Champion of Poker

A former Chiropractor turned poker player, Joe Hachem came to the 2005 World Series of Poker to support his friend who has won a satellite to the Main Event. While there, Hachem entered the $1,000 No Limit Event and won $25,850. He finished 10th in the event to win $25,850. He then decided that instead of railing his friend he would play in the Main Event as well.

Hachem pretty much stayed quiet through most of the Main Event. He stayed around the middle of the pack and wound up making the final table, but as one of the shorter stack. He was able to get some chips at the final table and eventually made it heads-up in the event against affable Steve Dannenmann. The final hand of the main event saw Hachem flop a straight holding 7-3 and that was good enough to give Hachem the title and $7.5 Million. Hachem is also the only Australian to win the Main Event.

Later that year, Hachem would make a final table of a WSOP Circuit event in Vegas but wound up just short of his 2nd major tournament win. The 2006 WSOP saw Hachem return, determined to prove that he was not a fluke in winning the 2005 title. He proceeded to cash three times in the preliminary events, making two final tables and finishing runner up to Dutch Boyd in the $2,500 Short Handed NL Event. Hachem would then pull a feat similar to what Raymer did in 2005. Hachem again was making a deep run in the 2006 Main Event. The field had exploded from 5,619 entrants in 2005 to 8,773 in 2006. Hachem finished 238th in the 2006 Main Event, effectively outlasting more opponents in than in 2005. Hachem had officially arrived as a strong force in poker, but it wasn’t until December 2006 before we would realize how strong a force.

Hachem was one of the 583 players to enter the $15,000 Main Event at the Doyle Brunson North American Poker Classic. The top prize for this WPT event was over $2.2 Million. Hachem as well as Daniel Negreanu made the final table of the event, and when the smoke cleared, Hachem emerged as the winner. He is one of only four players to win both a WPT title and a WSOP Main Event.

In addition to his WSOP and WPT wins, he has also had tremendous success in other venues. He has 11 final tables between the Melbourne and Victorian Poker Championships including a recent 5th place finish in the H.O.R.S.E. event at the Victorian Championships. He also finished 8th at the APPT tour stop in Macau in 2007 and 11th in the EPT Grand Final at Monte Carlo in April. In total, Hachem has won over $10.7 Million in live tournaments, which ranks him 3rd all time in total money won. He is the top money winner in Australia.

Joe Hachem started off like many recent WSOP Main Event winner, trying to prove himself in the poker world. The difference with Hachem is that he has actually been able to back up his 2005 Main Event win with several impressive performances and a WPT title. Hachem is only 42 years old at present, and if his recent results are any indicator, he should be a force in poker for a long time.