Matt Waxman

Florida native Matt Waxman is a poker pro that specialises in live tournament play. His largest achievement in monetary terms came in 2011 when he took down the €7,500 No Limit Hold’em WPT Grand Prix de Paris for $721,178. Amongst the final-tablists were WSOP Main Event winner Martin Jacobson and Byron Kaverman, but neither were able to stop Matt from claiming the title.

His other significant win took place in 2013 when Waxman won his first ever WSOP bracelet. This honour came in the $1,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament where he got past a field of 1,836 other players to scoop the $305,952 top prize. He has made four other WSOP final tables and scored a total of 51 cashes at this series for a total of over $1,470,000.

Add a WSOP circuit event win, two other WPT final tables and dozens of cashes in international poker events to this list, and Matt’s live tournament winnings now exceed $3,610,000. But as he recalls in an interview with Kevin Koenig, it wasn’t always plain sailing. Early in his career, he allegedly risked ‘the majority’ of his net worth in a single hand – at a cash game. Unfortunately, his hand fell short and Matt was faced with the challenge of building up his bankroll from next to nothing. Rebuild he did, and Matt has since become a permanent fixture on the live tournament scene – particularly within North America.