Billy Baxter: Seven-Time WSOP Bracelet Winner and Poker Hall of Famer
POKER HALL OF FAME
Inducted 2006
Billy Baxter is a seven-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner, Poker Hall of Fame member and one of the most accomplished lowball players in WSOP history. His career stretches from poker’s early Las Vegas tournament era through the modern World Series, with bracelet victories spanning 27 years.
Baxter’s record is especially distinctive because all seven of his WSOP bracelets came in lowball variants. Five were won in Deuce-to-Seven Draw, another came in Ace-to-Five Draw and his seventh bracelet came in Razz. The World Series of Poker currently lists him with seven bracelets and no WSOP Circuit rings.
His tournament career has also remained active decades after his first bracelet victory. As of September 2, 2026, The Hendon Mob lists Baxter with more than $3.43 million in live tournament earnings and a career-best recorded cash of $473,212. His results include tournament cashes as recently as August 2026.
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Who Is Billy Baxter?
Billy Baxter is an American poker player and professional gambler whose career became closely associated with Las Vegas, high-stakes gambling and lowball poker.
The Hendon Mob lists Baxter as being from Augusta, Georgia, and residing in Las Vegas, Nevada. His recorded tournament history reaches back to the earliest decades of the World Series of Poker, and he became part of a generation of players who helped establish professional poker in Las Vegas before televised tournaments and online poker expanded the game’s audience.
Baxter developed his gambling skills at a young age. A World Series of Poker retrospective on his career describes him playing pool in Augusta during his teenage years before discovering poker. After reaching Las Vegas, he competed alongside prominent players from poker’s road-gambling generation, including Doyle Brunson, Jack “Treetop” Straus, Brian “Sailor” Roberts and Puggy Pearson.
Poker was only one part of Baxter’s gambling career. He also became known as an accomplished sports bettor, although his poker tournament record ultimately secured his place among the most successful specialists of his era.
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Billy Baxter’s WSOP Bracelet Career
Baxter won his first World Series of Poker bracelet in 1975 and his seventh in 2002.
According to PokerNews and the WSOP, his bracelet victories are:
1975 — $1,000 Deuce-to-Seven Draw — $35,000
1978 — $10,000 Deuce-to-Seven Draw — $90,000
1982 — $10,000 Deuce-to-Seven Draw — $95,000
1982 — $2,500 Ace-to-Five Draw — $48,750
1987 — $5,000 Deuce-to-Seven Draw — $153,000
1993 — $5,000 Deuce-to-Seven Draw — $130,500
2002 — $1,500 Razz — $64,860
Five of those victories came in Deuce-to-Seven Draw, the game most closely associated with Baxter’s tournament reputation.
His bracelet record also demonstrates unusual longevity. Twenty-seven years separated his first bracelet in 1975 from his Razz victory in 2002, giving Baxter championship success across several generations of WSOP competition.
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Why Billy Baxter Is Known for Lowball Poker
Baxter built his strongest poker reputation in lowball games, where the objective is generally to make the lowest qualifying hand rather than the highest conventional poker hand.
His five Deuce-to-Seven Draw bracelets form the core of that legacy. He also demonstrated success in Ace-to-Five Draw and Razz, giving him bracelet victories across three different lowball formats.
The WSOP has repeatedly identified Baxter as one of the game’s defining lowball specialists. His results support that reputation: every bracelet he has won came in a lowball discipline, and decades after his final bracelet victory he continued making deep runs in championship-level lowball events.
At the 2026 World Series of Poker, Baxter finished eighth in Event #67, the $10,000 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Championship, earning $37,224. The 176-entry field included many of the strongest mixed-game and lowball players in poker, and Baxter reached the final eight at age 85.
That result extended a competitive record that began more than half a century earlier.
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Baxter’s 2023 WSOP Seniors Championship Run
One of the largest tournament results of Baxter’s career came far outside the lowball games that made him famous.
