Joe Hachem

As of January 2018, Hachem's tournament winnings exceed $12,200,000, making him the 35th highest ranked player in live tournament career earnings.

As of 2018, Hachem's total live tournament winnings exceed $12,200,000, more than $7.9 million of which comes from the World Series of Poker events. He is ranked 27th in live poker tournament career earnings by The Hendon Mob, a website which tracks tournament poker players.

Until December 2011, Hachem represented the online poker website, PokerStars He played under the name "JoeHachem" on the site.

Hachem finished in 103rd place in the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event, which drew a field of 6,494 players earning himself $40,288. Also in 2009, Hachem participated in the fifth season of High Stakes Poker, a cash game television series on the Game Show Network. The season featured a buy-in of at least $200,000, the highest minimum requirement in the show's history. Also in 2009, Hachem produced and hosts the Australian reality show The Poker Star, which characterizes Hachem as a poker mentor searching for the next big player. The show features a group of contestants living together in one house and competing in a series of poker-related challenges.

Hachem was inducted into the Australian Poker Hall of Fame in 2009 with "Legend Status", to which he now serves as Chairman.

Hachem and his World Series main event win have been credited with starting a boom in popularity for poker in Australia. Hachem continued playing home games with his friends after his main event victory. In 2008, it was announced a documentary film focusing on Hachem's 2005 World Series of Poker victory, as well as the eight other players at the main event final table, is under production. The film "Pass the Sugar", is set to be directed by Gil Cates Jr., who previously directed the 2008 poker-themed film, Deal.

At the 2006 World Series of Poker, Hachem finished second in the $2,500 short-handed no limit hold 'em event, which drew 1,068 players. During the final hand, Hachem went all in with A ♠  Q ♣ and was called by Dutch Boyd, who had A ♦  5 ♥ . Although a favorite after the flop of A ♥  K ♣  9 ♠ , Hachem lost when Boyd caught a five of diamonds on the river. Hachem won $256,800 from the second-place finish, but was nevertheless visibly disappointed by the outcome, and was comforted by his wife Jeanine and friend Greg Raymer, the 2004 World Series of Poker champion.

Also in the 2006 World Series, Hachem finished fourth in the $2,500 pot limit hold'em tournament, which had a starting field of 562 players. In the final table, Hachem eliminated Lee Grove with a pair of kings and Alex Jacob with three queens. But Hachem was eliminated after once again taking a bad beat on the river. He moved all in against John Gale with K ♦  9 ♥ on a K ♠  8 ♥  4 ♣  3 ♣ , against Gale's A ♣  3 ♦ . Gale eliminated Hachem after catching an ace of spades on the river. Hachem earned $90,482 for the fourth-place finish, and Gale eventually won the tournament.

Hachem finished in 238th place at the 2006 World Series Main Event, earning him $42,882. In defense of his 2005 title, Hachem outlasted about 97% of the record field of 8,773 players in the tournament. Hachem was eliminated after his pocket Aces were outdrawn by Andrew Schreibman's pocket Jacks. He was the last remaining Main Event champion left in the field, as Greg Raymer had been the year before.

In December 2006, Hachem won $2,207,575 and his first World Poker Tour title at the Bellagio Casino's Five Diamonds Poker Classic. The victory made Hachem one of only six poker players to win both a World Series of Poker main event and a World Poker Tour championship, along with Doyle Brunson, Carlos Mortensen, Scotty Nguyen, Dan Harrington and Ryan Riess.

Hachem won the "World Series of Poker Champions II" tournament on NBC's Poker After Dark on a table consisting of Main Event winners Doyle Brunson, Greg Raymer, Jamie Gold, Huck Seed, and Johnny Chan, whom he defeated heads up to win $120,000. In 2006, Hachem appeared in Poker Superstars III, but failed to advance to the Super 16 round by only one point. In December 2007, Hachem won the Poker Stars Asia Pacific Poker Tour Tournament of Champions, which included a field of such players as Raymer, Chris Moneymaker and Isabelle Mercier. In April 2008, Hachem came close to the final table of the PokerStars EPT Monte Carlo Grand Final, finish in 11th place for more than $150,000.

