Miami John Cernuto

A poker biography of Miami John Cernuto.

Quick Information Name - Miami John Cernuto Born - 1944, Jersey City, New Jersey, United States Poker Room - Not Available

Biography

To those who are new to the realm of poker, the name Miami John Cernuto may not sound all too familiar. However, to those who have been playing the game since God only knows when, the name Miami John stirs admiration, respect, and sometimes, even fear most especially if one is to play against him. Miami John, as he is more commonly known in the poker circle, is a poker virtuoso of Omaha Hi-Lo. Even though hailed as the best player of Omaha Hi-Lo, Miami John also excels in other poker variations. He currently holds three World Series of Poker bracelets in addition to his numerous awards and more than fifty first-place recognitions.

Far from what most poker newbies probably think, Miami John Cernuto is not from Miami at all. In fact, this poker champion, who was born in 1944, is originally from Jersey City in New Jersey. He is married and blessed with three kids, one of which is Tony, a poker player like his dad. Miami John finished his degree studies in Finance at the Florida State University and initially worked as an air traffic controller. However, when a union strike broke out in 1981, the former President Ronald Reagan fired over 11,000 air traffic controllers and Miami John was among them.

Terminated from his job, Miami John packed his bags and headed to the haven of poker players, Las Vegas, Nevada. Once in Las Vegas, Miami John decided to become a professional poker player, since he isn't exactly a novice to the card game. Furthermore, Miami John reckoned that his skills as a former air traffic controller might come in handy in the realm of poker. With an extraordinary ability to stay cool even when under pressure, Miami John is certainly cut for the adrenaline-pumping game of poker.

However, Miami John's previous experience with poker is not one that properly prepared him for tight and rough competitions that he would face later in his career. His used to play loosely and did not possess self-restraint when it comes to selecting starting hands. However, this all changed when his poker career hit all time low and was compelled to work at Stardust as a dealer. From then on, he learned to play more cautiously, even developing his own strategy that would soon catapult him to poker stardom.

Miami John's poker career finally took a good turn when he entered the Amarillo Slim's 1988 Super Bowl of Poker. Winning the tournament, Miami John thought that he might have a future with playing poker after all. With this, he entered a 7-Card Stud tourney in Las Vegas where he won a whopping $50,000 cash prize. It was also during this tournament that Miami John adopted his current moniker when he realized that he was not the only player who uses the initials J.C. when playing.

His nickname is probably lucky since Miami John went on to win more tournaments. He won his first WSOP bracelet in 1996 when he competed in the 7-Card Stud tourney. Miami John continued to win two more bracelets when he participated in the 1997 and 2002 WSOP in the No Limit Texas Hold'em and Omaha events respectively.