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Johnny Moss: Grandfather of Poker
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Johnny Moss is considered by many to be one of the greatest poker players of his generation for so many reasons that we couldn’t possibly list them all.
Not only was he the inaugural winner of the World Series of Poker Main Event, but he’s actually one of the few people who can say they have won that main event a total of three times.
In appreciation for all of his contribution to the world of poker, Johnny also become the first member to be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame.
People everywhere agree that Johnny was the kind of person that players would have been happy to lose to, as they could finally say that they had lost to the best.
His Backstory
Johnny Moss was born on May 14th, 1907 in the small town of Marshall, Texas. His mother passed away suddenly from a burst appendix when he was only eight years old, and his dad was seriously injured in a working accident just a few months later.
Johnny was forced to move to Dallas, Texas when he was fifteen to work for the Western Union Telegraph Company; he would be his family’s main source of income.
Johnny would spend his down time at the nearby pool halls with his friends. He would place small wagers on anything and everything he could get his hands on, as he was trying to earn as much money as possible to send back to his family.
By the time Johnny turned sixteen, he was able to get a second job working at the Otter’s Club where he was trained on how to prevent cheating from occurring. He had to keep his eye on both the dealers and those who were playing the game.
This is when he acquired a true appreciation for the game of poker, learning how to play through watching the regulars at the club.
As his love for poker grew, so did his love of women. One woman in particular, Virgie Ann Mouser, particularly caught his attention. After convincing her father that he was worthy to marry Virgie despite his profession, the two got engaged.
Records show they were married on May 1st, 1926, but little is known about their relationship beyond that point. None of the stories about Johnny make any mention to his wife’s presence, and yet there are no records that show a divorce. Their relationship will have to remain a mystery for now we suppose.
Nonetheless, everyone was amazed at how quickly Johnny became a seasoned player; it wasn’t uncommon for him to walk away from the club with almost $500 a night. After spending about two years honing his poker skills, he decided to quit his jobs and become a rounder.
He travelled around Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana to compete against the best poker players, hoping to win as much money as possible.
Since there was an oil boom in Texas at this time, there were a lot of wealthy businessmen who had no problem playing for hundreds of thousands of dollars per hand. At the Metropolitan Hotel in Fort Worth, Johnny had actually walked away with over a million dollars on more than one occasion thanks to their large bankrolls.
Johnny was as fearless outside the poker table as he was at the poker table. Once while playing in the backroom of an old casino, Johnny recognized that there were small peep holes in the ceiling that he suspected the casino was using to read the player’s hole cards.
Competing against Nick “The Greek” Dandolos
It wasn’t until 1951 that Johnny would hear from Benny Binion again. He called to tell Johnny that he set a tournament up for him to play against the infamous Nick “The Greek” Dandolos at his famous Horseshoe Casino. Up for the challenge, Johnny headed to Las Vegas for the first time to compete in one of the longest playing sessions of his career.
Every hand they played would be open to the public, as Benny knew the competition would attract large crowds. Almost every day people gathered around the two men as they went head to head for almost five months straight.
They would play for four to five days in a row before taking time to rest; these were very intense playing sessions.
They played 5-card No Limit Stud, 7-card Stud, 7-card Hi-Lo, and Lowball: alternating between the various games frequently. Every once and awhile, other players were allowed to join the competition, but they had to be willing to fork over $10,000 for the buy-in.
There were a few bold players that tried, but no one lasted for more than a couple of days.
By the time their session had come to an end, Nick was down $4 million dollars and was ready to admit his defeat. His final words before he withdrew from the competition were,
This competition is what inspired Benny to create the World Series of Poker, where famous players from all over the world are invited to compete against each other while playing a variety of kinds of poker.
World Series of Poker
The World Series of Poker was first established in 1970, and there were only six contestants. The first year of the competition was set up differently from the rest. After three days of intense play, the men were asked to vote on who they thought was the best player.
Each person voted for themselves, so the votes were dis-credited. When asked which player they thought was second best, it was Johnny Moss’ name that appeared the most, which is why he was deemed the overall champion. He was awarded a pure silver cup: the first and last of his kind.
The competition has changed drastically over the years; now thousands of players compete in an elimination based competition, and they are given gold bracelets and money as an award for winning.
Johnny competed in over twenty five World Series of Poker competitions, and won an equivalent of eight gold bracelets. Below we have provided a complete list of each event he has won over the years, along with the amount of money he was awarded.
- World Series of Poker Championship (1970)
- $5,000 No Limit Hold’em World Championship: $30,000 (1971)
- Limit Ace to Five Draw: $10,000 (1971)
- $10,000 No Limit Hold’em World Championship: $160,000 (1974)
- $1,000 Seven Card Stud: $44,000 (1975)
- $500 Seven Card Stud: $13,000 (1976)
- $5,000 Seven Card Stud: $48,000 (1979)
- $1,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo: $33,500 (1981)
- $1,500 Ace to Five Draw: $116,400 (1988)
Not a Constant Winner
We could go on and on for hours about how victorious Moss has been when it comes to gambling, but we would be lying if we tried to claim that he never lost. In fact, there were even times when he was in serious financial trouble because of his gambling habits.
The worst predicament he ever got himself into was when he decided to play craps at a casino in Las Vegas.
He spent endless hours at the craps table, slowly but surely watching all of his money be taken away. He even borrowed $500,000 from the casino, and proceeded to lose all of that too. Now he was half a million dollars in debt and barely had enough money in his pockets to make it home.
Nothing can bring this man down forever though. After a lot of time and hard work, he built up his bankroll again and was able to pay off the casino in just a little over five years.
Betting on the Golfing Range
Johnny’s gambling habits weren’t limited to the casinos, as he has also won and lost thousands of dollars on the golf course as well. Once he was even swindled by the famous hustler, Titanic Thompson.
Titanic bet Johnny $3,000 that he couldn’t shoot a 46 on a nine-hole golf course; he thought this was a guaranteed win. However, what Johnny didn’t know at the time was that Titanic had hired someone to raise the lips of the cups, making punting nearly impossible.
Johnny quickly realized that the wool had been pulled over his eyes, but instead of getting angry he was actually impressed. Johnny and Titanic teamed up to fool other golf players with the same tricks and were able to win over $100,000 in the process.
They were known for pulling a similar scam on innocent bowlers at the bowling alley as well.
The Loss of a Legend
Johnny Moss passed away on December 16th, 1995 at the ripe age of eighty eight years old. Hundreds of people attended this man’s funeral to show their respect.
Famous players such as Doyle Brunson, Amarillo Slim, and Puggy Pearson admit they will miss Johnny, who was a friend and mentor to them over the years.
