Liv Boeree, the astrophysicist who became a master of Poker

It is no coincidence that the 36-year-old British woman is considered one of the best players to ever sit at the poker table.

(Image: Wikipedia) 

If you have played poker at least once in your life (either online or live), then you will know that to defeat your opponents you will have to handle the bluffs exceptionally well and be fully aware of each of your traffic possibilities. Olivia 'Liv' Boeree [3] was (and still is) one of the players whose background helped them evolve and excel in poker. The 36-year-old British woman (born in Kent) studied physics and astrophysics at the University of Manchester, but poker has always been her passion.

She started playing online in casino games [4], using the nickname, Iron Maiden due to her love of metal music and the legendary band. If she only knew that now there are so many online casinos, you often need a guide to get started. Online games like Video Poker, Bonus Poker, Caribbean Stud Poker, Pai Gow Poker can help you win a lot of money. CasinoTop10 can be your guide if you want to succeed like Liv.

It should be noted somewhere here that Liv also plays guitar and her goal at first was to become an expert at guitar as soon possible. However, she needed the money initially, so she decided to play poker on the side until she became a rock star. That decision was for her benefit since she knew she was one of the world's wealthiest female poker players.

The reality TV show "Ultimatepoker Showdown" in 2005 selected her as one of the five contestants. During the show, top players like Phil Hellmuth and Dave Ulliott coached her. Her success in online tournaments was such that she decided to do things more professionally and participate in live tournaments. In May 2008, she took part for the first time in the Ladbrokes European Ladies Championships and won first place with a sum of 30,000 Euros. Her fearless and often aggressive style of play with several bluffs made even top players bend in front of her. This happened in 2010 when the main event in San Remo, Boeree, won the big prize of the European Poker Tour of 1,250,000 Euros and became the third woman who managed to conquer the title. And in fact, she managed to win having a pair of fives as the last cards in her hand. Of course, apart from her success at the poker table, Liv saw that she attracted more attention from the opposite sex. The brunette player gained thousands of fans, who followed her on social media, while they also gave her the description of the ‘sexiest poker player in the world.' During the two years, 2014-2016, Boeree was number one globally, while she also took several photos for famous magazines. In terms of total profits from poker tables, she has far exceeded 3,000,000 Euros.

In 2019 she decided to stop playing professionally, wanting to dedicate a little more to the academic part. She has given several lectures at universities like Oxford University, while also giving some lectures at TEDx events on the possibilities, the strategy, and the decision-making behind her plays. Her main speaking topics are:

• Poker – basic psychology, games and game theory applications, rational thinking techniques and decision making

• Probability

• Risk-taking

• How to help others and how to choose charities.

• Science – space exploration, physics discoveries, AI dangers, extreme weather, encouraging women into science & engineering

• How to be a successful female poker player in a man's world • Environmental issues like alternative sources of energy, living with a respect to the planet and its residents.

She is a co-founder of the Raising for Effective Giving. This organization advises choosing charities based on specific criteria like the strength of evidence, cost-effectiveness, room for more funding, and transparency. She believes that people can actually do something about the problems the world faces. She says: "As potential philanthropists, we are that doctor. There are so many problems in the world that need to be fixed."

She is a member of Giving What We Can, a community of people committed to giving at least 10% of their income to specific charities. At the same time, she writes articles on well-known websites, and in her CV, she states that she is now a 'science communicator.' Her fans, however, remain loyal, with her Instagram [5] account counting more than 110,000 followers. Let's hope that her example of success and philanthropy will light the path for others.