Isaac Haxton: Biography, Career and Poker Results

October 20, 2026

Isaac Haxton is an American professional poker player, born in New York in 1985 and raised in Syracuse, who first made his name in high-stakes online cash games and later became one of the most successful players on the high roller tournament circuit. He won the Super High Roller Bowl in 2018 and 2023, captured his first World Series of Poker bracelet in 2023, and as of October 5, 2026 has $66,813,452 in live tournament earnings, according to PokerNews. ^{[1][6][8][13][14]}

Isaac Haxton, seated at a poker table during the Super High Roller Bowl V, 2018 — “Isaac Haxton 2018” by 888poker Spain, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 3.0.

Isaac Haxton: key facts

Full name	Isaac Blum Haxton, known as “Ike” ^[2][16]
Country	United States ^[1]
Born	1985, New York ^[6]
Hometown	Syracuse, New York ^[3][4]
Online name	“luvtheWNBA” ^[1]
Known for	High-stakes online cash games; high roller and super high roller tournaments
WSOP bracelets	1 (72 cashes, 22 final tables on WSOP.com) ^[2]
Major titles	Super High Roller Bowl 2018 and 2023; WSOP $25,000 High Roller 2023; Triton $100,000 PLO Main Event, Jeju 2025 ^{[8][13][14][16]}
Live tournament earnings	$66,813,452 as of October 5, 2026 ^[1]

Early life: chess, Magic and Brown University

Haxton was born in New York in 1985 to a psychiatrist and a college professor. He learned chess at the age of four, and by ten he was regularly beating his father and playing in chess tournaments. In his teens he moved on to Magic: The Gathering, the collectible card game. ^[6] He grew up in Syracuse, where his father taught English, and he skipped the fifth grade. ^[4] Brown Alumni Magazine described him as having become one of the country’s best Magic players. ^[5]

His father is the poet Brooks Haxton, who in 2014 published Fading Hearts on the River: My Son’s Life in Poker, a family memoir about Isaac’s childhood and his rise in poker. ^[7]

Beginning in poker

Several of his Magic-playing friends had already moved to poker when Haxton, at 18, began making trips to the Turning Stone casino in upstate New York to play $3/6 limit hold’em. He treated the game like his schoolwork and read more than thirty strategy books. He enrolled at Brown University as a computer science major and, after winning $1,500 at Turning Stone during his freshman winter break, deposited $50 on UltimateBet and started at $.25/.50 limit hold’em. In his first summer playing full time he moved up from $3/6 to $30/60 limit and earned $40,000. ^[4]

With a six-figure bankroll, he took a year off from school with his parents’ support. ^[4] He later returned to Brown and completed his degree, switching his concentration from computer science to philosophy, with an emphasis on logic and science. ^[5]

His first live tournament result came in January 2007 at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, where he finished second in the World Poker Tour Championship Event to Ryan Daut for $861,789. ^[4][11] His long hair, dark glasses and fearless table manner at that final table briefly earned him the nickname “The Lizard King”. ^[5] Two years later, at the 2009 WSOP, he finished second to Vitaly Lunkin in the $40,000 No-Limit Hold’em event for $1,168,566. ^[5]

Black Friday and the move to Malta

Haxton and his college sweetheart Zoe lived in Las Vegas until April 15, 2011, when the U.S. Department of Justice shut down the major online poker sites in the country, a day known in poker as Black Friday. Because his game was built on high-stakes heads-up and short-handed online play, he decided to leave the United States. The couple married on September 1, 2011 and moved to Malta that month. ^[6]

Playing style

For most of his career Haxton has described online cash games as his specialty. In 2009 PokerNews called them his “bread and butter”, noting that as “luvtheWNBA” he played No-Limit Hold’em cash games at limits up to $500/1,000 and was turning to Pot-Limit Omaha. ^[4] Card Player wrote in 2014 that he was “one of the most successful cash-game players in the history of online poker”. ^[6] His PokerNews profile describes him as “fearless and aggressive”. ^[1] His tournament titles cover several formats, including a win in the first major Short Deck event held in the United States. ^[9]

Greatest achievements

Tournament results

Year	Event	Result	Prize	Source
2018	Super High Roller Bowl V, $300,000 (36 entrants)	1st	$3,672,000	[8]
2025	Triton Jeju II $100,000 PLO Main Event (116 entries)	1st	$2,789,000	[16]
2023	Super High Roller Bowl VIII, $300,000 (20 entrants)	1st	$2,760,000	[14]
2014	Aussie Millions AU$250,000 Challenge	2nd	$2,525,841	[7]
2025	WSOP $100,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha (121 entries)	2nd	$1,972,860	[2]
2023	WSOP $25,000 High Roller, 8-Handed (301 entries)	1st	$1,698,215	[13]
2023	PCA $100,000 7-Handed High Roller (46 entries)	1st	$1,555,360	[12]
2009	WSOP $40,000 No-Limit Hold’em	2nd	$1,168,566	[5]
2023	PCA $100,000 Super High Roller (49 entries, three-way deal)	1st	$1,082,230	[11]
2007	PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, WPT Championship Event	2nd	$861,789	[4]
2023	PokerGO Cup $50,000 No-Limit Hold’em (26 entries)	1st	$598,000	[10]
2018	Poker Masters $10,000 Short Deck (55 entries)	1st	$176,000	[9]

