Johnny Moss

Johnny Moss
Johnny Moss (1974)
Personal information
Date of birth	May 14, 1907
place of birth	Marshall
date of death	December 16, 1995
Place of death	Odessa
Nickname	The Grand Old Man of Poker
Live Poker Tournament Achievements
Highest prize money	0.$ 160,000
Total prize money	$ 1,254,859
World Series of Poker
Bracelets	9
Cashes	27
Best main event	Victory ( 1970 , 1971 , 1974 )

Johnny Moss (born May 14, 1907 in Marshall , Texas , † December 16, 1995 in Odessa , Texas) was a professional American poker player . He won the Main Event of the World Series of Poker three times and secured a total of nine bracelets in this tournament series. As part of the 50th edition of the World Series of Poker , he was named one of the 50 best players in poker history in June 2019 .

Early years

Moss grew up in Odessa , Texas , where he learned to gamble as a young boy. A group of cheaters taught him how to cheat in games, but Moss didn't abuse that knowledge. Instead, as a teenager , he worked at a local saloon , overseeing games and making sure they were played fairly. While protecting the games from cheaters, he also learned the strategy that is inherent in poker. Two years later he became a "rounder", a player who roams the country to make money by gambling.

The World Series of Poker

In 1949 Moss played a five-month long poker marathon with Nick "The Greek" Dandalos , which was organized by Benny Binion with prize money between $ 2 million and $ 4 million. At the end of the marathon, after losing several million dollars, Nick the Greek uttered a sentence that became one of the most famous poker proverbs: “ Mr. Moss, I have to let you go. "(German:" Mr. Moss, I have to let you go. ")

Poker became very popular with players like Nick the Greek, Binion and Moss and eventually the World Series of Poker (WSOP), a kind of poker world championship, was organized. Moss won the main events of the World Series of Poker in 1970 , 1971 and 1974 , setting the record for most titles in the main WSOP tournament, which is also held by Stu Ungar . At the 1970 event, Moss was chosen by his colleagues as the winner and only received a silver cup as a trophy. He played in every WSOP from 1970 to 1995 , winning nine bracelets and more than $ 800,000 through tournament winnings during his career . Along with Doyle Brunson , Stu Ungar and Johnny Chan , he was also one of the four players to win the main tournament of the WSOP for two consecutive years.

Bracelets

year	Buy-in (in $)	competition	Attendees	Prize money (in $)
1970	-	World Championship *	006th	Silver cup
1971	0.1000	Limit Ace to 5 Draw	010	010,000
	0.5000	No Limit Hold'em (WCE)	006th	030,000
1974	10,000	No Limit Hold'em (WCE)	016	160,000
1975	0.1000	Seven Card Stud	044	044,000
1976	00.500	Seven Card Stud	052	013,000
1979	0.5000	Seven Card Stud	016	048,000
1981	0.1000	Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo	067	033,500
1988	0.1500	Ace to Five Draw	194	116,400

^* In 1970 Moss was chosen as the winner by his colleagues and did not receive a bracelet for it

Anecdotes

Once Moss was playing in Oklahoma when he noticed a peephole in the ceiling from which someone was passing information about his opponent's cards to a player at the table. After Moss threatened to shoot the man if the hole was not covered and this was not taken seriously, Moss injured the man. Moss also regularly had to threaten people to undress if he knew they were using mechanical deception devices hidden on the body.

Another time Moss was playing high stakes golf against a wealthy businessman. Before the last couple of holes, Moss had lost more than a quarter of a million dollars. The sponsors of this duel, committed by Moss, wanted him to simply shoot his opponent instead of paying. Moss won the last couple of holes, however. The businessman said to him: "Moss, you are the man with the most happiness in the world." Then Moss replied: "No, sir, it is you." (Original: " Moss, you're the luckiest man alive. " , “ No sir, you are. ”)

After winning at the poker table, Moss wanted to invest part of the profit and called his wife to find a suitable house to invest. When she told him the next day that she had found one, Moss is said to have replied succinctly: “ Now its too late! "(German:" Now it's too late! ")

legacy

In 1979 Moss was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame .

He was also called the Grand old man, which testifies to his high standing in the poker society.

The starting hand Ace-Ten was named in his honor Johnny Moss .

Web links

Commons : Johnny Moss  - Collection of Images

• Johnny Moss in the Hendon Mob Poker Database (English)
• Johnny Moss in the database of the World Series of Poker (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ WSOP Reveals List of 50 Greatest Players in Poker History , pokernews.com, accessed August 1, 2019.