Issac Haxton is currently one of the best players in the poker fraternity. But it took him years to be where he is now. He started grinding on online poker, making a name for himself without even playing live poker tournaments. In 2024, he is one of the most controversial players in the poker community, due to his political opinions. In this report, we will delve deep into Issac Haxton’s early life, poker career, rift with PokerStars, and his feud with Daniel Negreanu and Phil Hellmuth.
Isaac Haxton’s Early Life and Rise in Online Poker
Issac Haxton was born on September 21, 1981, in Westchester, NY. At the age of three, he started playing checkers, and by four, he was playing chess. At six, Haxton began participating in chess tournaments but eventually lost interest in it due to a lack of progress.
Like many poker players, Haxton switched to Magic: The Gathering (MTG). Luck helped, and by fifteen, he became one of the top MTG players.
Haxton observed that top MTG players could pursue their craft professionally and hoped to one day make a living playing this game professionally. He soon found out how few players get a good lifestyle playing MTG. That’s when his friends from the MTG community introduced him to online poker.
After discovering Poker, he registered in online poker under his mother’s name. He managed to turn his deposit into thousands of dollars. His mother was shocked when she received a bank transfer for $40, 000.
He was as good as in elementary and high school, even skipping the 5th grade. He later enrolled in Brown University and eventually dropped out of it to pursue his career in Poker. But he later returned to complete his degree in computer science.
While studying computer science, Haxton started playing sit-and-gos with friends for $5 and $10. In addition, he was grinding online Limit Hold’em. By his second year of college, Haxton became well-known in the poker community as the guy who had made a huge bankroll playing poker.
In 2006, Haxton heard about the United States’s Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act and decided to drop out of the university, with the goal of earning $1 million online before the law was enforced. He wasn’t successful in it, so he transitioned to live tournaments at the beginning of 2007.
Isaac Haxton Live Tournament Career and Winnings
Isaac Haxton is regarded as one of the most successful live tournament players in the world, amassing over $50 million in live tournament earnings and ranking 8th place on Hendon Mob’s all-time money list.
Haxton made his live tournament debut in 2007, where he finished in 2nd place in the $8,000 WPT Championship event at the 2007 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure earning $861,789.
Unlike many other players, Haxton had already made a bankroll through grinding on online poker. So, he directly jumped into High Roller live tournaments, then made a bankroll from small-stakes poker.
The next year, in October 2008, Haxton secured a 6th place finish in a £20k EPT High Roller event in London, earning £103,000. In 2009, he finished as the runner-up in the $40,000 NLHE High Roller event at the 40th WSOP, taking his first top prize of $1,168,565.
In 2013, he came in 5th in the HK$1,000,000 Main Event at the GuangDong Asia Millions in Macau, walking away with $1,313,879.
He achieved another significant result in 2014, earning over $2.5 million for a runner-up finish in the A$250,000 NLHE tournament at the Aussie Millions.
Haxton is a frequent high-stakes tournament player at the ARIA. In 2014, he finished 2nd in a $100k ARIA Super High Roller event, winning $813,394. In 2018, he claimed victory in the $300,000 Super High Roller Bowl, earning $3.67 million — his biggest single live tournament score to date.
He used to be known as one of the greatest poker players without a bracelet but was able to add one WSOP gold bracelet to his name in 2023. Haxton overcame a field of 301 entries to secure his first gold bracelet in the $25k NLHE High Roller at the 2023 World Series of Poker. Currently, he has over 39 WSOP cashes with over $5,601,945 in live earnings. Notably, he is participating in the ongoing WSOP and has already notched up two cashes at the series.
Isaac Haxton’s net worth in 2024
Issac Haxton currently sits at a net worth close to $50 million, which he made through High Stakes poker and Sponsorship. Haxton is a professional poker player and plays high-stakes poker and online poker regularly. He was also part of some popular poker platforms as ambassadors.
Haxton joined PokerStars as an ambassador. Everything was good between them until 2016. He left PokerStars and joined PartyPoker as a sponsored player in 2018. It lasted for 4 years until Haxton left the company in 2021.
Isaac Haxton’s Rift With PokerStars
In January 2016, Haxton resigned from PokerStars to support the protest regarding the changes in the Supernova and Supernova Elite Programs. In the new programs, some online poker grinders did not get promised cashback bonuses.
He was one of the first PokerStars Team Pro members to give up his sponsorship in support of the protest. He later accused the platform of defrauding players out of millions and criticized articles supporting PokerStar’s changes.
Issac Haxton’s Feud with Phil Hellmuth and Daniel Negreanu
This is one of the biggest feuds that is still ongoing. During the pandemic, Haxton started wearing a mask to keep him safe from the virus. While it was good during 2020 – 2022, there is no need to use a face mask now.
In February 2024, Phil Hellmuth called out Haxton for wearing a face mask at the Poker table. According to Hellmuth, there is no need to wear a face mask during the final table when six or seven players are remaining at the table. Face masks affect table reads and can be very costly for other players as you won’t be able to see your opponent’s overall expression.
Haxton replied to this acquisition that many people have medical reasons, and they still have to use face masks. Daniel Negreanu enters the debate and calls out Haxton for being a hypocrite as he saw him many times inhaling vapor, outside of the ARIA studio. Negreanu finds it ironic that a guy who thinks so much about health inhales vapor, that too during a pandemic.
Haxton still gets called out for wearing a face mask at the Poker table.
Isaac Haxton’s Personal Life
Isaac Haxton married his longtime girlfriend Zoe in 2013. The couple met during college, and currently settled in Las Vegas’s Panorama Towers. Where you will find some of the top poker players like Justin Bonomo, Steve O’Dwyer, and Scott Seiver.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only. While we strive to present accurate and up-to-date information, we do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any data, facts, or figures mentioned. Readers are advised to verify any information and use their discretion before making any decisions or judgments based on the content of this article.
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