The 2014 Aussie Millions result came in heads-up play against Phil Ivey. ^[7] The 2018 Super High Roller Bowl, which he won by beating Alex Foxen heads-up, remains the largest single prize of his career. ^[8]

2023: seven titles in one year

2023 was the strongest year of his tournament career. He opened it with the PokerGO Cup finale and two $100,000 wins at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, added titles at the U.S. Poker Open and EPT Monte Carlo in the spring, won his first bracelet in June and took his second Super High Roller Bowl in September. Card Player counted seven titles and $15,945,975 in Player of the Year earnings, the most of any player that year, and ranked him second in its 2023 Player of the Year race. He finished first in the PokerGO Tour Player of the Year standings. ^[15]

World Series of Poker

For years Haxton was often listed among the best players without a WSOP bracelet. That ended on June 8, 2023, when he beat Ryan O’Donnell heads-up to win Event #16, the $25,000 High Roller, from a record 301 entries for the buy-in level, for $1,698,215. ^[13] His WSOP.com profile lists one bracelet, 72 cashes, 22 final tables and $12,108,144 in earnings, a total that includes the Triton events shown on that profile. In the 2025 Main Event he finished 99th of 9,735 entries. ^[2]

First Triton title

Haxton had played on the Triton Super High Roller Series since 2017 without a win. On September 21, 2025 in Jeju, South Korea, after 64 cashes, 34 final tables and six runner-up finishes on the tour, he won the $100,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Main Event, beating Nacho Barbero heads-up for $2,789,000. ^[16][17] He is also among the few players with titles both at the WSOP and on the Triton tour. ^[16]

Book about his life

Fading Hearts on the River: My Son’s Life in Poker (2014) was written by his father, Brooks Haxton, a poet who has published a dozen books. PokerNews described it as less a biography than a narrative on love, luck and parenthood, covering Isaac’s childhood, his rise in poker and the family’s response to Black Friday. ^[7]

In his own words

“The rules are so clear, your objective is so clear that everything else sort of melts away and you get to focus in on this one thing and it is simultaneously the most stimulating and most relaxing thing in the world.” On playing games, 2014. ^[6]
“I’ve definitely broadened my horizons and grown up a lot in the past few years because of Black Friday.” 2014. ^[6]
“I don’t think it changes anything about the player I am or my legacy, but damn does it feel good to win a tournament.” After the Super High Roller Bowl, December 2018. ^[8]
“I’ve finished second and third many times for my biggest cashes so it’s nice to finally win.” After his first bracelet, June 2023. ^[13]
“There’s a lot of noise in poker. I’ve won in other places, obviously. I’ve made a lot of final tables, it was bound to work out eventually.” After his first Triton title, September 2025. ^[16]

Iconic hands and moments

The 2007 bluffing duel with Ryan Daut (World Poker Tour)

Super High Roller Bowl V (PokerGO)

Super High Roller Bowl VIII final table (PokerGO)

FAQ about Isaac Haxton

How old is Isaac Haxton?

Isaac Haxton was born in 1985, according to Card Player, which described him as 40 years old in September 2025. ^[6][17]

Where is Isaac Haxton from?

He is American. He was born in New York and grew up in Syracuse, New York. ^[4][6]

What is Isaac Haxton’s net worth?

There is no reliable public figure for his net worth. What can be verified is his live tournament record: $66,813,452 in earnings as of October 5, 2026, according to PokerNews. Much of his career has been spent in online cash games, whose results are not fully published. ^[1]

How many WSOP bracelets does Isaac Haxton have?

One, won in the $25,000 High Roller at the 2023 WSOP for $1,698,215. ^[2][13]

What is Isaac Haxton’s biggest tournament win?

The 2018 Super High Roller Bowl, worth $3,672,000. ^[8]

What is Isaac Haxton’s screen name?

He is known online as “luvtheWNBA”. ^[1]

Who is Isaac Haxton’s wife?

He married Zoe, his college sweetheart, on September 1, 2011. ^[6]

Is there a book about Isaac Haxton?

Yes. His father, Brooks Haxton, wrote the family memoir Fading Hearts on the River: My Son’s Life in Poker, published in 2014. ^[7]

Related Poker Legends

Read more about Phil Ivey, who beat Haxton heads-up at the 2014 Aussie Millions, and about fellow high-stakes regulars Patrik Antonius and Bryn Kenney.