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Kathy Liebert is an American professional poker player, born in Nashville, Tennessee, on October 1, 1967. In 2002 she won the inaugural Party Poker Million, becoming the first woman to win a tournament with a $1,000,000 first prize, and in 2004 she won a World Series of Poker bracelet in the $1,500 Limit Hold’em Shootout. She was inducted into the Women in Poker Hall of Fame in 2010 and has been a finalist for the Poker Hall of Fame several times. [1][3][8]
Kathy Liebert: key facts
| Full name | Kathy Liebert |
|---|---|
| Country | United States [1] |
| Born | October 1, 1967, Nashville, Tennessee [3] |
| Lives in | Las Vegas, Nevada [8] |
| Known for | First woman to win a tournament with a $1,000,000 first prize (Party Poker Million, 2002) [1][4] |
| WSOP bracelets | 1 ($1,500 Limit Hold’em Shootout, 2004) [2] |
| Women in Poker Hall of Fame | Inducted 2010 [8] |
| Poker Hall of Fame | Finalist in 2022, 2023 and 2025 [5][6][7] |
| Live tournament earnings | $7,359,040 as of October 5, 2026; 3rd on the all-time female money list [1][9] |
Early life: from Wall Street to poker
Liebert was born in Nashville and grew up on Long Island, New York. She started playing poker at the age of 12 with friends and family, bought a book on winning at poker and kept a record of her results on its inside cover. [3]
After graduating with a double major in business and finance, she took a job as a business analyst at Dun & Bradstreet on Wall Street. She stayed for about a year, and her stock investments gave her a modest bankroll. PokerNews writer Al Moe reported that her mother had told her to “do something you love and the money will follow.” She then took classes at the University of California at San Diego before moving to Colorado. [3]
Beginning in poker
In Colorado, the new casinos in Black Hawk and Cripple Creek spread $5 limit poker. Liebert played those games, read poker books and took a job as a proposition player, and she also played home games with limits as high as $10/$20. [3] According to PokerNews, she propped for about a year and a half before friends encouraged her to play tournaments in Las Vegas, and she started there in 1994 in low buy-in events, moving up in buy-ins over the following years. [4]
The first major tournament she played paid her $11,000, and later the same week she cashed for $21,000 in a $230 buy-in Limit Hold’em event. [3] Her recorded cashes date back to 1994 and include Amarillo Slim’s Superbowl of Poker and the California State Championship. [1] Her first big World Series result came in 1997, when she finished second of 217 entries in the $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em event for $123,690. [2]
Playing style
Descriptions of her game differ. In 2006, Al Moe of PokerNews described her as a talker at the table, whose conversation could be “a useful sword”, and as an aggressive player who had succeeded in both limit and no-limit hold’em. [3] In 2009, Amy Zupko of PokerNews called her play “conservative, solid, grinder-like” and pointed to her quiet demeanor and total concentration at the table. [4]
Greatest achievements
The 2002 Party Poker Million
In 2002 Liebert won the first Party Poker Million, held on a cruise, for a $1,000,000 first prize. She beat a final table that included Phil Hellmuth, Chris Ferguson and Mel Judah, and the win made her the first woman to take a $1 million prize in a poker tournament. [1] The three players left at the end, Liebert, Berj Kacherian and Hellmuth, made a deal, so her take-home was about half the stated amount, but she finished first. The event was not part of the World Poker Tour in 2002. [3]
Tournament results
| Year | Event | Result | Prize | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Party Poker Million | 1st | $1,000,000 (first prize, before a final-table deal) | [1][3] |
| 2009 | WPT Bay 101 (391 entries) | 2nd | $550,000 | [2] |
| 2005 | WPT Borgata championship event (515 entries) | 3rd | $427,115 | [2] |
| 2008 | WSOP $10,000 Pot-Limit Hold’em Championship (352 entries) | 3rd | $306,064 | [2] |
| 2006 | WPT Foxwoods championship event (609 entries) | 5th | $257,579 | [2] |
| 2008 | WPT Niagara Fallsview C$10,000 No-Limit Hold’em (454 entries) | 3rd | C$319,337 | [2] |
| 2022 | WSOP $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold’em Championship (7,188 entries) | 5th | $186,541 | [2] |
| 1997 | WSOP $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em (217 entries) | 2nd | $123,690 | [2] |
| 2006 | WSOP Circuit Harrah’s Rincon $10,000 Main Event (109 entries) | 3rd | $113,905 | [2] |
| 2004 | WSOP $1,500 Limit Hold’em Shootout (240 entries) | 1st | $110,180 | [2] |
| 2003 | WSOP $1,500 Limit Hold’em (346 entries) | 2nd | $91,700 | [2] |
World Series of Poker
Liebert’s only bracelet came at the 2004 World Series at Binion’s Horseshoe, where she won the $1,500 Limit Hold’em Shootout from a field of 240 for $110,180. A year earlier she had finished second in a $1,500 Limit Hold’em event for $91,700. [2] She has also gone deep in the Main Event twice, finishing 17th of 350 in 1998 for $30,000 and 17th of 512 in 2000 for $39,120. [2]
