Barbara Enright: Biography, Career and Poker Results

June 2, 2025
Updated October 18, 2026

Barbara Enright is an American professional poker player from Los Angeles who, in 2007, became the first woman inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame. She has won three World Series of Poker bracelets, and in 1995 she became the first woman to reach the final table of the WSOP Main Event, finishing fifth. ^[1][4] No other woman reached a Main Event final table until Leo Margets in 2025. ^[15]

Barbara Enright, member of the Poker Hall of Fame — “Barbara Enright 1” by World Poker Tour is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.

Table of Contents

Barbara Enright: key facts

Full name	Barbara Enright
Country	United States ^[1]
Born	Los Angeles, California ^[5]
Known for	First woman at a WSOP Main Event final table (5th, 1995); first woman in the Poker Hall of Fame
Poker Hall of Fame	Inducted 2007 ^[4]
Women in Poker Hall of Fame	Inaugural inductee, 2008 ^[7]
WSOP bracelets	3 (1986, 1994, 1996), plus 1 WSOP Circuit ring ^[1][2]
Best Main Event finish	5th of 273 players, 1995, $114,180 ^[1][8]
Live tournament earnings	$1,910,687 as of October 5, 2026 ^[1]

Early life in Los Angeles

Enright was born in Los Angeles. According to the WSOP’s Hall of Fame announcement, her first job was as a cocktail waitress, where a photographic memory let her keep many drink orders in her head at once, a skill that later helped at the poker table. She then earned a cosmetology license and worked as a hairstylist in Hollywood. ^[5] She has said she first played poker at age 3, heads-up against her brother. ^[13]

She was once married to a pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and she later edited Woman Poker Player, which the WSOP described as the first poker magazine for women. ^[5] Her partner is the poker writer and columnist Max Shapiro, with whom she lives in Southern California. ^[4][6] Card Player gave her age as 69 in June 2019. ^[12]

Beginning in poker: the Gardena cardrooms

Enright has played in cardrooms since 1976. ^[6] In her free time she played in the clubs of Gardena, California, and did well enough to quit her regular job and play for a living. Specializing in lowball draw games, she supported herself and her son for several years. ^[5] In a 2009 interview she described those early years: “When my son was very little and in school, I would get up, send him off and then I would go to Gardena to play and make sure I was home before he got home.” ^[13]

She credits a book with turning things around. Another player gave her Play Poker, Quit Work and Sleep Till Noon by John Fox. “That book changed my life forever,” she told Ante Up. After studying it she won enough in Gardena to give up hairstyling. ^[13]

Her first WSOP came in 1986, after about ten years of cash games in Gardena. A player at her table asked whether she was entering the ladies event at the World Series of Poker, which she had not heard of. She entered and won it. ^[12] It was the first poker tournament she had ever played. ^[4]

Playing style

Enright’s favorite games are stud and split-pot games. “I love stud and split games. I think it takes a lot more thinking and focusing although I do love pot-limit and no-limit hold’em,” she said in 2009. Asked about the aggressive approach of younger players, she said she had played that way from the start: “I have been playing new-school style ever since I started playing. I always thought I had invented it. At that time I was called a maniac. These days a player like that is called super-aggressive.” ^[13]

Her three bracelets reflect that range: two in Seven-Card Stud and one in Pot-Limit Hold’em. In 2023 she finished fourth in the $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. event at the WSOP, a mixed-game tournament that includes Razz and Stud Hi-Lo. ^[1][2]

Greatest achievements

WSOP bracelets

Year	Event	Result	Prize	Source
1996	WSOP $2,500 Pot-Limit Hold’em (open event)	1st	$180,000	[1][11]
1994	WSOP Ladies Seven-Card Stud	1st	$38,400	[1][10]
1986	WSOP $500 Ladies Limit Seven-Card Stud	1st	$16,400	[1][9]

The 1996 Pot-Limit Hold’em title is the largest cash of her career. PokerNews and Card Player describe it as the first WSOP bracelet won by a woman in an open event, that is, one not restricted to women. ^[1][4] A WSOP.com feature in 2009 also listed her as the first woman to win two bracelets, the first to win three, and the first to win more than one Ladies’ Championship. ^[6]

Other notable results

Year	Event	Result	Prize	Source
1995	WSOP $10,000 Main Event (273 players)	5th	$114,180	[1][8]
1998	Carnivale of Poker, Limit Hold’em	1st	$74,277	[3]
2023	WSOP $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. (331 entries)	4th	$62,783	[2]
1992	Jim Brady Tournament, Limit Hold’em	1st	$49,600	[3]
2018	WSOP $10,000 Main Event	292nd	$37,705	[1]
2008	WSOP Circuit Ladies event, Caesars Palace Las Vegas	1st	WSOP Circuit ring	[6]

