2004

Very adorable, cute, and a hell of a poker player.

jggirl on November 6, 2004

Hallo apa kabar?John seems a decent looking and calm guy .Though I never met him but , I admired him because he is a WORLD-CLASS INDONESIAN POKER PLAYER and I am Indonesian too!!!

Chandra Minarto(cminarto) on November 4, 2004

Great player,chatted to him at the bellagio about a year ago.Very friendly and unassuming,gave good poker advice.He told me he made his living playing poker.Cant believe that he's this famous and successful untill i typed his name into yahoo!.Go John!!

Unregistered on November 3, 2004

John was my sister's friend back in High school in Medan, Indonesia. I often heard stories about him, i heard he was a very good looking boy back at school. She lost contact with him for years and the latest thing we heard he was the best poker player today. what good news. way to go, johnson juanda.

julia chendra on October 29, 2004

This guy is awesome. My favorite poker player by far. I don't think it's possible to write anything bad about this guy. Great player and is only going to get better. A plus is that asians playing poker always look the coolest.

Bog on October 12, 2004

john juanda is the best poker player today. he says in his biography that he wants to give up poker and get a real job. don't do it.

josh on October 9, 2004

WOW...I'm finally glad to see a poker player that no one wants to rag on. This is the first player comments I have read that people have said only nice things about the player, not that I have read them all. I agree with all that has been said about him...great player..and seems to be a nice guy...a cutie too

Unregistered on September 28, 2004

Great player & Class Act. Hot Girlfriend too.

Rick on September 14, 2004

First player on this list I've seen who hasn't gotten his name spat on. I agree, he's a great player.

Unregistered on August 31, 2004

Excellent tournament player but gets too over-aggressive at times. Or it's just possible that he misread that old hag with Aces (who probably limped with them) and it's not really his fault. Love the tilted head glare, it's gotta be a trademark sooner or later

brill on August 30, 2004

Every poker player on here is a great one. I think everybosy uses the term too much. Hes a good player. By the way I'm comparing him to the other pros not amatures.

Unregistered on July 14, 2004

Whoa I Was Playing Over The Holiday (4th Of July) At The Mandalay Bay And It Was My First Time Ever In A Brick And Mortar Poker Room... There Was An Asian Guy Named John There Who Played Well And Took Alot Of Time Out To Chat With Me About Poker And Other Players At The Table Then I Turn On Espn And There He Is John Juanda Can U Believe I Mistook This Guy For A Dealer When I First Saw Him At The Tables Class Act And Classy Man-poker Player Go John Juanda!!!

ZACK on July 14, 2004

This is a great player,and when you realize it he has all your chips.

splat on July 2, 2004

I met John recently at the WSOP 2004 and he gave me the longest handshake in recent memory and we chatted briefly, class act and very approachable, unlike some! 8)

Brian on May 12, 2004

It's always been a fun and rare opportunity to watch someone from backhome on TV takes the pot!!

arif on May 12, 2004

I love this guy! Great player...class act!

Tilt on May 11, 2004

I don't know John personally, but his quiet, reserved demenor and strong poker play shows me he's a compassionate player. He's going to be around a long time in the poker world!

J.. on March 29, 2004

John seems to be an excellent gearshifter, he is a well rounded player who, on a good day, can just about win any tourny.

Gman on February 29, 2004

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