Ranked third for
women on the all time money list at the World Series, Liebert, in
her mid-thirties, is a no-nonsense, business-like professional.
She could easily be mistaken for the executive she once was before
“discarding” the corporate world for the world of
cards.
Born in Tennessee,
but raised on Long Island in New York, Liebert attended Marist
College in Poughkeepsie, NY, graduating with a degree in business
and finance. After graduation, she worked as a Business Analyst
for Dun & Bradstreet. Becoming dissatisfied with the job,
Kathy took the advice of her mother who encouraged her to do
something she loved and the money would follow. During her time at
D&B, she had played the stock market, doing well enough to
quit her job and follow her mother’s advice.
Undecided about
what precisely to do, Liebert decided to head to the West Coast,
making a short stop in Las Vegas where she played casino poker for
the first time. She’d learned the game when her parents invited
friends into their home for occasional nickel-dime
competitions.
Eventually, Liebert
ended up in Colorado, attracted by the prospect of skiing in the
Rockies. Central City and Blackhawk, communities in the mountains,
had just legalized gambling, and Liebert went up to play $5-limit
poker. She learned the rudiments of the game playing weekly, and
was soon invited to become a “paid” player by the casinos to keep
the action going on the poker tables. She further improved her
game reading books by top pros.
A friend encouraged
Liebert to try her hand at tournament poker, She headed for Las
Vegas. Liebert surprised herself, finishing second in her
first tournament, Omaha Hi-lo. A week later she entered her
first Texas Holdem tournament—and took home another second.
After one week of tournament poker she had won
$34,000.
It was the
beginning of her tournament career. She traveled to other
major tournaments that year and had many victories.
Consistently building her bankroll with good tournament
performances, Liebert was able to buy houses in Las Vegas and
California, and to create a lifestyle that fits her intensely
individualistic personality. Liebert still invests in the stock
market, which gives her a safety net from the swings of tournament
poker.
Liebert
travels the tournament trail playing the PartyPoker.com Million,
the World Poker Tour and the WSOP. She has been ranked in
Cardplayer Magazines’ Top 20 players, four times over the years
(4th, 9th,12th and
18th) and is ranked third on the World Series’ list of
top female money winners ($459,435). She also serves as poker
coach to actor James Woods.
One of
poker’s pioneering women players, Liebert continues to forge her
own distinctive path, maintaining a calm demeanor despite winning
great hands or suffering bad beats. Her classy businesslike
personae serves her well in the poker world and she has earned the
respect of her peers. Liebert is poised to be a role model for
other women as they join the ranks of poker’s new female
contingency. Long after women are regularly making the lists of
top money earners, Kathy Liebert will still be remembered as the
first female tournament poker millionaire.
