Joseph Hachem

Joseph Hachem defeated 5618 players to win the Main Event at the 2005 World Series of Poker. His victory earned him a record breaking $7.5 million dollars and forever cast him into the poker limelight.

Joseph Hachem was born in Lebanon on March 11, 1966 but he moved with his family to Melbourne, Australia in 1972. He has lived in Australia ever since and became a chiropractor. In 2002, Hachem abandoned his medical practice as a result of developing a rare form of blood disorder that affects the hands. While pondering what to do moving forward, he decided to start playing poker. Initially, he played poker in casinos but he began to play more and more online poker. In addition to playing poker, Hachem also ran a brokerage business in Pascoe Vale. In 1989, Hachem got married to his wife Jeanie and currently has four children with her; Anthony, Justine, David, and James.

One of the things that Hachem credits with the great improvement in his game was his ability to control his emotions. He has said, “I used to be a lot more excitable. I’m of Lebanese origin so my blood is at boiling temperature at rest. I’m very emotional.”
Developing a more level-headed demeanor helped him to perform more consistently at the table with fewer extreme swings in emotion and success. According to Hachem, he credits his disciplined and focused play with his success at the poker table and has said that he rarely bluffs and almost never bluffs with no outs. Hachem finally broke into poker superstardom when he defeated 5618 players to win the 2005 World Series of Poker Main Event. This victory netted Hachem a record-shattering $7.5 million dollars and solidified his position as an international poker professional. As of October 2009, Hachem has taken home more than $10 million in tournament winnings. In addition to his poker play, Hachem runs a mortgage business and is a promotional celebrity for PokerStars and enjoys playing golf.

Posted by Joel on Sep 29 2010. Filed under Player Profiles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry