Victoria Livschitz is a business entrepreneur and an avid poker player. She stormed into the live tournament scene in 2017 and is currently making waves in the high-roller circuit as a female poker player. The story of Victoria Livschitz is nothing short of spectacular. In this report, we will delve into Victoria Livschitz’s early life, poker winnings, and business ventures.
Who is Victoria Livschitz? Early Life and Introduction to Poker
Victoria Livschitz is an entrepreneur, professional poker player, and co-founder of the poker educational platform Octopi Poker. She was born into a Ukrainian family and grew up in Lithuania. Her father was a mathematician and chess player.
Like her father, Livschitz displayed an early aptitude for mathematics, and in 1988, she won the prestigious Russian National Junior Mathematical Competition. That same year, she also became a National Chess Master. It was during chess tournaments that she met her future husband, Leonard Livschitz, and the two quickly married.
She pursued a degree in mathematics at Kharkov University before moving to the United States after the fall of the Iron Curtain in the late 1980s. Livschitz later earned a degree in Computer Science from Case Western Reserve University.
Victoria is also said to have conquered mountains like Kilimanjaro and trekked across the world. Alongside her adventurous spirit, she is an avid poker player with multiple final table finishes in High Roller events, including three PokerGO titles and one EPT title.
Livschitz got her first cash in 2017, but her real poker journey began in 2021 when she discovered high-stakes poker.
Victoria Livschitz’s Poker Journey and Winnings
According to Hendon Mob, Livschitz played her first live poker tournament in 2017, participating in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Event #19: $365 The Giant NLH, where she finished 249th for $1,751.
Between 2017 and 2018, Livschitz cashed in five poker events but did not find significant success until 2021. During the pandemic, she occupied her time by watching high-stakes poker final tables, immersing herself in the game’s strategies and techniques.
When the WSOP rescheduled their 2021 events to September, Livschitz saw an opportunity to test her 18 months of learning during a poker vacation. She initially played in Event #6: $25,000 High Roller but was knocked out by Sam Grafton. Afterward, she approached Grafton and asked him to be her poker coach, and he agreed.
During the 2021 WSOP, Livschitz cashed in Events #22, #43, #48, and #51, with a deep run in Event #22: $1,000 Ladies Championship, where she finished 17th for $3,914. Her poker vacation proved successful as she claimed her first tournament title in the Rio Daily Deep Stack Series: $400 NLH for $9,246.
After the WSOP, Livschitz met Bill Klein, a fellow entrepreneur and poker player who had recently won his first title in the PGT ARIA High Roller Series. Klein introduced her to PokerGo’s High Roller series, and Livschitz quickly entered Event #12: $10,000 NLH High Roller at the WPT Diamond World Poker Classic 2021, finishing 7th for $23,000. She concluded 2021 with a 24th-place finish at the Wynn Winter Classic $5,300 NLH Championship, earning $23,136.
In 2022, Livschitz began the year by finishing 7th in the PGT Stairway to Millions Event #3: $4,100 NLH, winning $16,800. She then secured her first high-stakes victory in the $15,000 High Roller event at the PGT Venetian High Rollers, taking home $60,000. That summer, she won her second high roller title in the ARIA High Roller Summer Series Event #13: $10,000 NLH, earning a six-figure prize of $162,790.
In 2023, Livschitz triumphed in EPT Paris Event #33: €2,200, claiming €119,220. Her next six-figure score came in 2024 when she finished runner-up in the Wynn Millions Poker Series $1,100 NLH for $100,000. In April 2024, she won the PGT Texas Poker Open $5,100 kick-off event, adding $45,000 to her earnings.
Most recently, she competed in PokerGo’s 2024 Poker Masters, making final table appearances in Event #3 and Event #8. She finished 4th in Event #3: $10,100 NLH High Roller for $84,600 and 7th in Event #8: $25,200 NLH High Roller for $68,000.
As of now, Livschitz has amassed more than $2 million in live poker earnings, with the bulk of her winnings coming from the PokerGo Tour.
Victoria Livschitz’s Business Ventures and Life Outside Poker
In addition to poker, Livschitz is a successful entrepreneur, having founded several businesses across different industries. She began her career as a software engineer at Ford from 1994 to 1997 before moving to Sun Microsystems, where she worked for eight years.
In 2006, Livschitz founded Grid Dynamics, a technology consulting firm that provides IT solutions to over 500 companies. She also founded Quebell, an e-commerce platform provider. In 2021, her passion for hiking led her to create RightOnTrek, a company specializing in providing food products to hikers.
During the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic in 2021, Livschitz connected with Andrew Lichtenberger and Nick Schulman. The three became friends and eventually co-founded Octopi Poker, an educational platform that helps players improve their skills. The platform offers direct access to top coaches and features an AI assistant to aid in problem-solving.
Keep following PokerProNews for more such inspiring stories of women in poker!
