Jennifer Harman
Encyclopedia
Jennifer C. Harman-Traniello (born November 29, 1964, in Reno, Nevada
) is an American
professional poker
player.
. She started playing poker in 1972 at the age of eight. She later graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno
, with a degree in Biology
.
bracelet in 2000
at the prestigious No Limit Deuce to Seven Lowball Event (at a final table that also included Lyle Berman
and Steve Zolotow
). She had never played that game prior to the event, but received a five-minute tutoring session from Howard Lederer
before playing. She won her second WSOP bracelet in 2002
at the $5K Limit Hold 'em event (the field also included Mimi Tran
, Humberto Brenes
, and Allen Cunningham
). She is the only woman to hold two bracelets in WSOP open events.
Harman's initial decision to play poker professionally estranged her from her father. After years of little to no contact, they reconciled their differences. In 2004, Harman took a year away from poker to have her second kidney transplant. Problems with her kidneys – shared by her sister and mother, who died from the same illness when Harman was 17 - had plagued her since her childhood. Since her return to the poker tournament circuit, Harman has finished 4th at the World Poker Tour
Five-Diamond World Poker Classic, 5th in the inaugural Professional Poker Tour
event, and 2nd in the WSOP Circuit Championship Event at the Rio.
Harman authored the limit hold'em chapter for Super System II
. Harman is the only woman who is a regular player in the "Big Game
", the high-stakes cash game at the Bellagio
. She was also an active participant in "The Corporation", a group of high stakes poker players who played Andy Beal for limits of up to $100,000/$200,000.
Harman has appeared on the GSN
series High Stakes Poker
and on the NBC
series Poker After Dark
, where she won Week 8's tournament. In 2007, Harman finished as runner up in the inaugural World Series of Poker Europe
, where she lost in the HORSE
event to Thomas Bihl
. Harman is a member of "Team Full Tilt" at Full Tilt Poker
. As of 2010, Harman's total live tournament winnings exceeded $2,300,000. Her 24 cashes at the WSOP account for $734,847 of those winnings.
Although Harman says 'sex' is irrelevant in poker, she is widely considered a feminist icon. Due mainly to the fact the she is one of the few women who play in the big games, as well as having two World Series of Poker bracelets in open events, she is the only woman to have done so. She is also considered one of the greatest poker players in the history of the sport, as well as the greatest female poker player in the sports history.
Harman is a frequent charity poker tournament host. In March 2009, she organized a number of poker celebrities including ESPN analyst Lon McEachern
and Howard Lederer
in a two-day event that raised $111,000 for the National Kidney Foundation with the help of Curtis and Co Watches and Dream Team Poker.
Harman is also an active fundraiser for the Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA), for which she has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars through live tournaments and online tournaments at Full Tilt. In April 2009, she hosted the 3rd annual Jennifer Harman Charity Poker Tournament at the Venetian poker room in Las Vegas. The tournament has raised over half a million dollars and, in the past, has featured prizes such as a seat at the World Series of Poker Main Event, and dinner with Jennifer and Pete Rose
.
, who since became a professional poker player as well. They have twin boys. She is also very close friends with fellow player Daniel Negreanu
.
Reno, Nevada
Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...
) is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professional poker
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
player.
Early life
Harman was born and raised in Reno, NevadaReno, Nevada
Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...
. She started playing poker in 1972 at the age of eight. She later graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno
University of Nevada, Reno
The University of Nevada, Reno , is a teaching and research university established in 1874 and located in Reno, Nevada, USA...
, with a degree in Biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
.
Career
Harman won her first World Series of PokerWorld Series of Poker
The World Series of Poker is a world-renowned series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas and, since 2005, sponsored by Harrah's Entertainment...
bracelet in 2000
2000 World Series of Poker
-Preliminary events:-Main Event:There were 512 entrants to the main event. Each paid $10,000 to enter the tournament.Ferguson had a 10 to 1 chip lead when starting his heads-up vs Cloutier. After a see-saw battle, Ferguson decided to call Cloutier's AQ all-in with his own A9...
at the prestigious No Limit Deuce to Seven Lowball Event (at a final table that also included Lyle Berman
Lyle Berman
Lyle Arnold Berman is a professional poker player and business executive.-Business:Berman grew up in Minnesota and attended the University of Minnesota where he graduated in 1964 with a degree in business administration. He then went to work for his father's leather business, Berman Buckskin. ...
and Steve Zolotow
Steve Zolotow
Steve Zolotow is an American businessman and professional poker player from Las Vegas, Nevada. He has won two bracelets at the World Series of Poker. He was one of the regulars at the famed Mayfair Club while he lived in New York City.-New York Years:...
