Maria Ho is one of the top-ranked female poker players in the community. She is a Taiwanese-American poker player and television host/commentator. A Women in Poker Hall of Fame inductee, she currently holds the 4th place on Women’s all-time Money List with over $5.4 million in live poker earnings. In this article, we will throw light on the early life, poker career, and net worth of Maria Ho.
Maria Ho’s Early Life and Poker Introduction
Born in March 1983, in Taiwan’s Taipei City, Maria Ho’s parents moved to the USA when she was just four. Ho was introduced to poker while in college. She was drawn to the psychology and competitive spirit of the game and started playing it initially with college friends. Later, she began to participate in cash games at nearby Indian casinos. When she completed her graduation from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) in 2005 with a major in communications and a minor in law, she went from playing low limits to high-stakes cash games and grew her poker bankroll to the point that she decided to become a professional poker player. According to certain reports, she even did several odd jobs to grow her bankroll.
Maria Ho’s Poker Career and Earnings
Ho scored her first live cash in 2005 with a 6th place finish in a $340 NLH inside the Hollywood Park Casino Poker Derby, earning $2,945. That same year, she also competed in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) and finished 110th for $ 2,780 in the $ 1,500 No Limit Hold’em event.
Later, she competed in several other WSOP events, including the WSOP 2009 edition where she scored an impressive 11th place finish for $41,040 in the $10k Limit Hold’em Championship.
Her first win came in 2009 when she won the World Team Poker Inaugural Event for $42,857. In 2011, Ho came close to securing her first bracelet in the WSOP $5k NLH but ended up as the runner-up to take home a staggering $540,020. In 2013, she won the River Poker Series $5k NLH Event for another six-figure sum of $101,220.
In 2016, she took part in the WPT $7,500 101 Shooting Star Championship, finishing 6th to collect $179,930. In 2017, Maria Ho came close to becoming the second woman to win the World Series of Poker Europe Main Event, but she finished in 6th place and earned $202,875.
In 2018, Maria scored two victories, first winning WPTDeepstacks Main Event #10 in Johannesburg for $69,166 and then following that with a win for $50,000 in the $ 10,000 No Limit Hold’em – Week 17 – 888poker Week Event #1 Entry restricted at Poker After Dark (PAD) Season IX.
In 2019, Ho added a major accomplishment by winning the 2019 LAPC $25k Commerce High Roller for $276,690. That same year, she finished 3rd in the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown, adding $344,960 to her live tournament winnings.
She also scored several WSOP cashes in 2019, with her best WSOP cash coming in the $ 5,000 No Limit Hold’em (Event #11) where she finished 5th for $ 91,211. She then followed that with a final table finish in the WPT Gardens Festival Main Event in Las Angeles where she placed 8th for $ 44,525. In October that year, she won $ 5,000 No Limit Hold’em – Week 11 – RGPS Showbound! Event #1 in Las Vegas, earning $25,000 for her victory.
In 2023, Maria Ho won the Poker After Dark cashing $456,000. That same year, she finished in 3rd place in the WSOP Paradise Event #11: $1,650 for $200,000.
Since then, Maria Ho has achieved several deep finishes, but hasn’t scored any big victory in a live poker tournament. Her only victory in 2024 came in March, when she triumphed at the Celebrity Poker Tour – CPT Game Night I in Las Vegas, earning a $10,000 prize. She recently competed in the 2024 World Series of Poker and made it into the final table of Event #45: finishing 6th for $69,063.
Maria Ho’s Net Worth in 2024
While the data on Maria Ho’s exact net worth is not available, she has an impressive $5,474,609 in live tournament cashes. She currently ranks 4th on women’s all-time money list. Considering her sponsorship deals and participation in cash games over the years, her net worth must be close to $6 million or more.
Maria Ho’s Achievements and Other Works
In addition to playing poker, Maria Ho is also well-known among the Commentators. In fact, Maria Ho was the first female poker player to become a strategic commentator. She has co-hosted and served as the commentator for several poker series, and televised poker shows, including the 2024 World Series of Poker, Super High Roller Bowl, and many more.
For her accomplishments in Live Poker as a commentator, she received the 2019 Global Poker Award for Broadcaster of the Year. In 2018, Maria Ho was inducted into the Women in Poker Hall of Fame.
Maria Ho, since childhood, has been passionate about music. To complete that dream, she even took part in the 3rd season of American Idol but couldn’t pass the Hollywood Week Round.
Maria Ho’s Personal Life in 2024
Maria Ho is private about her personal life and doesn’t reveal much about it on social media or in an interview. However, everyone knows about Maria Ho’s sister Dr. Judy Ho. Judy Ho is a popular TV personality and has appeared in crime TV shows as an expert.
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