Johnny Chan Bio

Johnny Chan was born in China in 1957.  In 1968 his family moved to Arizona and then to Houston, Texas.  In Houston his family owned several restaurants and he was going to go into the family business.

He attended the University of Houston and was studying Hotel and Restaurant management but eventually dropped out to pursue his dream of becoming a professional gambler.  He moved to Las Vegas after dropping out which is where he still lives.

Johnny Chan’s playing style is extremely aggressive. This style served him well when he won the main event at the World Series of Poker in 1987 and in 1988.  He is the last player to win back to back titles.  He almost made it three in a row when he made it to the final table against Phil Hellmuth who ended up winning the title in 1989.

Thanks to his numerous victories and his appearance in the movie Rounders, which starred Matt Damon and Ed Norton, Johnny Chan is easily one of the most recognizable poker pros around.

Johnny Chan won his tenth World Series of Poker title in 2025 tying him with Doyle Brunson for second place.  Phil Hellmuth has one eleven.  He was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2002.

His Poker exploits are numerous but here is a listing of his ten WSOP bracelets: