|
Chip Jett is a familiar face to anyone who watches the World Poker Tour
broadcasts on the Travel Channel. His final table appearances at the Party
Poker Million II, the Bellagio Five-Diamond World Classic, and the Legends
of Poker Main Event helped him to finish 12th on the 2003 money list. He's
also well known as the husband of professional player Karina Jett. Chip and
his wife follow the tournament trail, playing hundreds of tournaments a year
to provide enough income to support their young daughter Athena. His status
as a well-known player today comes as the result of a lot of hard work early
in his career.
Chip began playing poker in 1992 at Fort McDowell Casino in his home state of
Arizona, and not long afterward became a dealer at the casino. He stayed
with Fort McDowell for six years, working as a floorman as well as dealing
but eventually ending up as a prop player. He began sharpening his
tournament game and quickly became one of the most successful players in
local area tournaments. It was during this time that he began developing his
reputation for being able to play many different styles.
Chip's breakout year was 2001, when he won the LA Poker Classic's Best
All-Around Player award as an unknown player to the rest of the poker world.
The award was well-deserved - he made the final table of events in seven
card stud hi-lo, Omaha hi-lo, H.O.R.S.E., seven card stud, and no-limit
hold'em. All his accomplishments in Los Angeles landed him on the cover of
Poker Digest a few weeks later. He made three more final tables at Foxwoods,
Tunica, and the Orleans Open in Las Vegas. It was also the year he met and
married his wife Karina. In 2002 Chip finally won his first tournaments as a
touring professional, taking down one in no-limit hold'em and another in
seven card stud hi-lo within three days at Foxwoods. After placing 11th at
the LA Poker Classic Main Event earlier in the year and making three final
tables at the Sweet September in Gardena, his Foxwoods wins were the
capstone to another solid year.
If his previous two years had been full of good performances, 2003 was a true
banner year for Chip Jett. He started off with a bang, making the final
table of the $500 seven card stud hi-lo tournament at the World Poker Open
in Tunica and then one week later winning nearly $130,000 in the $2,000
no-limit hold'em event at the WPO. February's LA Poker Classic saw Chip
perform almost identically, making the final table of the $500 pot-limit
hold'em tournament and winning the $1,000 H.O.E. tournament. His biggest
payday yet came in March when he took 2nd in the Party Poker Million,
cashing for over $175,000, but he soon topped that with his win in the
California State Poker Championship main event worth over $214,000. If that
weren't enough, he made two WSOP final tables and two more WPT final tables
throughout the rest of the year. On top of that, his wife gave birth to
their daughter Athena to cap off a great year.
One of the most impressive things about Chip Jett is that even though he is a
very successful player, he's always trying to improve himself by watching
others. This desire to learn and improve a big part of why he has continued
to place well throughout the decade. It's also why he has been able to
develop a fearless style of play like that employed by such players as Phil
Ivey and Layne Flack. Without the ability to amass chips throughout
tournaments he might not have had the kind of success he's enjoyed in recent
years.
Chip Jett can be quiet at the tables, letting his game do the talking, but he
has a reputation as a friendly and intelligent man. If there's a tournament
with a significant prize in any game, you can count on finding him and his
wife Karina there. You can also count on him doing whatever it takes to win
- he may come up short sometimes, but he is almost always one of the
favorites to make the final table due to his well-rounded play. Few players
are as consistent as Chip Jett, and with good reason: few players work as
hard as he has to reach the top levels of poker.
|
