Jerry Yang - The WSOP 2007 Champion
The 2007 World Series of Poker (WSOP) found itself a new champion. Jerry Yang beat out 6,358 other main event players on July 17, 2007. Yang won $8,250,000 and his first gold WSOP bracelet.
Once he knew he had part of the prize money, Yang pledged 10 percent of his winnings to three different charities: the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Feed the Children and the Ronald McDonald House. He also pledged to give money to Loma Linda University, which is where he graduated college with a Master's degree in health psychology. Yang plans on also putting his children through college, letting his wife quit her job and giving back to his community with his newly earned money.Bluffing and a Lucky Straight was the Key
Yang was a force throughout the entire tournament and his power only grew as he sat at the final table. He was far from chip leader when he first down at the table; he was actually eighth in standing. However, he knocked out multiple people on the final table, seven of the eight other players, which increased his chip stack incredibly. Yang won the tournament holding pocket eights, which landed him a straight on the river against Tuan Lam. He claims to have done quite a bit of bluffing, but it always seemed to work out for him. Every time someone called him, the cards were on his side. Playing aggressively and holding good cards definitely worked out to Yang's benefit.
Yang Has Only Played for Two Years
Yang is an amateur poker player; he has only been playing for the past two years. He credits his educational background for giving him the ability to read his opponents as well as he does. Buy-in for the main event of the 2007 WSOP was $10,000, but Yang won his seat in the tournament. He played a $225 satellite tournament at his regular casino that he frequents, Pechanga Resort of Casino in Temecula, California. There, though, Yang is known as "Doc." He is well liked because of his personality and demeanor, though is he is known as being hard to read because he rarely shows emotion when playing a hand, whether he wins or loses.
Yang was born in Laos in 1968. A few years after his birth, his family fled to Thailand and lived in a refugee camp for four years. A brother and a sister passed away while at the camp. In 1979, he moved to the United States with his family. Prior to being the WSOP champion, Yang worked as a psychologist and social worker. He works and lives in Temecula, California with his wife and their six children.
