Joseph Hachem WSOP winner

Updated 2008/2009
The story of Joseph Hachem winning the 2005 World Series of Poker championship is historical. He was born in Lebanon in 1966 and later on moved on to Australia in 1972. He had to overcome the problem of being a Lebanese before he could try his luck with Poker.

Joseph Hachem was a chiropractor by profession but had to retire early due to a blood disorder that affected his hands. He found Poker as a better option while he was thinking of his future. He started by playing at casinos and became a master of the game by the time he started playing online. He became famous online while he still continued sharpening his skill. Winning the world series of Poker championship in 2005 was the first stage and he really did not want to move to Las Vegas until his children grew old.

Hachem always felt very comfortable and used to be at ease while sitting on the Poker table wearing his dark sunglasses. Dark sunglasses are normally worn by the players to hide their secret. He was not like past champions of Chris Moneymaker and had a sufficient amount of card room experience which was the top most requirements for the tournament. His attitude showed that he played fearlessly which gelled well with his experience and he gained a lot because of his qualities.

His early games clearly showed that he is a Lebanese who are of a sensitive nature. Hachem used to get excited during a game which brought dismay to the other players. Later on he realized that he should be in control of his emotions while playing a game and eventually learnt to control his hot temper as well. This man was so ruthless in his game that many a champions surrendered to him during the championship. During the final game Hachem was found sitting on the table determined to win the battle.

The final game was definitely not very simple and continued till the next day 6 am which was a Saturday. This, after nine days of tournament play, was exhausting but thrilling to Hachem who glistened with excitement over his climb to the top. Hachem had a little rough time since he was a little short of cash from the beginning itself.

Mike Matusow the front runner was the first one to be knocked off the final table when he took pocket tens all in against a straight. Ultimately there were only two players remaining, Hachem and Steve Dannenmann after long hours of play with pots going in all possible directions. It’s needless to say that it was a tough fight between the two warriors.

In the final Hachem held 7/3 and Dannemann A/3. . The flop would produce 4/5/6. The turn would have found both players all in. Since Danneman rode a higher pair, Hatchem turned his straight.

Hachem got the prize money of $7.5 million and was crowned as the winner that Saturday morning. Hachem confessed that the money meant a lot to him and would be changing his life altogether. He also said that it’s an honor to have the bracelet and the title of the best Poker Player in the World. Nobody knew him before nine days but in the end he was a big name.

Hachem is also the first Australian to win the World Series of Poker. Before the championship, ranked 10th in the $1000 buy in no limit Hold’em World Series event which got him prize money of $25,850. Hachem finished second in the $2,500 short-handed No limit Hold\'em event the 2006 World Series of Poker when he was beaten by Dutch Boyd. He later on finished fourth in $2,500 pot limit Hold’em tournament.

Hachem finished 238th in the 2006 WSOP main event which got him a prize money of $42,882. He has finished in the money 9 times in the WSOP and has won one WPT title. Hachem won the PokerStars APPT Tournament of Champions in December 2007. As of 2008, his total live tournament winnings exceed $10,700,000