Olivia "Liv" Boeree (born 18 July 1984) is a British science communicator,

television presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a " television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for people who garne ...

and former professional

poker Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game wa ...

player. She is a

World Series of Poker The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Paradise, Nevada and, since 2004, sponsored by Caesars Entertainment. It dates its origins to 1970, when Benny Binion invited seven of the best-known poker pl ...

and

European Poker Tour The European Poker Tour (EPT) is a series of poker tournaments similar to those in the World Poker Tour (WPT), created by John Duthie, winner of the inaugural Poker Million tournament. It began in 2004 as part of the worldwide explosion in Tex ...

champion, and is the only female player in history to win both a WSOP bracelet and an EPT event. Boeree is a 3× winner of the

Global Poker Index The Global Poker Index (GPI) is a leaderboard index that ranks over 450,000 live tournament poker players in the world. The GPI poker rankings are updated on a weekly basis. Players’ performances are assessed by their finishing positions in po ...

European Female Player of the year. , having retired in late 2019, Boeree still ranks among the top ten women in poker history in terms of all-time money winnings.

Early life

Boeree was born in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

in the South East of England on 18 July 1984 and studied at

Ashford School Ashford School is a coeducational independent boarding and day school in East Hill, Ashford, Kent. There are 480 students in the senior school (ages 11 to 18) and 360 in the prep school (ages 3 to 11). The school is owned and run by the Unit ...

before going on to earn a First Class Honours degree in

Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which ...

with

Astrophysics Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline said, Astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the nature of the h ...

at the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The university owns and operates majo ...

. During this time she played lead guitar in heavy metal band "Dissonance" and modelled for a number of alternative clothing brands such as Alchemy Gothic.

Poker career

Boeree was introduced to the poker industry when she was selected as one of five contestants for the reality TV show ''Ultimatepoker.com Showdown'', which aired on

Five 5 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 5, five or number 5 may also refer to: * AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era * 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era Literature * ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram * ''5'' (comics), an awa ...

in autumn 2005. During the show she was coached by top poker players

Phil Hellmuth Phillip Jerome Hellmuth Jr. (born July 16, 1964) is an American professional poker player who has won a record sixteen World Series of Poker bracelets. He is the winner of the Main Event of the 1989 World Series of Poker (WSOP) and the Main Event ...

Annie Duke Anne LaBarr Duke (née Lederer; born September 13, 1965) is an American former professional poker player and author in cognitive-behavioral decision science and decision education. She holds a World Series of Poker (WSOP) gold bracelet from 2004 ...

, and

Dave Ulliott David A. Ulliott (also known as Devilfish)(1 April 1954 – 6 April 2015), was an English professional gambler and poker player. Formerly, Ulliott was a minor figure in the Hull underworld, but went on to become a World Series of Poker bracele ...

. In May 2008, she won the 2008 Ladbrokes European Ladies Championships for $30,000. On 21 April 2010, Boeree won the

main event in

Sanremo Sanremo (; lij, Sanrémmo(ro) or , ) or San Remo is a city and comune on the Mediterranean coast of Liguria, in northwestern Italy. Founded in Roman times, it has a population of 55,000, and is known as a tourist destination on the Italian Rivie ...

, at the time the largest ever poker tournament held on European soil. Boeree won €1,250,000 and thereby became the third woman ever to win an EPT title. At the

2017 World Series of Poker The 2017 World Series of Poker was the 48th annual World Series of Poker (WSOP). It took place from May 30 – July 17 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. There was a record 74 bracelet events including the third edition of ...

in Las Vegas, Boeree won event #2 (the "$10,000 Tag Team No-Limit Hold'em Championship") for $273,964 with Russian poker player and boyfriend

Igor Kurganov Igor Kurganov (born 5 May 1988) is a Russian born German professional poker player, angel investor and philanthropist. He is the co-founder of Raising for Effective Giving, a philanthropic organisation that promotes a rational approach to phila ...

