Jennifer Harman may be small and dainty in stature, but she’s a beast at the poker tables. Not yet 30, she has already won two-coveted WSOP gold bracelets. Referred to as “one of the best all around players on the planet” by high regarded poker pro Daniel Negreanu, Harman is a poker player definitely on the rise.
Harman began playing poker at a young age. She picked it up from her father, who had a serious affinity for the game. Rumor has it that when her father began toe experience trouble during his weekly games, he would have Jennifer play in his place in order to win some of his money back.
Jennifer Harman made a successful transition from being an amateur poker player to a professional via her cocktail waitressing gig. She would pay her buy-ins from the money she made as a waitress. She would eventually become so good that she would one day win one of poker’s highest honors, a WSOP bracelet.
Harman had always has aspirations of becoming a professional poker player. She did what she had to in order to build an adequate bankroll. While she worked as a cocktail waitress, she was only able to participate in low limit games. The money she won, she invested rather then staking all of it. After some time, her investments paid off and she was able to bankroll bigger tournaments and games. However, her rise to professional poker stardom wouldn’t be problem-free. She was almost forced into bankruptcy and had to borrow $50,000 from a friend in order to stay afloat.
Jennifer won her first World Series of Poker bracelet in 2000 in a Deuce-to-seven no limit lowball, a game that she had never participated in before. Howard Lederer coached briefly and she went out and did the rest, taking the whole darn thing. Jennifer would win her second WSOP bracelet in 2002.
Jennifer Harman continues to be one of the top players in the world. She routinely faces some of the world’s toughest competitors and is able to hold her own, proving that indeed, she is one of the best all-around players on the globe.