). She had never played that game prior to the event, but received a five-minute tutoring session from Howard Lederer
Howard Lederer
Howard Henry Lederer is an American professional poker player and brother of poker professional Annie Duke, and author and poet Katy Lederer. On September 20, 2011, the U.S...
before playing. She won her second WSOP bracelet in 2002
2002 World Series of Poker
The 2002 World Series of Poker was held at Binion's Horseshoe.This edition was historically notable for two reasons. It was the first WSOP in which pocket cams were installed to allow broadcasters to show the players' hole cards, although only for the Main Event...
at the $5K Limit Hold 'em event (the field also included Mimi Tran
Mimi Tran
Thithi "Mimi" Tran is a Vietnamese-American professional poker player.- Biography :Tran was born in Nha Trang, Vietnam. After moving to the United States in 1982, Tran found work in the electronics industry in Silicon Valley. She began playing poker in 1989, after an auto accident left her...
, Humberto Brenes
Humberto Brenes
Humberto Brenes is a professional poker player. Brenes currently resides in Miami Lakes, Florida with his wife and three children ....
, and Allen Cunningham
Allen Cunningham
Allen Cunningham is an American professional poker player.Cunningham studied civil engineering at UCLA before dropping out of school to play poker professionally. At the age of 18, he began playing at in Indian casinos...
). She is the only woman to hold two bracelets in WSOP open events.
Harman's initial decision to play poker professionally estranged her from her father. After years of little to no contact, they reconciled their differences. In 2004, Harman took a year away from poker to have her second kidney transplant. Problems with her kidneys – shared by her sister and mother, who died from the same illness when Harman was 17 - had plagued her since her childhood. Since her return to the poker tournament circuit, Harman has finished 4th at the World Poker Tour
World Poker Tour
The World Poker Tour is a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting the final table of each tournament. It was started in the United States by attorney/television producer Steven Lipscomb, who served as CEO of WPT Enterprises , the firm that...
Five-Diamond World Poker Classic, 5th in the inaugural Professional Poker Tour
Professional Poker Tour
The Professional Poker Tour was a series of televised poker tournaments, spinning off from the World Poker Tour television series. It billed itself as the first professional poker league, and was limited to players who have established themselves on the World Poker Tour, World Series of Poker,...
event, and 2nd in the WSOP Circuit Championship Event at the Rio.
Harman authored the limit hold'em chapter for Super System II
Super/System
Super/System is one of the first books about poker strategy. It was written and published in 1979 by Doyle Brunson, a professional poker player and multiple winner at the World Series of Poker.-History and title:...
. Harman is the only woman who is a regular player in the "Big Game
Big Game (poker)
The Big Game refers to a famous high-stakes poker ring game played in "Bobby's Room", a cardroom named after Bobby Baldwin, at the Bellagio casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The table features no-limit and pot-limit games with wagers up to $100,000 per hand...
", the high-stakes cash game at the Bellagio
Bellagio (hotel and casino)
Bellagio is a hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in the Paradise area of unincorporated Clark County, Nevada, USA and a member of The Leading Hotels of the World. It is owned by MGM Resorts International and was built on the site of the demolished Dunes hotel and casino.Inspired by the...
. She was also an active participant in "The Corporation", a group of high stakes poker players who played Andy Beal for limits of up to $100,000/$200,000.
Harman has appeared on the GSN
Game Show Network
The Game Show Network is an American cable television and direct broadcast satellite channel dedicated to game shows and casino game shows. The channel was launched on December 1, 1994. Its current slogan is "The World Needs More Winners"...
series High Stakes Poker
High Stakes Poker
High Stakes Poker is a cash game poker television program broadcast by the cable television network GSN in the United States. The poker variant played on the show is no limit Texas hold 'em. It premiered on January 16, 2006 and ended on December 17, 2007 and it returns back on March 1, 2009 and is...
and on the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
series Poker After Dark
Poker After Dark
Poker After Dark was an hour-long poker television program on NBC. The show made its debut on January 1, 2007, and was cancelled as another victim of the "Black Friday" criminal case due to the show's sponsorship by Full Tilt Poker, one of that case's defendants. on September 23, 2011 For its first...
