In 1999, Chris Ferguson got kicked out of UCLA. He was 36, and had spent more than half his life there. After 5 years as an undergrad, and another 13 years as a PhD candidate getting a doctorate in Computer Science, he was told it was time to leave the nest of academia. A year later and only 300 miles away, Chris defeated TJ Cloutier to win the main event in the 2000 World Series of Poker.
Furguson can’t remember a time when he wasn’t playing cards, but he might say his poker career started in the 4th grade, when his trip queens lost to a heart flush costing him thirty-five cents in a hand of five card draw. He was determined never to go broke again.
In high school Furguson travelled to Vegas, where he had only two losing trips in 22 visits.
In 1989, Chris discovered the IRC Poker Network. On IRC, hundreds of players from around the world gathered in a text-only chat room to play poker. There was no money involved, only ego. When Chris stopped playing on IRC in the mid-nineties, his name had been in the 1 or 2 position on the board consistently for a few years.
In 1994 Chris decided to apply his knowledge of game theory to poker and concentrated only on tournament play. He started off playing in the small tournaments in and around LA. In 1996 Furguson won a satellite tournament into the main World Series event and has played every year since. Over the next three years, Furguson would have 12 money finishes, making the final table 7 of those times, but never finishing higher than 4th place.
In 2000 that all changed when Furguson won the Championship Event. It was his second bracelet that year, following a $151,000 win in the 7-Card Stud Event. A well-rounded player, his next bracelet was in 2001 in Omaha Hi/Lo Split, followed by two more wins in 2003.
In 2002, Furguson returned to the world of online poker, when he decided to put together a team to design the software for and represent Full Tilt Poker. He continues to play an integral role on the design process, hoping not only to create the best deals and best software in the business, but also to give all players including the smaller ones a chance to improve their games, and maybe bring something new to the table.
Source: http://www.chrisferguson.com/