‘PearlJammed’ Turner ousted in 100th place

Take an informal survey of every person who’s ever played poker on the internet and it’s likely that, at some point, they’ve been jammed on by “PearlJammed.”

Jon Turner is a legendary online poker crusher, and his musically inspired screen name — or some variation thereof — has been a fixture at every major internet card room for the past decade.

The former Henderson resident enjoyed the deepest run of his career in the World Series of Poker $10,000 buy-in No-limit Texas Hold ’em World Championship, but was eliminated in 100th place on the first hand after the dinner break Saturday on Day 5 at the Rio Convention Center.

Belgium’s Kenny Hallaert was the unofficial leader when play resumed at 10 p.m. The Main Event continues Sunday at the Rio with Day 6 and runs through Monday when the tournament plays down to the final nine players.

“I finally did make Day 5. That’s definitely a monkey off my back,” Turner said early Saturday at the conclusion of play on Day 4. “I guess it’s weird because you get to the final couple tables of (World Poker Tour events), which I bubbled two recently, and that’s awesome. You’ve got a little bit of excitement when you get close to a final table, but there’s a lot more excitement here with 400 players left.

“It’s a totally different ball game, completely life-changing money up top. It could change our lives in the end, but regardless, you’ve just got to enjoy the experience.”

Turner started playing poker as a student at North Carolina State and moved to the valley in 2005 after building a bankroll playing live cash games.

Soon after, Turner discovered online poker, and playing under the handles “PearlJammed” or “PearlJammer,” he has amassed more than $7.7 million in winnings, according to PocketFives.com.

“I’m just a huge fan. I’ve been to about 40 concerts,” Turner said of the origin of his screen names. “At the poker table … discussions of the band always come up. There was one guy at my table to start (Friday), he’s been to 10 shows.”

Turner’s largest online cash was in April 2009 when he took third in PokerStars’ Spring Championship of Online Poker Main Event for $527,100. But he was devastated by the federal government’s crackdown on online poker in 2011 and eventually sold his house here in 2013.

Turner now resides in Florida when he’s not out of the country playing poker online.

“It’s been difficult. That’s all the negative, but I’m hanging in there,” Turner said. “The last year or so has been really good in poker, and I’m feeling great about my game these days. I had a rough series to start, but it turned around.”

Turner finished fifth in the $1,500 buy-in “Summer Solstice” No-limit Hold’em event for $98,617 and made the money in three other WSOP events this summer. He has 44 career in-the-money finishes at the WSOP for more than $1.1 million.

“There’s probably not a lot of players that have made more final tables here without a bracelet,” Turner said.

Turner, whose best game is 2-7 Lowball, made the money of the Main Event for the fifth time. His previous best was in 2008 when he finished in 225th place.

“It’s cool to have been near the top of the chip counts for a lot of it,” Turner said. “I guess it’s a confidence booster in a way. It feels good. I know that to maintain a big stack means I know I’m playing really well.”

Contact reporter David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidSchoenLVRJ