Australian Poker Pro Jackie Glazier Achieves Success in Just 3 Years

One of the most successful newcomers to professional poker is a beautiful lady from Australia.

Jackie Glazier is one of the most recognized female poker players today, but she has been playing on the professional level for just over three years. Jackie’s career was very quick growing from local low-stakes competitions to the fame and fortune of international poker spotlights.

Glazier has already collected $1.2 million in tournament cash money, a gold WSOP bracelet, and she was the only woman left standing in the last WSOP main event. Not a bad achievement for someone who’s been playing on a professional level for only 3 years.

Born in 1973 in Melbourne, Australia, Jackie was growing up playing some serious tennis, but also found time for volleyball, basketball, and even body boarding. She studied as a major in Secondary Education in Human Movement and Science, and a minor in Mathematics, but always wanted a job, which involved travel and kept her motivated. This is how she discovered poker.

First poker steps

Land-based and online poker sites in Australia have started booming back in 2005, when Joe Hachem took the WSOP Main Event. But it wasn’t until 2008 when Glazier started to get involved in the world of poker.

She recalls that her first poker experience dated back to playing draw poker with grandparents on holidays. And her first real-money game was a $20 home game with some friends in 2008. Later that year she started to regularly visit the Crown Casino playing low-limit cash games under Australian gambling laws.

Her first tournament game was a ladies event with an $80 buy-in, and this is when she realized she preferred tournaments to cash games. By 2011 she was a full-blown tournament poker player.

Becoming a professional poker player

Glazier now thinks that she joined the professional community way too early, and was even ready to quit just before the 2012 WSOP, but luckily she didn’t and was handsomely rewarded. 2012 saw Jackie winning the opening event for AUD 35,000 at the Melbourne Championship Series, held in one of the most beautiful Australian poker rooms.

She also went on to win the Main Event of the Series for AUD 95,000, and booked a place at 2012 WSOP in Las Vegas. She came second in a side-event that year and cashed in the Main Event as well.

Successful WSOP run

Jackie took home over $450K finishing second in the $3,000 side-event, and $38,453 for 284th place in the Main Event in 2012. And although these are truly life-altering results for beginner player, she was really disappointed about missing out on her first WSOP bracelet.

Glazier recalls: “Finishing second in that $3,000 event was the most disappointing moment of my entire poker career. It took me a few days to move through the disappointment and get to the point of celebrating. If I only ever took pride in winning, it would be very disheartening and I think I would hate the game. I try as much as possible to celebrate small achievements as well as the wins.”

However, along came the 2013 WSOP, and Jackie made a deep-run finishing in 31st place with $229,281 to take home. Her third cash finish in the most prestigious poker tournament in the world in four attempts, something very few people manage to do.

Later on that year, Jackie traveled to France for the European WSOP series, and won her first bracelet in a ladies event, adding another EUR 21,850 to her tally. Feeling confident of her inevitable success, she ordered a bottle of champagne before the final table play has even started. Well, her confidence was rewarded with a win and a WSOP bracelet, not to mention a lot of champagne.

Jackie recalls that moment: “When the final card was dealt I was slightly unsure if I had my opponent’s chips covered. Once the tournament director counted the stacks and I realized I had secured the bracelet my most overwhelming emotion was absolute sheer relief.”

Jackie Glazier and other women in poker

A story of female poker success

• Jackie Glazier has only become a pro poker player three years ago
• Her career started in one of the Australian poker rooms
• She has already raked up over $1.2 million in tournament cash
• Her first WSOP bracelet came at 2013 ladies event in France

Naturally, Jackie is not the only accomplished female poker professional. She holds most of the prominent poker ladies in high esteem. And even agrees with some of them, who think that ladies events ruin the image of women in poker.

She has been quoted saying: “Anything that promotes more females playing poker is great as far as I am concerned and this includes ladies events. I think holding female-only tournaments during a series is a great way for women to get more involved in the game especially if they feel intimidated in the fields that are dominated by males.”

What’s next for the Australian poker pro?

Naturally, Jackie’s success didn’t go unnoticed, and she got a sponsorship from a renowned poker operator 888. Here’s what she had to say about it: “I am so proud to represent such a fantastic company. They understand the competitive nature of the game but they really want their players to enjoy themselves and have a good time. The players are really friendly and the group of ambassadors are a great support team. I feel very lucky to be part of the team.”

Jackie absolutely loves the atmosphere of tournament poker and all the traveling involved. However, she feels that it’s difficult to make friends and maintain relationships with other poker players, because they only meet several times a year.

Jackie Glazier is looking with confidence into her future anticipating more wins and even bracelets. We will be definitely following her career and cheering on. Having beautiful and graceful women like Jackie involved in professional poker is definitely a treat, not to mention it’s a true feast for the eye to watch her on TV.