Jennifer Harman
Quite possibly the best cash game player in the world, Jennifer Harman started playing poker when she was 8. Word has it, her father used to call on her to help him out whenever he got stuck in a game he couldn't beat.
When she decided to become a poker professional, things got sour between her and her dad, problems that are currently settled, though.
Being a woman in a game dominated by men, was probably not easy for Jennifer, but the same fact gave her the opportunity to set quite a few records.
To this day, she is the only female poker player to be in possession of two WSOP bracelets. The way she obtained her first one is quite a story: she reached the final table in a game she'd never played prior to that event, (Deuce to seven Lowball, NL) She did receive a few minutes tutoring from Howard Lederer, though. Sure enough, she emerged victorious and secured her first WSOP bracelet.
The second bracelet came in 2002, at the $5K FL Holdem table where she outlasted and eventually beat players like Mimi Tran, and Humberto Brennes. Her lifetime poker earnings total around $1,700,000, which is more than respectable, no matter how you look at it.
In the past, Jennifer had been known as a cash game player. She's the only woman to play at the Bellagio $4,000/$8,000 and one of the very few players who can consistently beat the game. Nowadays, though, she's set her sight on tournament play too, and has been quite successful at forging a name for herself there.
Jennifer Harman is one of the most prominent spokespersons for the game of poker, she's given countless interviews, and appeared numerous times on television.
What you also need to know about Jennifer Harman, the person and not the poker player, is that she's been plagued by problems with her kidneys ever since childhood. Apparently, she and her sister inherited the condition from their mother, who had died of the same cause.
Jennifer had her second kidney transplant in 2004, so if you were wondering why she disappeared from the poker scene around that time, that was the reason. After her successful transplant, she founded the CODA (Creating Organ Donation Awareness) a non-profit organization, with the aim to raise awareness.
These days, Jennifer is a
Full Tilt Poker team member, and, with a little bit of luck, you too can play her online at Full Tilt, together with a host of other poker celebrities.
Jennifer Harman : Poker Player
