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Jennifer Harman is an American professional poker player from Reno, Nevada, born on November 29, 1964, and a member of the Poker Hall of Fame since 2015. Her reputation was built mainly in the highest-stakes cash games in Las Vegas. In tournaments she won two World Series of Poker bracelets, in 2000 and 2002, and at the time she was the first woman to win two open WSOP bracelets, meaning events other than the Ladies Event. [1][3]
Jennifer Harman: key facts
| Full name | Jennifer Harman |
|---|---|
| Country | United States [1] |
| Born | November 29, 1964, Reno, Nevada [1] |
| Known for | High-stakes cash games in Las Vegas, mixed games, first woman with two open WSOP bracelets [1][3] |
| Poker Hall of Fame | Inducted 2015 [3] |
| WSOP bracelets | 2 (2000 No-Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball, 2002 Limit Hold’em) [2] |
| WSOP.com record | 62 cashes, 16 final tables, $2,586,979 [2] |
| Live tournament earnings | $3,013,948 as of October 5, 2026 [1] |
Early life and health
Harman learned cards at home. In a 2007 profile for Card Player, Todd Brunson wrote that her mother dealt to her and her cousins when she was 8, that her father let her play his chips in his game when she was 13, and that at 16 she was already sneaking into casinos to play stud. On one visit she noticed a hold’em game, sat down and stayed with hold’em for years, returning to stud only when mixed games required it. After high school she attended the University of Nevada, Reno, and kept playing in Reno card rooms such as the Peppermill and the Hilton. [5]
Kidney disease has been part of her life since she was young. Her mother died from kidney failure, and Harman has received two kidney transplants. [1] In 2004 she missed the World Series of Poker while waiting for the second operation, and the kidney was donated by her niece. [4] She later founded the non-profit Creating Organ Donation Awareness (CODA). [1] When she was selected for the Hall of Fame, PokerNews noted that she also used poker to raise money for the National Kidney Foundation and the Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. [3]
In 2007 Brunson wrote that she lived in Las Vegas with her husband, Marco, and that the couple had just had two baby boys. [5] In a 2017 interview she described herself as divorced and a mother of two. [6]
Beginning in poker: from Reno to the Big Game
According to the same Card Player profile, Harman moved from Reno to Los Angeles, where she worked as a bartender until a poker friend told her how good the games were at the Bicycle Club. She quit her job, and that was her last traditional employment. She then followed the high-stakes games to the East Coast and Atlantic City before settling in Las Vegas, where she helped keep a new $50-$100 hold’em game running. Shortly afterwards the “Big Game” started, and she became one of its regulars. [5]
Her earliest results on WSOP.com date from 1996, when she finished 6th in a $2,500 Pot-Limit Hold’em event for $15,750. [2]
Playing style
Todd Brunson, a longtime friend, described her approach in 2007: “Jennifer’s style ranges from average to loose, always on the aggressive side. She is very adept at reading her opponents while leaving them little to pick up on.” [5]
Harman herself treats formats separately. In 2005 she told PokerNews: “I feel that Limit and No-Limit are two totally different games,” and added that she plays far more aggressively in cash games than in tournaments. [4] Her two bracelets came in No-Limit 2-7 Single Draw and Limit Texas Hold’em, and many of her deepest WSOP runs were in mixed and stud games such as Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo, H.O.R.S.E. and Razz. [2]
Greatest achievements
High-stakes cash games
Cash game results are not published, so this part of her career rests on what others have written. When she was selected for the Hall of Fame, PokerNews wrote that the impressiveness of her career “is largely tied to her long-time success in the highest cash game in the world” and that she had been a staple at the highest stakes in Las Vegas for more than a decade. [3] In 2005 PokerNews reported that she had won the largest pot ever contested in a cash game up to then, $1.7 million. [4] Todd Brunson called her the only woman to “survive in the Big Game” for any length of time. [5] In a 2017 interview, Somuchpoker noted that she played against the banker Andy Beal as part of the group of professionals known as “The Corporation” a few days after her second kidney transplant. [6]
World Series of Poker bracelets
Her first bracelet came in May 2000 in the $5,000 No-Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball event, which had 30 entries, for $146,250. [2] It was her first time playing the game, and the story, confirmed by PokerNews, is that Howard Lederer gave her a five-minute lesson beforehand. [1] Two years later she won the $5,000 Limit Hold’em event, from 113 entries, for $212,440. [2] At the time this made her the first woman to win two open WSOP bracelets; Vanessa Selbst, Loni Harwood and Kristen Bicknell have since done the same. [1]
Tournament results
| Year | Event | Result | Prize | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | WSOP Circuit Rio Las Vegas $10,000 Main Event (222 entries) | 2nd | $383,840 | [2] |
| 2008 | WPT Bay 101 $9,600 + $400 Championship Event (376 entries) | 3rd | $330,000 | [2] |
| 2004 | WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic, Bellagio (376 entries) | 4th | $299,492 | [2][4] |
| 2002 | WSOP $5,000 Limit Hold’em (113 entries) | 1st | $212,440 | [2] |
| 2010 | WSOP $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship (170 entries) | 3rd | $173,159 | [2] |
| 2000 | WSOP $5,000 No-Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball (30 entries) | 1st | $146,250 | [2] |