PokerNews counts 106 WSOP cashes worth $1.4 million. [1] Her WSOP.com profile, which also lists her World Poker Tour, PokerGO Tour and European Poker Tour results, shows one bracelet, one Circuit ring, 23 final tables, 226 cashes and $3,932,937 in earnings. The ring came in an online WSOP Circuit event in November 2022, where she beat a field of 151 for $18,641. [2]
Later career
Liebert has kept playing a full tournament schedule. In 2022 she finished fifth of 7,188 entries in the WSOP $1,000 Seniors Championship for $186,541. [2] On August 16, 2024 she won the $300 Ladies Event of the Wynn Signature Series in Las Vegas, topping a field of 41 for $5,806; PokerNews noted that it was her first live tournament win in over a decade. [8] As of October 5, 2026, her live tournament earnings stand at $7,359,040, third on the PokerNews all-time female money list behind Kristen Foxen and Vanessa Selbst. [1][9]
Halls of fame
Liebert was inducted into the Women in Poker Hall of Fame in 2010. [8] In 2022 she was voted onto the list of ten Poker Hall of Fame finalists by fans for the first time; PokerNews noted at the time that her $6.5 million in earnings put her first on Tennessee’s all-time money list. [5] She returned as a finalist in 2023, when PokerNews summed up her case as “One of the top female poker players of all time, a WSOP bracelet winner, and a trailblazer for women in poker.” [6] She was a finalist again in 2025. [7] As of October 2026 she has not been inducted; the most recent inductee listed by PokerNews is Jason Koon, in 2026. [10]
In her own words
- “If that had been a WPT event, I would have been the first woman to win a WPT event.” On the 2002 Party Poker Million, speaking to PokerNews in 2011. [1]
- “I did well in tournaments but I never played beyond my means.” On her early bankroll management, 2009. [4]
- “I had an envelope that I put my winnings in. That was my poker money. Pretty soon the envelope was overflowing and that is when I moved up in limits.” 2009. [4]
- “I enjoy the game. It has become this major thing in my life. I just made slow and steady progress.” 2009. [4]
- Poker is a game that “rewards patience, discipline, observation, and the ability to make intelligent decisions quickly.” 2006. [3]
Iconic hands and moments
WPT Bay 101 final table, 2009
Kathy Liebert at the Gold Strike World Poker Open (World Poker Tour)
FAQ about Kathy Liebert
How old is Kathy Liebert?
Kathy Liebert was born on October 1, 1967, so she is 59 as of October 5, 2026. [3]
Where is Kathy Liebert from?
She is American. She was born in Nashville, Tennessee, grew up on Long Island, New York, and lives in Las Vegas. [3][8]
What is Kathy Liebert’s net worth?
There is no reliable public figure for her net worth. What can be verified is her live tournament record: $7,359,040 in earnings as of October 5, 2026, according to PokerNews. [1]
How many WSOP bracelets does Kathy Liebert have?
One. She won the $1,500 Limit Hold’em Shootout at the 2004 World Series of Poker for $110,180. [2]
What is Kathy Liebert’s best WSOP Main Event finish?
17th, which she reached twice: in 1998 (of 350 entries) and in 2000 (of 512 entries). [2]
Is Kathy Liebert in the Poker Hall of Fame?
Not as of October 2026. She was a finalist in 2022, 2023 and 2025, and she has been a member of the Women in Poker Hall of Fame since 2010. [5][6][7][8][10]
What was Kathy Liebert’s biggest win?
The 2002 Party Poker Million, which carried a $1,000,000 first prize. A three-way deal at the end meant she took home about half of that amount. [1][3]
What did Kathy Liebert do before poker?
She worked for about a year as a business analyst at Dun & Bradstreet on Wall Street after earning a double major in business and finance. [3]
Related Poker Legends
Read more about Phil Hellmuth, one of her opponents at the 2002 Party Poker Million final table, Vanessa Selbst, who ranks ahead of her on the all-time female money list, and Jennifer Harman.
Sources
- PokerNews, Kathy Liebert player profile, accessed October 5, 2026.
- WSOP.com, Kathy Liebert player profile, accessed October 5, 2026.
- PokerNews, Legends of Poker: Kathy Liebert, by Al Moe, January 17, 2006.
- PokerNews, Women’s Poker Spotlight: Kathy Liebert, by Amy Zupko, February 19, 2009.
- PokerNews, Josh Arieh, Kathy Liebert & Brian Rast Among 2022 Poker Hall of Fame Finalists, June 22, 2022.
- PokerNews, Familiar Faces Among 2023 Poker Hall of Fame Nominations, June 22, 2023.
- PokerNews, Seiver, Galfond, Schulman Newcomers Among Poker Hall of Fame Finalists, June 2025.
- PokerNews, Women in Poker Hall of Famer Kathy Liebert Wins Wynn Ladies Event, August 19, 2024.
- PokerNews, Poker Players All-time Female Money List, accessed October 5, 2026.
- PokerNews, Best Poker Players (Poker Hall of Fame section), accessed October 5, 2026.
Last verified: October 5, 2026. Figures that change over time, such as career earnings, are given with the date they were checked.
