Maria Ho

Maria Ho

Maria Ho photographed by Tiffany J Photography (March 2011)
Nickname(s) None
Residence Arcadia, California
World Series of Poker
Bracelet(s) None
Final table(s) 2
Money finish(es) 30
Highest ITM
Main Event finish
38th, 2007
World Poker Tour
Title(s) None
Final table(s) None
Money finish(es) 4

Maria Ho (born March 6, 1983 in Taipei, Taiwan[1]) is a professional poker player and TV personality currently ranked the seventh female poker player in the world by the Global Poker Index.[2] Ho is also a celebrity spokesperson for the WinStar World Casino[3] and the co-host and strategic commentator on the HPT (Heartland Poker Tour).[4]

Over her career, Ho has amassed live tournament results which include 30 WSOP cashes, 3 World Series of Poker final tables, 4 WPT cashes, a World Poker Tour final table and 6 additional final tables on the professional poker circuit. Her total live tournament winnings exceed $1,650,000.[5] She is a 3-time nominee, as Favorite Female Player, in the Bluff (magazine) Reader's Choice Awards (2012, 2014, 2015).

In 2009, Maria competed on the CBS Emmy Award winning television show The Amazing Race 15 with fellow poker pro and 2008 last woman standing, Tiffany Michelle.[6] She has also been seen on the third season of American Idol (where she made it to "Hollywood Week"), as a panelist on Anderson Cooper 360,[7] and for two consecutive seasons she was featured as one of the World Poker Tour's "Ones to Watch" (in 2011 and 2012).[8] In 2013, Maria joined the broadcast team for season 9 of the Heartland Poker Tour, as a co-host and the final table strategic commentator.[9] She was the first female in history to be hired to a poker television broadcast as the resident strategic commentator.[10]

Fluent in Mandarin and born into a traditional Chinese family, Maria's family moved from Taiwan to the United States when she was four years-old, eventually settling just outside of Los Angeles in Arcadia, California. It was in college that Maria was introduced to playing poker. She was drawn to the psychology and competitive spirit of the game and soon went from playing games with college friends, to playing Limit cash games at nearby Indian casinos.[11] When Maria graduated from UCSD in 2005 with a major in Communications and a minor in Law she had gone from playing low limits to high-stakes cash games and had grown her poker bankroll to the point that she felt confident to embark on a career as a professional poker player.[12]

Maria's first major tournament success came at the 2007 World Series of Poker where she was the last woman remaining in the Championship Event, placing 38th out of 6,358 players and earning a $237,865 payday. She repeated this accomplishment in 2014 when she came in 77th place out of 6,683 players.[13] Her 27th place "Last Woman Standing" finish at the 2011 World Series of Poker Europe Main Event[14] makes Maria the first and only player to ever hold the title Last Woman Standing at both the WSOP and WSOPE Main Events.

At the 2012 World Series of Poker she was the most-cashing female of the Series, with six individual tournament cashes.[15] Again in 2014 she was the woman with the most event cashes.[16]

Maria has received invitations to play in various types of games all over the world. In 2008, she traveled to Hong Kong to play in the World Mahjong Tour, going head to head with various Chinese and Taiwanese celebrities and professional Mahjong players.[17] She has also played two consecutive years as a member of Team China in the Inaugural World Team Poker Invitational, helping her team secure a 1st place victory in 2010.[18]

Beyond the poker tables, Maria has shared her knowledge of the game as an on-camera host for WSOP.com, a commentator for the live WSOP final-table broadcasts on ESPN 360, as a private coach, and as writer for several poker publications - which include authoring a chapter in the book Winning Women of Poker: Secret Strategies Revealed[19] and as a columnist for Bluff Magazine.

References

  1. "Maria Ho Bio". MariaHo.com. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
  2. "GPI Ladies". globalpokerindex.com. Retrieved 2014-07-16.
  3. "Maria Ho Named WinStar Promoter". focusdailynews.com. Retrieved 2012-02-07.
  4. "Maria Ho Joines Heartland Poker Tour Broadcast Team for Season 9". bluff.com. Retrieved 2015-01-23.
  5. "Maria Ho". thehendenmob.com. Retrieved 2015-01-23.
  6. "Amazing Race Cast, season 15". CBS.com. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
  7. "Maria Ho on Anderson Cooper 360". wickedchopspoker.com. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
  8. "WPT Season X: Ones to Watch". worldpokertour.com. 2012-03-16. Retrieved 2012-11-14.
  9. "Mario Ho Joins Heartland Tour Broadcasts". pokernewsreport.com. 2012-12-11. Retrieved 2012-12-13.
  10. "Pro Player Becomes First Female Commentator in Poker". hptpoker.com. 2012-12-01. Retrieved 2015-01-23.
  11. "The PokerNews Interview: Maria Ho". PokerNews. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
  12. "Maria Ho Bio". MariaHo.com. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
  13. "World Series of Poker Player Profile - Maria Ho". wsop.com. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
  14. "2011 WSOP Europe Main Event". wickedchopspoker.com. Retrieved 2011-10-19.
  15. "Main Event Snapshot with Maria Ho". bluffmagazine.com. 2012-07-08. Retrieved 2012-07-31s. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  16. "WSOP 2014 Number of Cashes". thehendeonmob.com. 2014-07-13. Retrieved 2014-07-313. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  17. "World Mahjong Tour Announces its Celebrity Invitational Televised Tournament". worldmahjongtour.com. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
  18. "China Wins World Team Poker". bluffeurope.com. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
  19. "Seaside Publishing - Winning Women in Poker". seasidepublishing.com. Retrieved 2011-07-19.

External links