Joanne “JJ” Liu: Two-Time WSOP Circuit Ring Winner and Women in Poker Hall of Famer
POKER HALL OF FAME
Inducted 2014
Joanne “JJ” Liu has built one of the longest-running tournament careers among prominent women in poker, combining more than $4 million in recorded live earnings with major final tables, international victories and two World Series of Poker Circuit rings.
Her career includes a runner-up finish in the 2007 World Poker Tour Bay 101 Shooting Star for $600,000, a victory in the 2014 Asia Pacific Poker Tour Macau High Roller and induction into the Women in Poker Hall of Fame. Liu has also remained a regular presence at major tournament series decades after her first recorded live results.
As of September 15, 2026, The Hendon Mob lists Liu with $4,031,628 in live tournament earnings and a career-best cash of $600,000. Those figures can change as additional results are recorded.
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Who Is Joanne “JJ” Liu?
Joanne “JJ” Liu is a Taiwanese poker professional whose tournament record dates to the 1990s. Hendon Mob lists her birthplace as Taipei, Taiwan, and her current residence as Las Vegas, Nevada.
Liu became established on the American tournament circuit during an era when televised poker and the World Poker Tour were bringing a much larger audience to the game. Her results eventually expanded well beyond the United States, with significant finishes in Macau and other international tournament destinations.
She has competed primarily in tournament poker and has accumulated results across no-limit hold’em, limit hold’em, Omaha variants and mixed-game events. Her longevity is especially notable: Liu was recording major tournament finishes in the mid-2000s and was still cashing repeatedly at the World Series of Poker in 2026.
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Joanne “JJ” Liu’s Career Earnings and Major Results
Liu’s tournament résumé contains several six-figure scores and deep finishes in major championship events.
Her first especially large result came at the 2005 WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic, where she finished fourth in the championship event for $362,140.
In 2006, Liu won WPT Ladies Night IV, a special World Poker Tour event. That victory is an important part of her career record, although it should not be confused with a WPT Main Tour championship title.
Her biggest tournament payday followed in March 2007. Liu reached heads-up play in the $10,000 WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star Championship, finishing second to Ted Forrest in a 450-entry field. The result paid $600,000 and remains her largest recorded live cash.
Another major victory arrived in 2008, when Liu won a $2,500 no-limit hold’em event during the Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza IV for $167,283.
She added an international high-roller title in May 2014. At APPT Macau, Liu defeated a 59-entry field in the HK$100,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller and earned HK$1.42 million, approximately $183,135 according to Hendon Mob’s event record.
Among Liu’s major career highlights are:
More than $4 million in recorded live tournament earnings as of September 15, 2026
A career-best $600,000 score for second place at the 2007 WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star
Two WSOP Circuit rings
Victory in the 2014 APPT Macau High Roller
Fifth place in the 2021 WSOP Ladies Championship
Fourth place in a 2023 WSOP $800 No-Limit Hold’em Deepstack for $140,442
Induction into the Women in Poker Hall of Fame in 2012
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WSOP and WSOP Circuit Career
Liu has accumulated a large number of cashes across World Series of Poker events and has remained competitive through multiple eras of the series.
As of September 2026, the official WSOP player profile for JJ Liu lists two WSOP Circuit rings and no WSOP bracelets. The WSOP database also records more than 100 cashes associated with her profile.
One of her strongest WSOP bracelet-event performances came in the 2021 Ladies No-Limit Hold’em Championship. Liu reached the final five from a 644-entry field and finished fifth for $26,458.
She produced a larger WSOP score in 2023, finishing fourth in an $800 No-Limit Hold’em Deepstack for $140,442.
Liu continued adding meaningful WSOP results in the following seasons. During the 2025 World Series of Poker, she finished 430th in the $10,000 Main Event for $35,000 and 13th in the Ladies Championship for $9,691.
Her 2026 WSOP included multiple additional cashes. Among them were a 41st-place finish in the $5,000 Seniors High Roller for $15,855, an 89th-place finish in the $1,000 Super Seniors for $4,029 and a cash in the $800 Deepstack.
The volume and span of those results illustrate one of the defining characteristics of Liu’s career: sustained tournament participation rather than success concentrated into a brief peak.
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World Poker Tour Career and the Bay 101 Shooting Star
Liu became particularly recognizable to television-era poker audiences through her World Poker Tour appearances.
The most important came at the 2007 Bay 101 Shooting Star in San Jose, California. The $10,000 championship attracted 450 entries and generated a prize pool of nearly $4.5 million. Liu reached heads-up play against Ted Forrest before finishing second for $600,000.
