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Xuan Liu is a professional Canadian poker player with more than 2.2 million dollars in earnings from both online and live tournaments. On the other hand, she came out against the misleading belief of making easy money through playing poker on many occasions. This article explores the story of an immigrant in love with comic books who managed to gain much fame through playing poker, and her takes on the industry.
Xuan Lui’s early life and childhood:
Xuan was born on June 25th, 1985 in Tian Jin, China. Her parents immigrated to Canada when she was five years old. Xuan showed a keen interest in strategic games in her early childhood, and she would spend hours playing games like Go and other strategic games with her father. Xuan learned basic poker from TV and movies at age seven and would play poker with her animal toys with imaginary scenarios.
She went to gifted schools in Canada, which have special curricula and activities for children recognized as talented through various processes. Interestingly, she had gone to 15 different gifted schools before college due to frequently changing places. Her gifted analytical mind was to help her in the upcoming journey of her life. Xuan fell in love with comic books as a child since she could only understand simple English accompanied by lovely visuals.
Xuan Lui’s intertwined college and poker life:
Being a talented girl, Xuan got a scholarship to study Business and Finance at Waterloo University, which is famous for being a hub of analytical minds. She enrolled at the university in 2006 and was sure of securing a job after graduation. But things as always did not go according to plans for Waterloo University was and still is a hotbed of live poker games. There, she re-ignited her love of poker that had been there since her childhood. She started her career playing online poker on PartyPoker and other platforms.
A year later, she received her dealer’s license and started working at the Canadian National Exhibition Charity, where she was promoted to floor supervisor after some time. With poker occupying most of her time, she lost her scholarship and had to find a way to finance her education without letting her parents find out. So, she would host poker games at her apartment to make a buck. Xuan thought of poker as a temporary job which she would later drop, but her friends were suggesting she pursue a poker career. On the other hand, her mother was not fond of the situation and set her a period to accomplish something of value or get a job otherwise.
Xuan Lui’s Poker Journey:
Some may claim that 2010 was the beginning of Xuan Lui’s so-called official poker career, though she had played and participated in some tournaments before that time. However, she actively started traveling and participating in poker tournaments around the world from mid-2010 onwards. She went to Macau, the US, Spain, and Italy in 2010 which reaped some good results for her. She finished 69th in her first WSOP 1000$ No Limit Hold’em – Ladies Championship for $2,656. But she gained momentum after finishing first in the Italian Poker Tour held in Sanremo, Italy for 48,000 euros.
The next two years, 2011 and 2012, were considered by many to be her prime time. She participated in the Italian Poker Tour, European Poker Tour, and World Series of Poker in 2011. Her first big cash happened in the European Poker Tour on April 27th, 2011. She finished third in a €5,000 No Limit Hold’em main event for $524,705. A month later, she would win another $29,684 in the European Poker Tour held in Madrid, Spain. She had the best live cash of her lifetime at PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in Paradise Island, Bahamas on January 7th, 2012. She won the $10,000 No Limit Hold’em for $600,000. In addition, she also participated in Stardust Canadian Poker Classics, World Poker Tour, WSOP, and European Poker Tour in 2012 and made some extra bucks. For instance, she finished 6th in WSOP that year for $29,985.
In 2013 and 2014, she put most of her focus on WSOP but could not get a bracelet. The closest to a bracelet in her career was finishing 6th in 2012. She would participate in other tournaments as well to make cash and gain experience. She would continue to participate in tournaments around the world until mid-2017 when she would take a break for almost two years. She loved traveling around the world and meeting new people which made her some lasting memories.
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Xuan Liu’s break from poker:
Xuan was out of the spotlight for around two years for many reasons. She settled on the west coast, Vancouver, to relax for some time. She later stated that she had poor bankroll management and that money was the cause of her many worries. She also went on a social media detox. She also said that she had other priorities that required her attention. Marriages, funerals, and moving were among her other priorities.
Xuan Liu’s comeback to poker:
Xuan Liu came back to poker but with a different mindset. While out of the spotlight, she was presented with many opportunities that she could not refuse. She was an ambassador for 888Poker until 2015, and she accepted to be the ambassador for 8Natural, self-claimed Asia’s largest online poker room. She would stream its tournaments in both English and Mandarin as part of the contract she signed.
Xuan Liu’s transition to Esports:
After a while of being absent from the poker world, Xuan Liu returned with a different idea in mind. She is eager to invest and transition to Esports as part of her passion for video games. She also said that she did not intend to abandon poker completely and continue playing it.
Xuan Liu’s take on Poker’s mental and physical pressure:
Xuan Liu came out to speak about the physical and mental toll poker had on her and other players. She spoke of long hours of sitting let alone the mental pressure it left on their memories. She says how a player is surrounded by some of the most manipulative people. In addition, she also added that making money through playing poker is not easy, at least now that competition is stiff. However, she still loves poker and recently became interested in poker content put out by players like Liv Boeree and Kristy Arnet. Xuan has a YouTube channel where she shares her ideas coming from a poker background.
Xuan Liu’s passion for comic books:
Xuan Liu has been a lover of comic books since childhood. Her favorite comic series of all time is Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Waterson.
Xuan Liu’s activities besides poker:
Xuan Liu became part of the Poker Power organization during the Covid and is still an instructor and board member. Pokerpower.com describes its mission as “Closing the gender gap one card at a time by teaching women how to play the game of poker and the game of life”. Xuan is a strong supporter of women overall and in the poker industry specifically.
World Poker Tour Challenge to Xuan Liu:
WPT Global set Xuan Liu a challenge in November 2023 to play in every Province and territory of Canada with a bankroll of 2000$ only. She has to finance her expenses by playing poker on the road. She would get 50,000$ in prizes and 12,500$ in the World Championship main event package if she succeeds in the challenge. She is documenting her journey on her YouTube channel and has not finished the challenge at the time of writing this article.
Conclusion:
Xuan accepted the WPT challenge to reconnect with the main reason she started playing poker in the first place: it is fun. She had quite an interesting and unique story in the poker world and can look at the industry from a different angle.
In the end, it is all the tough experiences that make one calm, and the same is true for Xuan. After a decade of ups and downs, she is happy seeing the Northern Lights while traveling around Canada.
| Full Name | Xuan Liu |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Origin | China |
| Age | 39 |
| Bracelets | None |
| Instagram and X account | @xxl23 |
| Total Live Earnings | More than 2.2 million dollars |
| Global Poker Index Ranking | 2283 |
| Popularity Ranking | 113 |
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