Mel Judah (born 8 October 1947 in

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

) is an Australian professional

poker Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game w ...

player, also known as "The Silver Fox" (a nickname he shares with fellow poker player Peter Costa). He learned poker at the age of 14 by watching his father play 5-card draw. He has had several noticeable finishes in the

World Series of Poker The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Paradise, Nevada and, since 2004, sponsored by Caesars Entertainment. It dates its origins to 1970, when Benny Binion invited seven of the best-known poker pla ...

(WSOP) and the

World Poker Tour The World Poker Tour (WPT) is an internationally televised gaming and entertainment brand. Since 2002, the World Poker Tour has operated a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting playdown and the fi ...

(WPT). He won his first World Series of Poker bracelet in the

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

in the $1,500 Seven Card Stud event. Judah won his second bracelet at the

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

$5,000 Seven Card Stud event, defeating Vasilis Lazarou who has also won two WSOP bracelets in seven card stud tournaments. He was also at the final table of the 1997 World Series of Poker main event, won by

Stu Ungar Stuart Errol Ungar (September 8, 1953 – November 22, 1998) was an American professional poker, blackjack, and gin rummy player, widely regarded to have been the greatest gin player of all time and one of the best Texas hold 'em players. He ...

, eventually coming in third place, and earning $371,000. Judah also claimed the 2003 Legends of Poker title on the

, winning $579,375. He defeated a strong final table that included professional poker players

Phil Laak Philip Courtney Laak (born September 8, 1972) is an Irish–American professional poker player and a poker commentator, now residing in Los Angeles, California. Laak holds a World Poker Tour (WPT) title, a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet, a ...

Farzad Bonyadi Farzad "Freddy" Bonyadi (born 1959) is an Iranian professional poker player based in Aliso Viejo, California, who has won 4 World Series of Poker bracelets. Bonyadi moved from Iran to America in 1983, where he worked as an executive host in th ...

Chip Jett Charles McRae "Chip" Jett (born September 22, 1974 in Scottsdale, Arizona) is an American professional poker player from Las Vegas, Nevada. He is one of the most popular players on the World Poker Tour. Jett has been known as "Chip" ever sinc ...

, T. J. Cloutier, and Paul Phillips, whom he defeated in heads-up play to win the tournament. He qualified for the final table of the 2006

Poker Million The Poker Million has been a televised European poker tournament since its inception in November 2000. The final debuted to 30 million viewers and has since remained popular. It was created by UK gaming outfit Ladbrokes with the help of sports pro ...

, finishing in fourth place. In January 2009, Judah won the $1,100 Omaha Hi-Lo tournament at the

Aussie Millions The Australian Poker Championship, commonly known as Aussie Millions, is a series of poker tournaments held at the Crown Casino, in Melbourne, Australia. The Main Event of the series is the Southern Hemisphere's richest poker tournament with a ...

in Melbourne Australia. In recollection of the respect Judah had generated within the game, he was asked to direct the new European Poker Masters tour in September 2006, Europe's first ever independent poker tour that was produced by the team behind

The Poker Channel The Player Channel, known as the Poker Channel until 3 December 2012, was a gaming TV network which broadcast to over 30 million households in 30 countries. The Channel was typically carried in the basic packages of cable and satellite operator ...

. Judah worked as a

hairdresser A hairdresser is a person whose occupation is to cut or style hair in order to change or maintain a person's image. This is achieved using a combination of hair coloring, haircutting, and hair texturing techniques. A Hairdresser may also be refe ...

for several years, which he believes has allowed him to understand players'

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

better. He now lives in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. As of 2009, his total live tournament winnings exceed $3,100,000. His 36 cashes at the WSOP account for $1,299,630 of those winnings. Judah was an inaugural inductee into the

Australian Poker Hall of Fame Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

in 2009.

World Series of Poker bracelets

References

External links

Mel Judah's Website

World Poker Tour Profile

Hendon Mob tournament results

PokerListings.com Player Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Judah, Mel 1947 births Australian poker players Living people People from Kolkata Poker players from London World Poker Tour winners World Series of Poker bracelet winners