Joe Hachem : Poker Player

Joe Hachem

Coming out of nowhere and going straight to the top is something we're used to see many WSOP main event champions do. Joe Hachem is not an exception either. Even though he didn't fight his way miraculously into the WSOP through countless online satellites like Chris Moneymaker and Grag Raymer had, before him, he still came virtually out of nowhere, bursting onto the poker scene money finish after money finish in 2005, culminating with his main event win the same year.

Born in Lebanon in 1966, he moved to Sydney, Australia in 1972. He worked as a chiropractor, then as a mortgage broker, but - naturally - poker was to become the hobby that would change his life forever.

He bought his own seat in the Main Event, straight up, no satellites, no corners cut. He said he'd played in a smaller event prior to the big showdown, and won $25,850. That's what he took the 10,000 needed for the buy-in off of, so he was basically playing on money he'd won, all the way.

In the Main Event, he was pretty much under-stacked, right up till there were only 3 players left. In the final hand, he flopped a straight, (3,4,5,6,7) against Steve Dannenmann's A,A,3,3 - which was indeed a pretty good hand in a heads-up situation. No wonder Dannenmann called his all in, and the rest is history.

The prize was $7,500,000, money which instantly put Hachem's name into the history books forever. It also put him on track for many more spectacular and resounding event victories to come.

2006 was the year he'd have to step up and defend his title in the main event. Prior to that though, he registered a few important money finishes, (2nd in the $2,500 short handed NL Holdem event and 4th in the $2,500 PL Holdem event).

His title defense went sour when he got eliminated in 238th place, but he still finished ITM, and I'm sure that "sour" would've felt quite sweet for any of us, mortals.

In December of the same year though, he made up for the partial disappointment and won his first WPT title in the Bellagio's Five Diamond Poker Classic, a move that earned him no less than $ 2,207,575.

Currently, according to his own website, Joe Hachem travels the world looking for the most prestigious poker events, while making sure he never loses sight of what the most important thing for him is: his family.