Poker Player - Mel Judah
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Mel Judah is probably one of the most respected players on the tournament circuit and is often considered to be the best player ever to come from Australia. This may sound strange to some bearing in mind that he was born in Calcutta, India and now resides in London, England.
Born on August 10th 1947, Mel Judah first learned to play poker while watching his father play five-card poker and credits his father with some of his most enduring skills. His father was a technical player and so Mel learned at an early age starting hands to play in what position, and the knowledge he accumulated has helped him in his poker career. While watching his father he learnt many lessons - lessons he takes with him to the tournament trail where he concentrates on the more major events, but the one thing he considers most important is focusing on losing the minimum while trying to win the maximum possible - good advice for anyone hoping to make it big in the poker industry. Mel believes that patience and changing gears are the key talents that make a great tournament player.
Using the skills he learnt from his father, Mel started playing poker with his friends in the 1970's yet it wasn't until 1981 that he made his first visit to Las Vegas. Since then he has made an effort to make trips to Las Vegas to play in poker tournaments. However it wasn't until years later that Mel took up professional poker as a career, his original profession was a hair stylist. Mel worked for Vidal Sassoon before opening up his own salon in London's West End. But he tossed his scissors away when poker became more lucrative. It seems this was a wise move for Mel as poker has provided him with much more income and more quickly than his salon could have done although he does believe it is the experience he gained through hair dressing that has allowed him to understand players' psychology better. He may be right, as of 2005 his total live tournament winnings exceeded 2 million dollars.
His first cash in a World Series of Poker (WSOP) event was in 1989 where he won a bracelet for coming in first in the $1,500 seven-card stud event. In the following years he cashed eight times and made three final tables - over the years he has been in the money at the World Series more than 34 times, although some may say his best year was 1997 where he won his second WSOP bracelet in another seven-card stud event. There is no doubt his best results have been in seven-card stud however he has actually won a tournament in every type of poker game. His favourite games to play are actually Hi/Lo Omaha and Hi/Lo Stud, his favourite tournament in the poker calendar is The World Series of Poker, not only because of the success he has had there but because all the best players in the world can be found there.
Mel currently lives in London, England with his wife and their two children. He is currently a tournament director and also the founder of the World Poker Championship in Dublin, Ireland, which he hopes will one day rival the World Poker Tour. His dream is to someday own his own casino.
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