What would you do if you were shadowed? Probably be counting your millions, is the answer most likely to come from real poker fans! That’s because ‘The Shadow’ is the nickname of one of the most skillful poker pros and WSOP millionaires today – Jerry Yang!
A native of Laos, Jerry The Poker Cranium Yang was named Xao but made famous by his American name, adopted when he and his family were forced to flee their Hmong roots due to Communist rule in their country during the 1970’s after a brief stopover at a Thai refugee camp. That was a trying time for Jerry’s family as he lost a sister and brother during the 4 years they spent at the camp but help from the US government helped the family settle down in Southern California and move on in life.
Jerry is currently a resident of Temecula, CA in the United States and has his school studies backing him all the way besides a graduation and master’s degree in the subject of health psychology should he want to change tracks ever. His interests also include missionary work, for which he took some time off though Jerry has also worked in the field of social work and as a professional psychotherapist too.
Jerry is married and lives with his wife and their 6 children who are his priority but does manage to pull in a few casual poker games amid family responsibilities, since his love for poker is hard to resist, especially after experiencing a good result during 2006. That was the time when Jerry had entered a $225 satellite tournament event and won a seat in the 2007 WSOP main event valued at $10, 000 from his hometown’s local Pechanga Resort and Casino. The satellite event prize helped him win a seat and his gaming skills helped him reach the final table, slowly but steadily working his way up from being the 8th in chips to leading with all chips and making the headlines by beating Tuan Lam in the heads-up event for his first WSOP bracelet – and the cool prize of $8,250,000 of course!
What makes Jerry Yang stand out from other WSOP satellite millionaires is his abiding love for social work and the underprivileged and being one to perform deeds rather than indulge in empty talk, Jerry donated 10% of his winnings to many charities, like the Make-a-Wish foundation, the Ronald McDonald House and Feed the Children. It was his way of giving back to those who were less fortunate.
His kindness may have something to do with his consistent luck at the poker matches because Jerry has done just as well in recent times with a 5th place finish during the NBC National Heads Up Poker event of 2010, which was valued at $75,000 payout and he continued to donate a share of his win to charity while also aiding other non-profit organizations by participating in charity tournaments to raise funds for their humanitarian efforts.
Having played poker for only 2 years before he took up his favorite game style – No Limit Holdem Poker – as an interest, Jerry aims at being the most respected player in poker history globally and wants to start his own business sometime soon.
He has varied hobbies that are dimensionally different from gambling, like dancing, water sports, hiking, charity work, listening to jazz and pop music besides watching Disney movies. He greatly admires poker players Howard Lederer, Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan besides Jennifer Harman and Phil Hellmuth.
Jerry’s biggest dream is to transform the whole world into a poker table!