At the 2023 World Series of Poker, Baxter reached heads-up play in the $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold’em Championship. The event drew more than 8,000 entries, and Baxter advanced through the enormous field before finishing runner-up to Lonnie Hallett.
Baxter earned $473,212 for second place, which The Hendon Mob lists as the largest recorded live tournament cash of his career.
The result was notable for another reason. Baxter had already won seven bracelets, but none had come in Texas Hold’em. His deep run gave him an opportunity to add a Hold’em bracelet more than two decades after winning his seventh WSOP title.
Hallett ultimately won the championship, while Baxter’s runner-up finish became another major result in a career already defined by longevity.
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Billy Baxter on the World Poker Tour
Baxter has never won a World Poker Tour Main Tour title, but he has recorded several significant WPT results.
His best WPT Championship finish came in the 2010 WPT World Championship at Bellagio. Baxter reached the televised six-player final table and finished fifth for $246,921.
The World Poker Tour lists Baxter with $598,367 in WPT earnings from its tracked events.
That 2010 final table placed him alongside a strong group that included David Williams, Eric Baldwin, Shawn Buchanan and David Benyamine. Williams eventually won the championship for more than $1.5 million.
Baxter’s WPT record illustrates that his tournament success was not limited to draw games or the World Series of Poker.
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Billy Baxter and Stu Ungar
Baxter also played an important role in the career of three-time WSOP Main Event champion Stu Ungar.
The WSOP has documented Baxter’s long relationship with Ungar, including Baxter backing him financially during portions of his career. Baxter put Ungar into the 1997 WSOP Main Event, where Ungar completed one of poker’s best-known comeback stories by winning his third Main Event championship.
Ungar’s victory made him only the second player at the time to win the WSOP Main Event three times.
Baxter’s connection to Ungar became part of his broader place in Las Vegas poker history. His career intersected not only with major tournaments but also with many of the players who defined the high-stakes poker scene of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.
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Baxter v. United States and Professional Gambling
Baxter’s influence reaches beyond tournament results.
He became the plaintiff in Baxter v. United States, a federal tax case involving the treatment of income earned by a professional gambler. Baxter argued that his gambling profits resulted from the application of personal skill and labor and should receive tax treatment associated with earned income under the law then in effect.
The federal district court ruled in Baxter’s favor in 1986.
The case became an important reference point in discussions of professional gambling and taxation because the court recognized that Baxter’s gambling income depended on his skill and personal services rather than functioning as passive investment income.
While the case is sometimes simplified as a ruling that “poker is a game of skill,” its legal importance was specifically tied to federal tax treatment of professional gambling income.
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Poker Hall of Fame Induction
Billy Baxter was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2006 alongside T.J. Cloutier.
The WSOP Poker Hall of Fame continues to list Baxter as a member of the 2006 class.
By the time of his induction, Baxter had already won all seven of his WSOP bracelets and established a tournament record spanning more than three decades.
His Hall of Fame credentials extended beyond bracelet totals. Baxter had competed successfully in high-stakes poker, developed one of the game’s strongest lowball résumés, became involved in a consequential gambling-tax case and played a significant role in the Las Vegas poker community.
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Billy Baxter’s Live Tournament Earnings
As of September 2, 2026, The Hendon Mob lists Billy Baxter with more than $3.43 million in recorded live tournament earnings.
Those numbers are subject to change as new tournament results are added.
His largest recorded cash is $473,212 for finishing second in the 2023 WSOP Seniors Championship.
Other major scores include:
$246,921 for fifth place in the 2010 WPT World Championship
$173,580 for third place in a 2017 WPT L.A. Poker Classic festival event
$153,000 for winning the 1987 WSOP Deuce-to-Seven Draw bracelet event
$149,755 for winning a tournament during the 2008 Five-Star World Poker Classic
$138,990 for another victory during the 2008 Five-Star World Poker Classic
Tournament earnings do not capture Baxter’s full gambling career because they exclude private cash games, sports betting results and other gambling activity.
