Chip Jett
Top Professional Poker Player
Chip Jett is one of the most recognizable personalities in professional poker due to his success in tournament poker, his appreances in the World Poker Tour, and his distinctive, classic look at the poker table. He contributes his success to pure talent and determination.
Chip is a Las Vegas pro originally from Scottsdale, Arizona. He has spent some of his early poker days being a proposition player. He has since made up his mind to focus exclusively on tournaments, which so far has been a great move on his part. He had fifteen final table appearances in 2003.
I have had the pleasure of playing with him on a couple of occasions. My original thoughts about him were somewhat off the mark. I thought he had a somber personality and didn't have much to say, except of course when he was drinking Captain Morgan and Coke then he is Mr. Personality! Much to my surprise, he has a lot to say and his opinions are well thought out and articulate. When I asked him what accomplishment that he was most proud of, he said: "Until I win the Card Player Tournament Player of the Year Award I would have to say that winning the best all-around player award at the Commerce Casino at the 2001 Los Angeles Poker Classic and being on the cover of Poker Digest was my proudest poker moment." He made seven final tables in six different games which proves what a well-rounded player he is and why he is on my top ten tournament poker player list. I really liked the fact he started out his sentence "Until I win", not "if I win", as if there was no doubt in his mind he will win that award in the future. I think those three words are a key to his success at the tables. He knows that he is good and that kind of confidence is one of the keys to being a great player.
I also asked him who he continually learns from when he sees them play. He said, "I really try to learn a little something from everyone I play against. Everyone has patterns or traits that work for them in certain situations. I try to identify what other successful players are doing and steal the very best parts of their game from the very best players. For example, last year I noticed my results in No Limit Holdem were suffering due to the fact that I was not acquiring chips fast enough to be able to survive losing a showdown. When I did lose a pot, I was out-chipped and out the door. So I watched the players that always seemed to have a ton of chips and I tried to isolate what each one did that worked for them. In my opinion Layne Flack, Phil Ivey, and Carlos Mortensen are the best at gathering chips. So that is who I paid particular attention to. I then worked at integrating what I saw into my game. My ability to accumulate chips has come a long way in the past year and my end results have improved enormously, especially in No Limit. The same concept can be used for almost any flaw you find in your game." There are many players that just "play their game". Chip plays his game, but consistently is looking for ways to improve. He uses his strengths, but also incorporates other people's strengths into his game. He once stated during the World Poker Tour that his greatest strength as a player is the same as his greatest weakness....his fearlessnessHis unorthodox style of play is designed to keep other players off-balance. He stated, "the advantage of my limping/trapping style of play is the ability to gain table control with little risk. The disadvantage is when you set a lot of traps occasionally you trap yourself."
Chip Jett is definitely among the top ten tournament poker players if not top three. He has a well-rounded game and has different styles of play depending on what kind of tournament he is playing. He has spent time developing his game into what it is today and there is no arguing his success.
He has placed first in the 4th Annual World Poker Open No Limit Hold'em, mixed games at Los Angeles Poker Classic and 2003 Tropicana Poker Championship Series in No Limit Holdem. Some of his other final table appearances were third at the World Poker Challenge in the Omaha High-Low and Pot Limit Holdem, second in the Bellagio Special Poker Events No Limit Holdem, and two final table appearances at the World Series of Poker. Last but not least, he placed second in the season one Party Poker Million and fourth in the season two Legends of Poker World Poker Tour event. Chip's wife Karina Jett is also a successful player.