About Mel Judah

Name	Mel Judah
Current Residence	London, UK
Born	Aug. 10, 1947
Birth Place	Calcutta, IN

If Mel Judah is a conservative poker player, blame it on his father.

As a 14-year-old boy learning Five-Card Draw, his dad taught him that the most important lesson in poker was to lose the minimum and win the maximum. The now 59-year-old poker pro took the advice and turned it into two World Series of Poker bracelets and more than $2 million in tournament winnings.

Born in Calcutta, India on Oct. 8, 1947, Judah took up poker as a teenager, learning the technical aspects of the game from his father. But a career in poker wasn't foremost in Judah's plans. Instead, as a young man he immigrated to Australia and learned the hairdressing trade. He later made his way to England, where he worked as part of Vidal Sassoon's team styling big-name Hollywood stars. Eventually, he opened his own salon in London's West End.

Judah would later credit the social skills he learned while working as a stylist for helping him with the psychological side of poker.

It was in the 1970s Judah got the itch to start playing serious poker again. He began regularly commuting to tournaments in Las Vegas and in 1989 earned his first WSOP gold bracelet in Seven-Card Stud. He followed up the win with his second gold bracelet in the same event in 1997, and narrowly missed out on a third bracelet when he went out on the bubble in 2003.

In between WSOP wins, Judah picked up prize money at tournaments around the world. And in 2003, he claimed a first-place win in the 2003 World Poker Tour Legends event, capturing his biggest pot to date -- $579,375. He's had respectable finishes in the World Series of Poker since his earlier wins - notably a third-place finish in 1997's Main Event - but hasn't been a top-money winner in recent years.

Lately, Judah attends fewer tournaments but always shows up for the WSOP, an event that's seen him place in-the-money 34 times. He currently resides in London, England and created, co-owns and is the tournament director for the World Poker Championship in Dublin, Ireland. Judah is married to his wife Patricia, with whom he has a son, Mark, and daughter, Tana.

When he does sit down at a poker table these days, Judah follows the advice his father gave him when he first learned the game, describing himself as a cautious player.

"People mark me as a tight player, which is good for your image when you want to make moves and pick up some chips," he told PokerListings.com in 2006. "It's not so good when you have a big hand and no one wants to call you. It has its pluses and minuses."

Trivia

• Created, co-owns and runs the World Poker Championship
• Born in Calcutta, India but has lived in Australia and England
• Worked with Vidal Sassoon's team as a stylist to the stars
• Holds two World Series of Poker gold bracelets