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Is Billy Baxter Still Active in Poker?
Yes. Baxter continued recording live tournament results during 2026.
His most notable result of the year was his eighth-place finish for $37,224 in the WSOP $10,000 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Championship.
The Hendon Mob also records additional Las Vegas cashes during July and August 2026, including results at the Venetian, South Point and other local tournaments.
That continued activity is particularly significant given the length of Baxter’s career. More than 50 years after winning his first WSOP bracelet, he was still competing and cashing in live tournaments.
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Billy Baxter’s Place in Poker History
Baxter occupies an unusual position in poker history because his reputation rests on several different accomplishments.
His seven WSOP bracelets put him among the most decorated bracelet winners in the game. The concentration of those victories in lowball variants makes his record even more distinctive.
He also remained competitive across an extraordinary period of change in tournament poker, from small early WSOP fields to modern events attracting thousands of entries.
Beyond the tournament tables, Baxter became connected to major chapters of gambling history through his relationship with Stu Ungar, his career as a sports bettor and the Baxter v. United States tax case.
His 2006 Poker Hall of Fame induction recognized a career that had already influenced several generations of professional poker. His continued tournament results into 2026 have extended that legacy even further.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many WSOP bracelets does Billy Baxter have?
Billy Baxter has seven World Series of Poker bracelets. The WSOP currently lists him with seven bracelet victories and zero WSOP Circuit rings.
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What poker games did Billy Baxter win bracelets in?
Baxter won five bracelets in Deuce-to-Seven Draw, one in Ace-to-Five Draw and one in Razz. All seven of his WSOP bracelets came in lowball poker variants.
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When did Billy Baxter win his first WSOP bracelet?
Billy Baxter won his first WSOP bracelet in 1975 in a $1,000 Deuce-to-Seven Draw event. He earned $35,000 for the victory.
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When did Billy Baxter win his most recent WSOP bracelet?
Baxter won his seventh and most recent WSOP bracelet in 2002, capturing a $1,500 Razz event for $64,860.
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Is Billy Baxter in the Poker Hall of Fame?
Yes. Billy Baxter was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2006 alongside T.J. Cloutier.
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How much has Billy Baxter won in live poker tournaments?
As of September 2, 2026, The Hendon Mob lists Baxter with more than $3.43 million in recorded live tournament earnings. Tournament earnings change as new results are added.
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What is Billy Baxter’s largest tournament cash?
The Hendon Mob lists Baxter’s $473,212 runner-up finish in the 2023 WSOP Seniors Championship as his largest recorded live tournament cash.
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Has Billy Baxter won a WPT title?
No. The World Poker Tour does not list Baxter with a WPT Main Tour title. His best WPT Championship result was fifth place in the 2010 WPT World Championship for $246,921.
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Did Billy Baxter back Stu Ungar?
Yes. The World Series of Poker has documented Baxter’s role as one of Stu Ungar’s financial backers. Baxter put Ungar into the 1997 WSOP Main Event, which Ungar went on to win for his third Main Event championship.
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What was Baxter v. United States?
Baxter v. United States was a federal tax case involving the treatment of professional gambling income. The court ruled in Baxter’s favor in 1986, recognizing that his gambling profits resulted from his personal skill and services for purposes of the tax issue before the court.
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Is Billy Baxter still playing poker?
Yes. Tournament records show Baxter remained active in 2026. He finished eighth in the $10,000 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Championship at the 2026 WSOP and recorded additional live cashes in Las Vegas later that summer.
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Why is Billy Baxter important to poker history?
Billy Baxter combines seven WSOP bracelets, an exceptional lowball record, Poker Hall of Fame membership, decades of high-stakes gambling experience and continued tournament success across more than 50 years. His influence also extends to gambling history through his relationship with Stu Ungar and the Baxter v. United States tax case.