After grinding $5 limit hold’em cash and mixed games for a few years, Kathy Liebert assumed tournament poker was a piece of cake after banking $35,000 and two second-place finishes in the first two tournaments she ever played.
A few weeks later, Liebert faced an eventual WSOP Main Event winner, Chris Ferguson, at the final table of the 1994 LA Open II in Gardena at a $200 buy-in Omaha Hi/Lo event. She would win her first title there and take home the trophy and $4,150.
Thirty-one years later, Liebert has 27 wins, $7,000,000+ in career cashes, sits third in the women’s all-time money list, has a WSOP bracelet, sits 10th for United States all-time cashes, is an inductee into the 2010 Women in Poker Hall of Fame, a nominee for the 2022 Poker Hall of Fame, and is still grinding and inspiring women worldwide as the consummate poker professional to emulate.
Maria Ho and Kasey Lyn Mills pay tribute
“Kathy Liebert’s name is one I’ve heard since I started playing poker nearly two decades ago,” shared fellow Women’s Poker Hall of Famer Maria Ho. “She has been a stalwart of the game and has stood the test of time. Her drive and persistence to succeed in poker have undoubtedly impacted many women who have come after her.”
Rising star Kasey Lyn Mills is also inspired by Liebert and sent this message to PokerOrg.
“In a game where longevity as a professional is anything but guaranteed, Kathy Liebert shines not only in her consistent ability to perform and win at a high level, but as a leader to so many women who are also inspired to prove their place in the world of respected and accomplished poker players.”
PokerOrg tracked down Liebert just days after she won a recent $1,000 NLH Seniors (50+) event at the Wynn Millions Poker Series that took her career earnings north of $7 million.
What got you into poker in the first place?
It was playing home games with my family – nickel, dime, and quarter home games when I was a kid. We played on our kitchen table poker. That is how it all started.
I went to Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY, and they had some poker games in the dorms. But I was never invited; the games were only for the guys.
I landed a job in New York with Dun & Bradstreet but wasn’t happy and quit after a year. I traveled to San Diego and then Colorado, looking for work. It was there in the mountains of Colorado that I discovered a poker room.
Did you have success right away?
No. I wasn't doing very well the first couple of times. I knew there was a gambler's bookstore in Denver, and I bought some books on poker. I read them, went back to the game, and eventually I started winning.
I was actually a prop player for a while. Then I started playing home games. After a year, I quit the prop job because I realized it wasn't worth it.
You had a prolific start to your tournament career, finishing second twice in the first two events you ever competed in.
I chopped both of those. We drew a high card to see who won that first event when I got heads-up. I had no idea what a chop was at the time. I didn't like that, but I got second, and then a few days later, I chopped another event for second.
After that, I thought I should play more in tournaments.
Easy game.
Well, I thought tournaments were easy compared to the cash games. I’ve been playing tournaments ever since for 30 years.
How has the game evolved regarding the growth and acceptance of women at the tables over the years?
In 1994, I started traveling the tournament circuit. I pretty much went to almost every tournament I could find from 1994 to 2009.
When I first started, there were very, very few women playing in tournaments. On average, there were probably one to five women in a tournament the whole time.
There was mainly Marsha Wagner, Barbara Enright, and me. Jennifer Harman was a well-known player but a cash game player.
How were you treated at the table back then?
I started getting a little bit cocky, I guess at some point, because I was doing so well. I probably wasn't aware of how I was coming across to people at the tables. I’d get shit now and then. I would kind of fight back a little bit. But for the most part, people were nice.
I did have a few really bad experiences with a few very abusive guys. I tried to defend myself by talking back but would get criticized for speaking back at them, even though they were the ones who started it.
Do you have any poker ambitions left in the game?
Yeah, I still like to play. I still want to be competitive, and I still want to win. I play in the WSOP and Wynn Championship events every year. Those two are the ones that I tend to focus on the most.
But I'm not traveling the circuit around the world playing every World Poker Tour event like I did when it first started.
You're third on the women's all-time money list, behind only Vanessa Selbst and Kristen Foxen. What other women do you admire in the game?
Kristy Foxen and Vanessa Selbst are great. They're incredible. There are so many good women players now. To be honest, I couldn't name them all.
Maria Ho is a great player, and she's been around for a long time. Vanessa Kade. I’ve played with Christina Gollins and Kasey Mills. There are so many. It is a great time for women in poker. But many women I used to play with in the older days aren't playing anymore, for whatever reason.
What would be your message to the poker world?
My message would be to separate the women's tournaments from the main event at a tournament stop. Because when that happens, we have to choose, you know?
You should want women in a main event and a women’s event. Women like playing with good players, even though they're tough to beat. They enjoy playing with me, Maria Ho, Vanessa Kade, and other well-known women in the game.
I don't like it because players like Cherish Andrews, Maria, and Vanessa will play in the main event and not the women's event. It makes sense because the money is so much bigger. They can win a huge score.
Sure, I'd like to see more women's tournaments. But also give a little more respect and not think that a women’s event is just a social event. That's one of my biggest pet peeves right now.
You can follow Kathy Liebert on X.
Feature image courtesy of Chris Wallace, additional image courtesy of WPT.