. Other notable results include a runner-up finish in the 2014 UKIPT Edinburgh Main Event, 1st place on Poker After Dark in 2017 and a 3rd-place finish in the EPT Barcelona High Roller event for €391,000 in August 2015. Awards: Boeree won Female Player of the Year in 2014, 2015 and 2016 at the European Poker Awards, as determined by Global Poker Index points she accumulated during those years. She was also awarded "Europe's Leading Lady" in 2010 at the European Poker Awards. Boeree has been a member of Team

PokerStars PokerStars is an online poker cardroom that was a part of The Stars Group until it was sold to Flutter Entertainment on May 5, 2020. It can be accessed through downloadable poker clients for the Windows, macOS, Android and iOS. It is the l ...

Pro since September 2010. As of January 2020, her total live tournament earnings exceed $3,800,000. In February 2016, she was announced as the Team Manager of the Global Poker League team "The London Royals". In November 2019, Liv Boeree announced on Twitter that she had left Team PokerStars after nine years and will quit professional poker.

World Series of Poker bracelets

Charity work

In 2014, Boeree co-founded

Raising for Effective Giving Raising for Effective Giving (REG) is a charity fundraising nonprofit. Its members consist mostly of professional poker players and financial investors who pledge to donate a percentage of their income to selected charities. Philosophy REG was ...

, an organization that promotes a rational approach to philanthropy often referred to as

effective altruism Effective altruism is a philosophical and social movement that advocates "using evidence and reason to figure out how to benefit others as much as possible, and taking action on that basis". People who pursue the goals of effective altruism, ca ...

, and provides advice on choosing charities based on certain criteria. The organization also publishes an annual guide to effective giving, highlighting which charities may be worthy of receiving funds, and for which ethical reasons. As of July 2020,

has raised over $14,000,000 for its supported charities. In addition, in 2017 Boeree became a member of

Giving What We Can Giving What We Can (GWWC) is an effective altruism-associated organisation whose members pledge to give at least 10% of their income to effective charities. It was founded at Oxford University in 2009 by the philosopher Toby Ord, physician-in- ...

, a community of people who have pledged to give at least 10% of their income to effective charities. Boeree has raised concerns about possible risks from the development of

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech ...

and supports research that is directed at safe AI development.

Television and film

Boeree's TV hosting credits include The Weather Channel's "Weird Earth", Discovery Channel's "The Mind Control Freaks" in 2015-2016 and

Red Bull TV Red Bull TV is a global multi-platform channel owned by Red Bull GmbH, distributed digitally on connected TVs, smartphones, tablets, and on its website. The channel is available globally. Programming is in English (with optional subtitles and clos ...

's "MindGamers" in 2017. From 2011-2013, she co-hosted ''UK and Ireland Poker Tour'', a weekly show that aired on Channel 4 in the UK. Her poker TV appearances include NBC's Heads Up Poker in 2011 and 2013,

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

's Shark Cage in 2014 and the

from 2010-2016 and

Poker After Dark ''Poker After Dark'' is an hour-long poker television program that originally aired on NBC, premiering on January 1, 2007.

Poker Central Poker Central is a website and service which focuses on poker news, events, live streaming and hosting poker content. It operates PokerGO an online paid subscription channel and streaming service which features multiple poker shows, cash games and ...

in 2017. Other appearances include

BBC4 BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

Documentary "The Joy of Winning" discussing

game theory Game theory is the study of mathematical models of strategic interactions among rational agents. Myerson, Roger B. (1991). ''Game Theory: Analysis of Conflict,'' Harvard University Press, p.&nbs1 Chapter-preview links, ppvii–xi It has appli ...

with Presenter

Hannah Fry Hannah Fry (born February 1984) is a British mathematician, author, and radio and television presenter. She is Professor in the Mathematics of Cities at the UCL Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis. She studies the patterns of human behaviour, ...

BBC Breakfast ''BBC Breakfast'' is the BBC television breakfast news programme. Produced by BBC News, the programme is broadcast on BBC One and the BBC News channel. The simulcast is presented live, originally from the BBC Television Centre, London before ...

alongside

Boris Becker Boris Franz Becker (, ; born 22 November 1967) is a German former world No. 1 tennis player. Becker was successful from the start of his career, winning the Wimbledon Championships at the age of 17. He ultimately won six Grand Slam singles tit ...

in September 2010, and on ITV's GMTV by

Lorraine Kelly Lorraine Kelly, (born 30 November 1959) is a Scottish journalist and television presenter. She has presented various television shows for ITV, including '' Good Morning Britain'' (1988–1992), '' GMTV'' (1993–2010), ''This Morning'' (2003 ...

about her European Poker Tour win. In 2011, Boeree was a member of the Celebrity Graduate Manchester University team that took part in

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...