, where she won Week 8's tournament. In 2007, Harman finished as runner up in the inaugural World Series of Poker Europe
World Series of Poker Europe
The World Series of Poker Europe is the first expansion effort of World Series of Poker-branded poker tournaments outside the United States. Since 1970, participants had to travel to Las Vegas if they wanted to compete in the World Series of Poker...
, where she lost in the HORSE
HORSE
H.O.R.S.E. is a form of poker commonly played at the high stakes tables of casinos. It consists of rounds of play cycling among:*Texas Hold 'em,*Omaha eight or better,*Razz,*Seven card Stud, and...
event to Thomas Bihl
Thomas Bihl
Thomas Bihl is a German poker player who became the first person to win a World Series of Poker bracelet outside of Las Vegas, Nevada. Bihl was sponsored by Betfair, the official sponsor of the 2007 World Series of Poker Europe ....
. Harman is a member of "Team Full Tilt" at Full Tilt Poker
Full Tilt Poker
Full Tilt Poker is an online poker card room that opened in June 2004 with the involvement of poker professionals Howard Lederer, Phil Ivey, Andy Bloch, Mike Matusow, Jennifer Harman and Chris Ferguson...
. As of 2010, Harman's total live tournament winnings exceeded $2,300,000. Her 24 cashes at the WSOP account for $734,847 of those winnings.
Although Harman says 'sex' is irrelevant in poker, she is widely considered a feminist icon. Due mainly to the fact the she is one of the few women who play in the big games, as well as having two World Series of Poker bracelets in open events, she is the only woman to have done so. She is also considered one of the greatest poker players in the history of the sport, as well as the greatest female poker player in the sports history.
Charity Poker
In 2004, Harman took a year off from poker to have her second kidney transplant. She then founded the Creating Organ Donation Awareness (CODA), a non-profit organization to raise money for the cause.Harman is a frequent charity poker tournament host. In March 2009, she organized a number of poker celebrities including ESPN analyst Lon McEachern
Lon McEachern
Lon McEachern is an American sports broadcaster, who is most known for his hand-by-hand commentary on The World Series of Poker. McEachern, who graduated from the University of California Santa Barbara with a bachelor’s degree in communications, is also the host of Fox network's On the Pole. He has...
and Howard Lederer
Howard Lederer
Howard Henry Lederer is an American professional poker player and brother of poker professional Annie Duke, and author and poet Katy Lederer. On September 20, 2011, the U.S...
in a two-day event that raised $111,000 for the National Kidney Foundation with the help of Curtis and Co Watches and Dream Team Poker.
Harman is also an active fundraiser for the Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA), for which she has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars through live tournaments and online tournaments at Full Tilt. In April 2009, she hosted the 3rd annual Jennifer Harman Charity Poker Tournament at the Venetian poker room in Las Vegas. The tournament has raised over half a million dollars and, in the past, has featured prizes such as a seat at the World Series of Poker Main Event, and dinner with Jennifer and Pete Rose
Pete Rose
Peter Edward Rose , nicknamed "Charlie Hustle", is a former Major League Baseball player and manager. Rose played from 1963 to 1986, and managed from 1984 to 1989....
.
Personal life
Harman is married to stylist Marco TranielloMarco Traniello
Marco Traniello is an Italian professional hairdresser and is sponsored professional poker player on Full Tilt Poker.-Poker:...
, who since became a professional poker player as well. They have twin boys. She is also very close friends with fellow player Daniel Negreanu
Daniel Negreanu
Daniel Negreanu is a Canadian professional poker player. He has won four World Series of Poker bracelets and two World Poker Tour Championship titles. He is currently ranked second in the all-time career earnings list and is the star of poker game show Million Dollar Challenge. He plays a big...
.
| Year | Tournament | Prize (US$) |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 2000 World Series of Poker -Preliminary events:-Main Event:There were 512 entrants to the main event. Each paid $10,000 to enter the tournament.Ferguson had a 10 to 1 chip lead when starting his heads-up vs Cloutier. After a see-saw battle, Ferguson decided to call Cloutier's AQ all-in with his own A9... |
$5,000 No-Limit Deuce-to-Seven Draw | $146,250 |
| 2002 2002 World Series of Poker The 2002 World Series of Poker was held at Binion's Horseshoe.This edition was historically notable for two reasons. It was the first WSOP in which pocket cams were installed to allow broadcasters to show the players' hole cards, although only for the Main Event... |
$5,000 Limit Hold'em | $212,440 |