She is still active on the tournament circuit. At the 2026 WSOP she finished 13th in the $300 Gladiators of Poker for $16,000. ^[1] Her WSOP.com profile lists 51 cashes, 9 final tables and $627,628 in WSOP earnings. ^[2] Card Player, which also counts real-name online results, records $1,827,592 in earnings, 31 tournament wins and 296 cashes. ^[3]

The 1995 Main Event final table

The 1995 Main Event drew 273 players, and for the first time in its history the final table was not made up entirely of men. Enright made the televised final six with Dan Harrington, Howard Goldfarb, Hamid Dastmalchi, Brent Carter and Chuck Thompson. After Thompson went out in sixth, she moved all in with pocket eights and Carter called with 6-3. She was well ahead until a 6 and a 3 came on the board, and she was eliminated in fifth place. Harrington went on to win the title. ^[8] Her prize was $114,180. ^[1]

She finished 286th in the Main Event in 2005 ^[6] and 292nd in 2018 for $37,705. ^[1] Her fifth place stood as the only Main Event final table by a woman for 30 years, until Spain’s Leo Margets finished seventh in 2025 for $1,500,000. ^[15]

Hall of Fame and records

Poker Hall of Fame, 2007

On July 6, 2007, Enright and Phil Hellmuth were announced as the Poker Hall of Fame class of 2007. She was the first woman inducted into the hall, then 28 years old. WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack said: “Barbara and Phil clearly meet these high standards, and we are delighted to welcome them into the Hall of Fame as the Class of 2007.” ^[4]

Women in Poker Hall of Fame, 2008

In 2008 she was one of the four inaugural members of the Women in Poker Hall of Fame at Binion’s in Las Vegas, with Linda Johnson, Marsha Waggoner and Susie Isaacs. After the ceremony she won the $500 open tournament held at Binion’s. ^[7] In 2009 WSOP.com described her as the only person in three poker halls of fame: the Poker Hall of Fame, the Women’s Poker Hall of Fame and the Senior’s Poker Hall of Fame. ^[6]

Books and television

No book written by Enright could be found in the sources checked for this profile. Her best-documented work in print is as editor of Woman Poker Player magazine. ^[5] On television, she played for the veterans’ team in GSN’s Poker Royale: Battle of the Ages, which premiered on November 4, 2005, alongside T.J. Cloutier, Dan Harrington, John Cernuto, Maureen Feduniak and Wendeen Eolis. ^[14]

In her own words

“My first time at the series was in 1986. […] Obviously, it went well, because I won that ladies event, which back then was seven card stud.” Card Player, 2019. ^[12]
“I never had too many problems with the guys, and most of them were really nice.” On the WSOP of the 1980s, 2019. ^[12]
“There is never a need to be rude to others to show what a great player you are.” Ante Up, 2009. ^[13]
“I really think it should be more about POKER and less about SEX.” On how television presented women in poker, 2009. ^[13]
“I believe one can never stop learning.” 2009. ^[13]

FAQ about Barbara Enright

How old is Barbara Enright?

Her exact date of birth is not published in a primary source. Card Player gave her age as 69 in June 2019, which places her birth in 1949 or 1950. She was born in Los Angeles. ^[12][5]

How many WSOP bracelets does Barbara Enright have?

Three: the Ladies Seven-Card Stud event in 1986 and 1994, and the $2,500 Pot-Limit Hold’em open event in 1996. ^[1]

Has a woman ever won the WSOP Main Event?

No. The best Main Event finishes by women are Enright’s fifth place in 1995 and Leo Margets’s seventh place in 2025. ^[15] Before the 2025 final table, PokerNews noted that Margets had a shot at becoming the first woman to win it. ^[16] The 2026 Main Event was won by Lucas Jumalon. ^[17]

Is Barbara Enright the only woman to make the Main Event final table?

She was the first, in 1995, and the only one for 30 years. Leo Margets became the second when she reached the 2025 final table. ^[15]

What is Barbara Enright’s net worth?

There is no reliable public figure for her net worth. What can be verified is her live tournament record: $1,910,687 in earnings as of October 5, 2026, according to PokerNews. Much of her early career was spent in cash games, whose results are not published. ^[1][5]

When was Barbara Enright inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame?

In 2007, together with Phil Hellmuth. She was the first woman inducted. ^[4]

Who is Barbara Enright’s husband?

Her partner is the poker writer and columnist Max Shapiro. The sources describe him as her partner rather than her husband. Earlier she was married to a pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers. ^[5][6]

Did Barbara Enright write an autobiography?

No autobiography or poker book by Enright was found in the sources checked. She edited the magazine Woman Poker Player, and she has said that John Fox’s Play Poker, Quit Work and Sleep Till Noon changed her life. ^[5][13]

Related Poker Legends

Read more about Phil Hellmuth, who entered the Poker Hall of Fame with her in 2007, Dan Harrington, who won the 1995 Main Event she finished fifth in, and fellow Hall of Fame member Jennifer Harman.