Champion of Poker

“Gentleman” Jack Keller was considered by many to be one of the true gentlemen of the game. With his quiet demeanor, he usually kept a low profile, preferring to let his chips do the talking for him. Keller grew up in Philadelphia, PA and entered the US Air Force when he was old enough. His passion for gambling took hold during his stint in the military and once he was out, he proceeded to move to Las Vegas.

It wasn’t until 1984 that Keller started to accomplish big things in the game of poker. He won his first bracelet in the $5,000 Seven Card Stud Event which garnered him $137,500. Afterward he entered the Main Event and pretty much slowly built his stack and kept a low profile until he reached the final table. At the final table he made it to three way action between Cowboy Wolford, Jesse Alto, and himself. Alto had 70% of the chips at the time, but after Wolford pulled a successful bluff, Alto went on full blown tilt. He then started pushing in blind and Keller kept waking up with hands. By the time the smoke cleared, Alto was out and Keller was a massive chip leader. Less than an hour later, Keller’s pocket 10’s held up against the 6-4 of Wolford, and Keller won the 1984 Main Event and $660,000.

After his Main Event win in 1984, Keller went on an impressive streak of tournament victories and cashes. He won over 10 events and made countless final tables. As far as his World Series play he had 11 cashes, 9 final table appearances, two runner up finishes and two Main Event cashes. In 1993 he cashed 4 times and all were final tables. He took his third bracelet in the $1,500 Limit Omaha Event for $61,800. He also had a 6th, 3rd, and 2nd place finish.

In his later years, Keller moved to Tunica, MS due to failing health. He could no longer tolerate the Vegas lifestyle but still wanted to be close to some type of poker action. The amazing thing about his tournament record in later life is that with the exception of the World Series of Poker, Keller did no worse than make the final table of any tournament he placed in. He had 24 final table appearances and 8 cashes at the WSOP. Those 8 cashes included 2 Main Event cashes and two final tables.

For his career, Keller made over $3.5 Million in tournaments, and this is back when accurate records were not always kept. The thing that is more amazing about Keller is that he actually considered himself a better cash game player than a tournament player. Keller was enshrined in the Poker Hall of Fame in 1994. He passed away in Tunica December 5, 2003.

Many people don’t know much about Jack Keller. Many view him as a part of old school poker. There are many current poker players that would love to have half as successful a career as Keller had. Keller was one of the nice guys of poker. While it may be true that nice guys don’t always finish first, in Keller’s case, nice guys get a lot of money.