John Juanda was born in 1971 in Medan, North Sumatra. He currently resides in Marina Del Rey, California. John attended Oklahoma State University and received an MBA from the University of Seattle. While attending college, he learned how to play poker on weekends at local casinos. Juanda also spent time as a salesman.
After completing his MBA he decided to become a full time poker pro, only competing in cash games. Three years later, he entered his first major tournament. It was a WSOP event, and John ended up making the final table, finishing 9th.
2002 was Juanda's most successful tournament year yet, winning his first career gold bracelet and making three more WSOP final tables. He also won a World Poker Tour event that year. 2003 would be even better than '02, as John won career gold bracelets two and three, plus cashing in six other events.
John has also had success on the World Poker Tour. He has won 4 events, and made a total of 13 more final tables. Other impressive tournament finishes include a 2nd place finish at the 2004 U.S. Poker Championship, and a 1st place finish at the 2006 Crown Australian Poker Championship.
Juanda plays online poker at Full Tilt Poker as an officially sponsored pro, under the screen name "John Juanda".
John is considered one of the best tournament poker players in the world. He is frequently ranked #1 on Bluff Magazine's Power Rankings.
Career Accomplishments: 3 WSOP Bracelets 20 First Place Finishes Over 150 Tournament Cashes Over $6 Million Career Tournament Earnings