Johnny Moss was born in 1907 (date unknown) as a Texas, Dallas specifically. He was a natural born gambler starting at a young age by looking for ways to cheat the game. After Johnny matured he had a cheat of heart in his cheating ways and decided to put his knowledge to good use by catching cheaters. He was quickly hired by a tavern to supervise their poker games and kick out anyone caught cheating. The time he spent hunting cheaters at the local Texas tavern, he watched the good players and learned how they played the game. As he was working to prevent cheaters, he also learned poker strategy. Within two years he was traveling the country playing poker for a living and seeking out the bigger and better games.
In a famous heads up grudge match, Johnny Moss spent nearly half of 1949 playing his adversary “Nick The Greek”. Benny Binion set up the match, and the two grudge gamblers went at it until Nick The Greek gave up, down millions of dollars to Johnny Moss he spat the now famous quote “Mr. Moss, I have to let you go”.
Fans watched these matches and it is credited for helping fuel the popularity of poker, even credited as being a spark for the birth of the World Series Of Poker.
Johnny Moss won the WSOP Main Event three times in five years, and amazingly played every single event from 1970 - 1995. He has nine World Series bracelets, close behind record setters Phil Hellmuth, Johnny Chan, and Doyle Brunson respectively.
World Series Of Poker Bracelets:
1970 World Series Of Poker Championship - Silver Trophy
1971 $5,000 No Limit Hold’em World Championship - $30,000
1974 $10,000 No Limit Hold’em World Championship - $160,000
1975 $1,000 Seven Card Stud $44,000
1976 $500 Seven Card Stud - $13,000
1979 $5,000 Seven Card Stud - $48,000
1981 $1,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo $33,500
1988 $1,500 Ace To Five Draw $116,400
Johnny Moss amassed $680,000 in tournament poker winnings, and millions more in cash game play. One could only wonder what he might have accomplished if he had been around for the birth of the poker boom!
Johnny Moss was one of the first inductees in the Poker Hall Of Fame and has the distinct honor of having a texas hold’em starting hand named after him - Ace Ten will forever be known as “The Johnny Moss”.