| 2024 | WSOP $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship (186 entries) | 5th | $93,615 | [2] |
| 2005 | WSOP $2,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better (279 entries) | 3rd | $53,903 | [2] |
| 2007 | WSOP Europe Event #1, £2,500 H.O.R.S.E. (105 entries) | 2nd | £40,688 | [2] |
| 2010 | WSOP $2,500 Razz (365 entries) | 6th | $33,890 | [2] |
The December 2004 final table came in the same year as her second transplant, a return PokerNews described “as a combatant, not a railbird”. [4] She is still active: at the 2026 WSOP she cashed twice, including 33rd of 884 entries in the $5,000 8-Handed No-Limit Hold’em for $19,118. [2]
Her WSOP.com profile lists 62 cashes, 16 final tables and $2,586,979 in earnings, totals that also include the WSOP Circuit and World Poker Tour events shown on that profile, and ranks her 6th on its all-time list for women. It lists no cash in the WSOP Main Event. [2]
Poker Hall of Fame, 2015
Harman and John Juanda were selected as the Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2015, becoming its 49th and 50th members, with the induction held on November 6 at Binion’s Gambling Hall in Las Vegas. At the time PokerNews listed more than $2.7 million in tournament earnings, two World Poker Tour final tables and 12 WSOP final tables, and described her as the first woman to win multiple WSOP bracelets in open events. Ty Stewart of the Hall of Fame governing council said: “Both Jen and John are well-respected, long-time poker players who have paid their dues and deserving to represent the 2015 Class of the Poker Hall of Fame.” [3]
Super/System 2
Harman has not published a book of her own, but Doyle Brunson asked her to write the Limit Hold’em section of Super/System 2. [4] Todd Brunson noted in 2007 that she was the only woman ever selected to write in either of the Super System books. [5] Asked how many secrets she gave away, she said: “I basically wrote the chapter based on how I’ve been playing Limit Hold ‘Em for years.” [4]
Notable TV appearances
Harman played in the first season of High Stakes Poker, and PokerGO has published both a full episode and a hand in which she bluffs Daniel Negreanu. [7][9] She also appeared in the televised coverage of the 2005 WSOP Main Event, in a straight flush against full house hand with Cory Zeidman. [8]
In her own words
- “I won the bracelet when I didn’t know the game beforehand. Howard basically gave me a sheet to study, with what hands to play in what positions.” On her first bracelet, 2017. [6]
- “When I started playing, I was 16 and sneaking into casinos, but I was welcomed pretty easily.” 2017. [6]
- “I can be emotional sometimes, but my chips are not.” 2017. [6]
- “At Bobby’s Room we kind of live in a cave.” On the closed world of high-stakes cash games, 2017. [6]
- Being in the Poker Hall of Fame “means that you’ve gained the respect of other players through the years”. 2017. [6]
Iconic hands and moments
Jennifer Harman bluffs Daniel Negreanu on High Stakes Poker
Straight flush against full house: Harman vs. Cory Zeidman, 2005 WSOP Main Event
High Stakes Poker, Season 1, Episode 12 (full episode)
FAQ about Jennifer Harman
What is Jennifer Harman’s net worth?
There is no reliable public figure for her net worth. What can be verified is her live tournament record: $3,013,948 in earnings as of October 5, 2026, according to PokerNews. Most of her career was spent in high-stakes cash games, whose results are not published. [1]
How old is Jennifer Harman?
She was born on November 29, 1964, in Reno, Nevada, so she is 61 as of October 5, 2026. [1]
Does Jennifer Harman still play poker?
Yes. Her WSOP.com profile shows cashes at the 2024, 2025 and 2026 World Series of Poker, including 5th place in the 2024 $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship. [2]
What health problems has Jennifer Harman had?
She has had kidney disease and has received two kidney transplants. [1] The second, in 2004, kept her out of that year’s World Series of Poker. [4]
How many WSOP bracelets has Jennifer Harman won?
Two: the $5,000 No-Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball in 2000 and the $5,000 Limit Hold’em in 2002. [2]
Has Jennifer Harman cashed in the WSOP Main Event?
Her WSOP.com results list shows no Main Event cash. [2] She played the 2005 Main Event, where one of her hands was televised. [8]
When was Jennifer Harman inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame?
In 2015, together with John Juanda. [3]
What TV shows has Jennifer Harman been on?
She played in the first season of High Stakes Poker and appeared in the 2005 WSOP Main Event broadcast. [8][9]
Has Jennifer Harman written a book?
Not a book of her own, but she wrote the Limit Hold’em section of Doyle Brunson’s Super/System 2. [4]
Related Poker Legends
Read more about Daniel Negreanu, her opponent in the High Stakes Poker hands above, Vanessa Selbst, who later also won two open WSOP bracelets, and Phil Ivey, a fellow Poker Hall of Fame member.
Sources
- PokerNews, Jennifer Harman player profile, accessed October 5, 2026.
- WSOP.com, Jennifer Harman player profile, accessed October 5, 2026.
- PokerNews, Jen Harman and John Juanda Selected as Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2015, October 2015.
- PokerNews, Jennifer Harman: Back and Better Than Ever, March 21, 2005.
- Card Player, Todd Brunson, Player Profiles: Jennifer Harman, March 1, 2007.
- Somuchpoker, An Exclusive Conversation with Poker Legend Jennifer Harman, 2017.
- PokerGO on YouTube, Jennifer Harman BLUFFS Daniel Negreanu on High Stakes Poker!
- PokerGO on YouTube, Straight Flush vs Full House in 2005 WSOP Main Event: Jennifer Harman vs Cory Zeidman
- PokerGO on YouTube, High Stakes Poker, Season 1 Episode 12 with Jennifer Harman and Daniel Negreanu (full episode)
Last verified: October 5, 2026. Figures that change over time, such as career earnings, are given with the date they were checked.
