Mel Judah

Mel Judah

  • Name: Mel Judah
  • Nickname: the Silver Fox
  • Current Residence: London, England
  • Born: August 10, 1947
  • Birth Place: Calcutta, India

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

  • Holds two World Series of Poker gold bracelets
  • 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

Notable Tournament Cashes

Tournament Place Winnings
2009 WSOP, Event 6 - $10000 Seven-Card Stud Championship 12th $29,152
2008 WSOPE, Event 4, No-Limit Hold'em Main Event 21st £28,960
2007 WSOP, Event 32, 7-Card Stud 10th $6,203
2007 WSOP, Event 5, Omaha/7-Card Stud Hi-Lo 8-or-Better 20th $7,145
2006 WSOP, Event 44, No-Limit Hold'em 23rd $3,283
2006 WSOP, Event 41, No-Limit Hold'em 19th $8,935
2005 WSOP, Event 18, $2,000 Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo Split 21st $3,080
2005 WSOP, Event 6, $2,500 Short-Handed No-Limit Hold'em 11th $12,605
2004 WSOP, Event 32, Ace-to-Five Draw Lowball 5th $16,500
WPT Season 2, Five Diamond World Poker Classic 6th $101,842
WPT Season 2, Legends of Poker 1st $579,375
1989 WSOP, Event 6, Seven-Card Stud 1st $130,800
1997 WSOP, Event 18, Limit Seven-Card Stud 1st $176,000
1990 WSOP, Event 1, Limit Hold'em 2nd $126,000
2003 WSOP, Event 31, Seven-Card Stud 2nd $102,680
2000 WSOP, Event 19, Limit Seven-Card Stud 3rd $50,500
2002 WSOP, Event 22, Seven-Card Stud 5th $25,940
1992 WSOP, Event 7, Limit Omaha 7th $4,950
2003 WSOP, Event 6, Pot-Limit Hold'em 8th $5,920
2003 WSOP, Event 21, Seven-Card Stud 8th $6,520
1997 WSOP, Event 6, Limit Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo 8th $7,854
2000 WSOP, Event 21, Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8th $12,375
1994 WSOP, Event 10, $1,500 Pot-Limit Hold'em 10th $4,446
1995 WSOP, Event 8, $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em 10th $6,588
2000 WSOP, Event 9, $2,500 Limit Seven-Card Stud 10th $5,660
2000 WSOP, Event 13, Limit Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo 13th $3,225
2002 WSOP, Event 31, Limit Hold'em and Seven-Card Stud 13th $2,700
1993 WSOP, Event 17, Limit Hold'em 16th $2,980
1991 WSOP, Event 9, Limit Omaha 18th $1,848
2001 WSOP, Event 4, Limit Seven-Card Stud 20th $2,375
1992 WSOP, World Series of Poker Main Event - 1992 24th $8,080
2000 WSOP, World Series of Poker Main Event - 2000 38th $15,000