Just prior to entering the 2005 World Series of Poker, Hachem visited the Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens, California to play in a no limit Texas hold 'em game. One of the players made a joke that Hachem was stopping in before being crowned the new "Australian champion". Hachem entered the World Series of Poker as a relatively unknown poker player. Two weeks prior to the main event, Hachem finished 10th in the $1,000 buy-in No Limit Hold'em World Series event, winning $25,850.

Hachem won the 2005 World Series of Poker $10,000 no limit Texas hold 'em Main Event, outlasting 5,618 other players. He won $7,500,000 for the first-place finish, then a record for all-time largest poker tournament prize. He entered the tournament by paying the $10,000 entrance fee in cash. Hachem ended the first day of the tournament with 67,000 in chips, about twice the average, and he said the strong start gave him confidence going into the rest of the tournament. Hachem's chip stack stayed at the tournament average for most of the tournament until he reached the final table, which lasted a record 13 hours and 54 minutes. A number of fellow Australians provided moral support from the audience, chanting "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi!".

Also in 2005, Hachem made the final table of a World Series of Poker circuit event at the Bally's Las Vegas Hotel and Casino casino in Las Vegas. Hachem was the chip leader during much of the final table, but suffered a crippling setback against Kido Pham, who went all in with a Jack and ten. Hachem called with pocket kings, but lost when two jacks came up on the flop, costing Hachem almost all of his chips. He was eventually eliminated by Lee Watkinson in fifth place, earning Hachem $88,172. After the match, Hachem said, "I came here wanting to avoid making any mistakes. The fact is, I didn't make a mistake. I'm proud of the way I played in this tournament, although it is very painful not to win.

Hachem said he believes his discipline and control helps him make good decisions at the right time. He credited his success at the 2005 World Series of Poker in part to his ability to make difficult laydowns. Hachem has also advised amateur players against bluffing too often or without any outs. Hachem said he rarely bluffs without any outs, and only does so when "you're confident the other guy can't stand the heat of a raise." Hachem said he tries to maintain the same poker face for each hand. During intense hands, he focuses on a point on the table, keeps his breathing under control and tries not to give away any information. Hachem has said he likes playing at featured tables in televised poker tournaments because, "Everyone wants to be on TV, and they are afraid to do anything silly so they don't get ridiculed. I try and take advantage of that." Hachem's talent and personality has drawn him a large fanbase, and people often surround his table to watch him during tournaments. Hachem is widely regarded as one of the best high-stakes cash game players in Australia.

Actor Matt Damon, who starred in the 1998 poker film Rounders, is a fan of Hachem and has played poker with him. Damon said of Hachem, "Poker can bring out the worst in people, but when you see somebody who's just winning with grace and class and dignity, it's nice."

Hachem has been married since 1989 to Jeanie, who he has known since both were teenagers. They have four children named Anthony, Justine, Daniel, and James. Hachem said his wife was extremely supportive of his decision to seek a career in poker and participate in the World Series of Poker in 2005. His children also play poker, and Hachem said he believes it teaches them discipline and how to handle adversity.

Joseph Hachem (Arabic: جوزف هاشم ‎; /ˈ h æ ʃ əm / ; born 11 March 1966) is a Lebanese Australian professional poker player known for being the first Australian to win the World Series of Poker main event which earned him $7.5 million, then a record for all-time biggest tournament prize.

Joseph Hachem was born in Lebanon on 11 March 1966. In 1972, at age six, Hachem and his family moved to Melbourne, Australia. He worked as a chiropractor for 13 years before giving up the career after developing a rare blood disorder that affected the blood vessels in his hands. Around 1995, while taking time off to consider his future, Hachem started to play poker with greater frequency, mostly in casinos, as well as online. He also ran a small brokerage business in Pascoe Vale, Victoria. Hachem said he was too temperamental when he first started playing poker and had to learn to control his temper. Around 2000, after years of casual playing, Hachem started playing regularly in tournaments at the Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex in Melbourne, where he often ended in the money. Hachem spent another five years playing regularly on the Melbourne tournament circuit before setting his sights on the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, Nevada.