's seasonal general knowledge tournament, ''

Christmas University Challenge ''Christmas University Challenge'' is a British quiz programme which has aired on BBC Two since 2011. It is a spin-off from University Challenge that airs daily over the Christmas period, and features teams of noteworthy alumni from British u ...

''. In 2006, she appeared on the

show ''

Codex The codex (plural codices ) was the historical ancestor of the modern book. Instead of being composed of sheets of paper, it used sheets of vellum, papyrus, or other materials. The term ''codex'' is often used for ancient manuscript books, with ...

''. On 21 July 2007, Boeree appeared on the ITV show ''

Golden Balls ''Golden Balls'' was a British daytime game show that was presented by Jasper Carrott. It was broadcast on the ITV network from 18 June 2007 to 18 December 2009. Gameplay Round 1 At the back of the studio is the "Golden Bank," a giant contra ...

'', winning £6,500.50. In 2020, Boeree made an appearance in the Dutch film '' The Host'' as Ms. Gueller.

Speaker

Boeree gave her first

TEDx TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sa ...

talk at TEDxManchester in February 2018 on the benefits of thinking in probabilities. One month later she spoke at the TED 2018 Conference in Vancouver during their inaugural "TED Unplugged" session. Her topic was "3 lessons on decision-making from a poker champion". Boeree appeared as a guest speaker at Oxford University Union in May 2016, Jesus College, Cambridge in February 2017, the Cheltenham Science Festival in June 2016, Websummit Dublin in Nov 2015 and

Effective Altruism Global Effective Altruism Global, abbreviated EA Global or EAG, is a series of philanthropy conferences that focuses on the effective altruism movement. The conferences are run by the Centre for Effective Altruism. ''Huffington Post'' editor Nico Pitney ...

, Google HQ in San Francisco Aug 2015 Boeree also appeared on

Sean M. Carroll Sean Michael Carroll (born October 5, 1966) is an American theoretical physicist and philosopher who specializes in quantum mechanics, gravity, and cosmology. He is (formerly) a research professor in the Walter Burke Institute for Theoretical ...

's Mindscape podcast (Episode 6 aired on 24 July 2018) to discuss probability and effective altruism. Boeree appeared on Lex Fridman's podcast (aired 24 August 2022) to discuss poker, game theory, AI, simulation, aliens & existential risk.

Writing

Boeree has written a number of articles and opinion pieces on various scientific and rationality topics. Her publications include a

Vox.com ''Vox'' () is an American news and opinion website owned by Vox Media. The website was founded in April 2014 by Ezra Klein, Matt Yglesias, and Melissa Bell, and is noted for its concept of explanatory journalism. Vox's media presence also ...

article discussing the philosophical implications of

Future of Humanity Institute The Future of Humanity Institute (FHI) is an interdisciplinary research centre at the University of Oxford investigating big-picture questions about humanity and its prospects. It was founded in 2005 as part of the Faculty of Philosophy and t ...

's 2018 Paper
Dissolving the Fermi Paradox
, a

Vice Media Vice Media Group LLC is an American-Canadian digital media and broadcasting company. , the Vice Media Group included five main business areas: VICE.com (digital content); VICE STUDIOS (film and TV production) VICE TV (also known as VICELAND); ...

article on a discovered crystalline pattern in prime numbers and an opinion piece in

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

on the importance of rational thinking classes in mainstream education. Her June 2020 byline in ''

Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...

'', reviewing the latest book by

Maria Konnikova Maria Konnikova (βορν 1984) is a Russian-American writer with a Ph.D. in psychology from Columbia University. Konnikova has worked as a television producer, written for several magazines and online publications, and written three ''New Y ...

, lists her as a "science communicator and former professional poker player."

Notes

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boeree, Liv 1984 births Living people Alumni of the University of Manchester English female models English poker players English television presenters European Poker Tour winners Female poker players People associated with effective altruism People educated at Ashford School People from Ashford, Kent World Series of Poker bracelet winners