As 2025 winds down, Kristen Foxen is enjoying the best year of her poker career yet — banking over $2.2 million and rewriting the record books for women in the game. With the WSOP Paradise and the NAPT still up ahead this fall, her record-setting run could rise even higher.
The Women in Poker Hall of Famer’s banner year started strong with three wins and a handful of deep finishes on the PokerGO Tour and then eventually banked her first seven-figure score of $1,104,000 for third at the $125K High Roller Triton event in Jeju in September.
That monumental cash was instrumental, as it brought her career earnings to $12,183,462, just sneaking past Vanessa Selbst’s record of $11,928,958 to place Foxen as the current leader of the women’s all-time money earnings list.
Foxen is the latest guest on The Interview, PokerOrg’s flagship interview series, and she opens up about mastering poker’s mental grind, breaking barriers for women in nosebleed-stakes events, and what drives her pursuit of greatness at the game’s highest levels.
The full episode drops next week, but you can get a sneak peek of the conversation below.
Discipline, balance, and support
Foxen’s trademark composure at the table conceals a fierce competitive mindset, combined with an acute focus bent on exploiting any and all opposition.
She credits her mental strength, which is so vital in a game that constantly challenges a player’s emotional resilience and patience, to a blend of discipline, balance, and strong personal support.
“I'm probably very lucky that I have a great husband,” says Foxen. “He's so emotionally strong, and it's hard to find the words for his support of me truly. I know it sounds kind of cheesy, but he really is the best. Alex is just so mentally tough, which really helps."
“I’ll share this from my experience: if you make it in poker, you have to be very good at persevering and finding joy in the struggle. For my personality type, I've always enjoyed doing things that are a little bit challenging or a little bit hard.
“I feel a lot of satisfaction from those challenges. One time, I drove from Ontario, Canada, to Vegas by myself. It was one of the first times I came out because I wanted my car down here. I was young, and it was expensive to rent a car. And someone said to me, ‘'That drive sounds horrible.’ My response was, ‘I don't know what it is in me, but I love it.’ It’s true. I love a big challenge, and I really love struggle.
“There's a beauty in that struggle with poker. You just have to really enjoy the everyday of it, because that end moment of winning is just so fleeting. The best advice I can offer is it's really all about the journey, right? And not the end destination.”
Challenging perceptions
Foxen has made it her mission to challenge how women are perceived in poker and to lead by example at the game’s highest levels.
“When I first got into poker, I was drawn to the idea, or maybe I could say I was bothered by the idea, that there was a perception that women weren't as good as men at the game.
“I was very motivated to change that perception. If I didn't have that motivation, I don't know if I would be playing the games that I play today. Because they are not the highest EV situations, but I do feel compelled to shift that perspective.
“I do feel compelled to accomplish that goal because I feel like when I first got into poker, you would often see a pretty girl sponsored by a poker site in events. Then you'd sit down at a poker table with her, and no offense, but she wasn't a very skilled player. I didn't really like that representation of women because I feel like it was a stereotype that needs to be broken.
“I personally embrace that journey, and hope that I’m a really good ambassador for the game. I do my best to be professional and respectful by trying to compete at the highest level in order to change that perception.”
The full episode of The Interview drops next week — in both video and audio versions — at PokerOrg, YouTube, and wherever you get your podcasts.
