Johnny Moss
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 Johnny Moss at the 1974 World Series of Poker |
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| Nickname(s) | The Grand Old Man of Poker |
|---|---|
| World Series of Poker | |
| Bracelet(s) | 8 |
| Money finishes | 15 |
| Highest ITM main event finish | Winner (1970, 1971, 1974) |
Johnny Moss (May 14, 1907 – December 16, 1995)[1] was a professional poker player.
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[edit] Learning the game
Moss was born in Marshall, Texas in 1907 and in grew up in Odessa, Texas where he learned how to gamble as a young boy. A group of cheaters taught him how to cheat in games, but Moss put this knowledge to good use. As a teenager he was hired by a local saloon to watch over games and make sure they were played fair. While he was keeping games safe from cheaters, he was also learning the strategy behind playing poker. Two years later he became a rounder, a player who travels the country looking for gambling action.
[edit] The World Series of Poker
In 1949 Moss played with Nick the Greek in a five month long poker marathon set up by Benny Binion, winning anywhere from $2 million to $4 million. At the end of the marathon, down millions of dollars, Nick the Greek uttered what has become one of the most famous poker quotations ever, "Mr. Moss, I have to let you go."
Because of people like Nick the Greek, Binion and Moss, poker became popular and eventually a World Series of Poker was organized. Moss won the 1970, 1971, and 1974 World Series of Poker main events, tying him with Stu Ungar for the most WSOP main event titles. For the 1970 event, Moss was actually elected the champion by his peers and only received a silver cup as his prize. He played at every WSOP from 1970 to the 1995 World Series and during his career he won 8 WSOP bracelets and over $680,000 in tournament play.
[edit] World Series of Poker Bracelets
| Year | Tournament | Prize (US$) |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | World Series of Poker Championship* | n/a |
| 1971 | $5,000 No Limit Hold'em World Championship | $30,000 |
| 1974 | $10,000 No Limit Hold'em World Championship | $160,000 |
| 1975 | $1,000 Seven Card Stud | $44,000 |
| 1976 | $500 Seven Card Stud | $13,000 |
| 1979 | $5,000 Seven Card Stud | $48,000 |
| 1981 | $1,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo | $33,500 |
| 1988 | $1,500 Ace to Five Draw | $116,400 |
*In 1970, Moss was voted champion by his peers.
[edit] Anecdotes
One time Moss was playing in Oklahoma when he noticed a peep hole in the ceiling where someone was relaying information about cards to a player at the table. After Moss' threat to shoot the man if the hole wasn't plugged wasn't taken seriously, Moss ended up wounding him. Moss also regularly had to threaten people to get them to remove their clothes when he knew they were using mechanical cheating devices.
Another time, Moss was playing high-stakes golf against a wealthy businessman. Going into the last few holes, Moss had lost over a quarter of a million dollars. The people who were sponsoring the match on Moss' behalf wanted to simply kill his opponent rather than pay, but Moss won the last few holes. The businessman told him, "Moss, you're the luckiest man alive." Moss responded, "No sir, you are."
[edit] Legacy
Moss was sometimes called the "Grand Old Man" because of his longevity and superior play. He was one of the charter inductees to the Poker Hall of Fame in 1979.
The starting hand Ace-Ten is named the Johnny Moss in his honor.
[edit] External links
| World Series of Poker Main Event Winners |
| Moss - Moss (2) - Slim - Pearson - Moss (3) - Roberts - Brunson - Brunson (2) - Baldwin - Fowler - Ungar - Ungar (2) - Straus - McEvoy - Keller - Smith - Johnston - Chan - Chan (2) - Hellmuth - Matloubi - Daugherty - Dastmalchi - Bechtel - Hamilton - Harrington - Seed - Ungar (3) - Nguyen - Furlong - Ferguson - Mortensen - Varkonyi - Moneymaker - Raymer - Hachem - Gold |
