Julian Gardner, Youngest Ever $1 Million Dollar Poker Tournament Winner

Born in 1978 in Manchester, England, Julian Gardner is one of the youngest successful professional poker players.  Ever since he was young, he knew that he wanted to be a big player. His father Dave was a famous player as well, and John began his career at 15 in a casino. John began to really kick up his career right after high school and won a few tables before his big debut. On a fast track to fame, John won 10 tournaments by the time he was 20 and at 21 he had made 25 final tables. In his first attempt in the World Series of Poker in 2000 he tripled his chips in two hours, but did not place.

In 2002 he made it to the World Series of Poker again and won $1 million at the age of 24. This made him the youngest player ever to win a million dollars in a poker tournament. He also set records in 2003 and 2004, as he was the only player to finish in the money in the World Series of Poker main event from 02′ to 04′.  He qualified for the 2005 WSOP, but did not make it in the main event. He participated in a number of other tournaments and made 4 money finishes. In 2007 he won 64th place for $130,288 in the main event. His most recent winning was in the 2008 Poker Million VI final table for $250,000 at 3rd place, his largest cash in since his million dollars winning in 2002.

In 2008 he totaled $2,400,000 in live tournament winnings. Julian Gardner is engaged to Kerry Clarke who is also a professional poker player. In 2005 they both participated in the semi-final 888.com UK Poker Open, and Garner eliminated her.

Ever since he started playing poker Gardner has been considered one of the youngest and most successful players out there. His quiet style is intimidating for even the most experienced players. After reaping his rewards from several WSOP winnings he became a primarily online poker player.

Garner is the co-author of the book The Secrets of Online Power Poker. He also made appearances on the television series Late Night Poker and was a player on the British Team that won the Poker Nations Cup. Julius prefers to only travel for tournaments that he qualifies for on the internet so he doesn’t have to pay for the expenses. On the table he is also known as “The Kid” and “The Wriggler”.