Jennifer Harman Biography

Regarded as not only one of the best women players in the world but one of the best players, man or woman, Jennifer Harman has made a huge impact on the game of poker. Born on November 29th, 1964, Harman grew up seeing poker whether it was at her father’s home games or being taught how to play various card games at such an early age. She became fascinated with poker around the age of 7.

At a young age, Harman acquired a fake ID which she used to get her into casinos to hone her skills. She would often lose and would have to retreat and practice her game more. She found herself in casinos more often as a way to cope with her mother’s sickness. Her mother was diagnosed with kidney failure and eventually died to a mistake on the hospital’s part.

Shortly after high school, she went on to attend college and work a part time job as a cocktail waitress but found after only a couple days that that would not work for her. Despite her father’s wishes, she decided to play poker verses getting a job and that left her and her father without a relation ship. That estrangement lasted up until the last 5 years of his life when he and Harman were able to reconcile.

Feeling as if she would make a good businesswoman, Jennifer decided to try to start a business in the Pacific Northwest and ended up failing. Poker seemed to be her calling and she borrowed a $50,000 bankroll from a friend and made her way back to Vegas. She almost lost that initial bankroll, having to borrow money once again. While surviving a few variances she was able to sustain herself and play consistently at limits of $200/$400.

Poker Career

The time sure goes by fast. You will now see Harman not as a struggling poker player, but now as a Full Tilt Pro and winner of 2 bracelets. In 2000, she won her first bracelet in a No Limit 2-7 Lowball event, which she never played before. With a few last minute tips from ex boyfriend Howard Lederer, Jennifer soon found herself owning a WSOP bracelet. Her second bracelet was right around the corner as she won the 2002 $5k Limit Hold Em event. Her career total for live earnings is in excess of $2 million dollars.

Where you will find Jennifer Harman the most is at the “Big Game” with pro players such as Doyle Brunson, her good friend Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey, and Patrik Antonius. They play for stakes as high as $4,000/$8,000 and at times a player can see swings of half a million or more.

She has also been a part of The Corporation, a band of poker pros who accepted a challenge from Texas billionaire, Andy Beal. They all pooled their money together to take turns playing heads up against the banker. Jennifer proved to be the most successful on their team, winning back $9 million dollars.

Outside of Poker

Jennifer leads a very humble life and due to the health issues that both her and her mom have had, it has lead Harman to starting her own charities. She decided to start CODA, “Creating Organ Donor Awareness,” and “Jennifer Harman’s Charity Poker Tournaments,” which focuses on raising money for animals in need. Their charities have raised substantial amounts of money with 2008 bringing in $130k. They hand out cool prizes to everyone and watches to those who win.

Although she such a tiny person at 5′2” Jennifer Harman has made a huge impact on the world of poker by proving that women can play. She has had much success in the poker world which has led her to contribute to the Limit Holdem chapter in Doyle Brunson’s “Super System 2.” And to date she has made over 5 WSOP final tables and has had over 33 cashes in the WPT and WSOP combined. Jennifer Harman has proved she is a force to be reckoned with and will continue to do so for some time.