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When talking about women and poker, it is inevitable that this discussion will include Kathy Liebert. Often touted as a pioneer for women in poker, Liebert has enjoyed a profitable 10 years as a touring professional. Liebert’s triumphs include being the winner of the inaugural Party Poker million-dollar tournament, which made her the first woman ever to win a million dollar prize.
Kathy Liebert did not start out with high stakes games or even large wins but started playing poker in her early teens with friends and family in low stake home games. These nickel, dime, and quarter games started Liebert on her way to being a professional poker player. Born in Long Island, New York, Liebert moved to Colorado in 1991 where she began playing low-limit poker. She then became a prop player where she performed a valuable role in casinos, being paid to fill a chair so that more tables can be active at any one time. Although not a luxurious type job, it is the perfect opportunity to receive on the job training for a poker player!
Liebert entered her first tournament in 1994, and has earned a steady stream of accolades since then. In both 1997 and 1999, she made the list of top 12 poker tournament players of the year, one of only two women to do so. In 2004, Liebert won her first World Series of Poker Bracelet, taking top spot in the 2004 Limit Hold'em Shootout, an event she had placed second in just one year before. Additionally, she has made a number of final table appearances at World Poker Tour events.
Other remarkable achievements include notching a first place finish in No Limit Hold'Em at the 2003 Winning of the Green, and taking first in Omaha HiLo at the 2003 Poker Derby. Without doubt, Liebert’s biggest win came in 2002 when she won the inaugural Poker Party Million tournament's grand prize of $1 million (although a deal with two other players meant that she only took home about half of the prize).
However, Liebert is not just a poker player in that she has a degree in Business and Finance from Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY just in case she needs something on which to fall back. In fact, Liebert spent a year working as an analyst for Dunn and Bradstreet, and currently uses this business acumen to help her invest her winnings wisely in the stock market and other types of investments.
Liebert credits her success to three specific things - practice, competitiveness, and her reading of copious amounts of poker books and guides. While the competitiveness is a part of her makeup, the practice came with many hours of playing low limit games in the smaller card rooms of Colorado and Las Vegas. When she is not on tour or playing in tournaments all over the world, Liebert splits her time between living in Downey, California and playing poker in Las Vegas.
The Goddess Asks
Who do you think is currently the best female poker player?
KATHY LIEBERT