She had already made a major WPT championship final table in 2005, when she placed fourth at the Five Diamond World Poker Classic for $362,140.
Liu also won the 2006 WPT Ladies Night IV special event. The distinction matters when describing her record: the World Poker Tour’s current player statistics list zero Main Tour wins while recognizing her extensive WPT results, including two Main Tour final tables and more than $1.19 million in Main Tour earnings.
Her performances during that period made her one of the most visible women competing at major open-field televised tournaments.
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International Success and APPT Macau
Liu’s career has not been limited to the American tournament circuit.
Her standout international victory came during the 2014 Asia Pacific Poker Tour stop in Macau. She entered the HK$100,000 High Roller and defeated a field of 59 entries, earning HK$1.42 million.
The result was worth approximately $183,000 and remains one of the largest victories of her career.
Liu has continued competing in Asia as well as the United States. In 2025, for example, she cashed in the WPT Prime Taiwan Championship, adding another result in the country of her birth to a tournament résumé developed largely across the international poker circuit.
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Playing Style and Tournament Reputation
Liu has competed successfully across an unusually long span of tournament poker, which makes broad labels about her style difficult to apply responsibly.
There is evidence of an aggressive approach in individual events. During her victory in the 2019 Borgata Fall Poker Open Seniors event, PokerNews described Liu as applying aggressive pressure throughout the final table.
Her larger body of results demonstrates versatility. In addition to extensive no-limit hold’em success, she has recorded cashes in limit hold’em, Omaha Hi-Lo and other formats. She has also produced deep runs in events ranging from smaller daily tournaments to high rollers and $10,000 championship fields.
Rather than being defined by one tournament format, Liu’s record reflects adaptability and the ability to remain competitive as tournament poker has evolved.
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Women in Poker Hall of Fame
Liu was inducted into the Women in Poker Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2012 alongside Kathy Raymond.
The Women in Poker Hall of Fame recognizes women whose accomplishments and contributions have had a meaningful impact on poker. Liu’s induction reflected both her tournament success and her standing as a highly visible female professional during a period when relatively few women were reaching major open-event final tables.
Her Bay 101 runner-up finish, international tournament record and continued participation have helped make her career relevant across several generations of poker.
The Hall of Fame distinction also places her within a group of influential women in the game that includes Kathy Liebert, Jennifer Harman and Maria Ho.
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Joanne “JJ” Liu’s Current Poker Status
Liu remains an active tournament player.
Her 2025 season included a $35,000 cash in the WSOP Main Event, a 13th-place finish in the WSOP Ladies Championship and multiple WPT results.
She returned to the tournament circuit throughout 2026. In addition to her WSOP cashes, Hendon Mob records a 36th-place finish in a $1,100 Wynn Millions event and a sixth-place finish in the $2,500 LIPS Ladies High Roller at the Venetian DeepStack Championship Poker Series for $11,205.
Those recent results are significant when evaluating her career status. Liu is not simply a player associated with the television-poker era of the 2000s; she continues to compete and record cashes in modern live tournament fields.
With more than three decades separating her earliest recorded tournament results from her 2026 cashes, Liu’s career stands out for both longevity and sustained participation at major poker series.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How much has Joanne “JJ” Liu won in poker tournaments?
As of September 15, 2026, Hendon Mob lists Joanne “JJ” Liu with $4,031,628 in live tournament earnings. Tournament databases are updated as new results are recorded, so that figure can change.
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What is JJ Liu’s biggest poker tournament cash?
JJ Liu’s largest recorded live cash is $600,000. She earned it by finishing second to Ted Forrest in the 2007 WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star Championship.
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How many WSOP bracelets does JJ Liu have?
JJ Liu has not won a WSOP bracelet as of September 15, 2026. She has nevertheless reached numerous WSOP final tables and recorded more than 100 WSOP-related cashes.
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How many WSOP Circuit rings has JJ Liu won?
JJ Liu has won two WSOP Circuit rings. The official WSOP player database lists her as a two-time Circuit ring winner.
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Has JJ Liu won a World Poker Tour title?
JJ Liu won the 2006 WPT Ladies Night IV special event, but the World Poker Tour’s official Main Tour statistics list her with zero Main Tour wins. Her best WPT Main Tour result was second place in the 2007 Bay 101 Shooting Star for $600,000.
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Is JJ Liu in the Women in Poker Hall of Fame?
Yes. Joanne “JJ” Liu was inducted into the Women in Poker Hall of Fame in 2012 alongside Kathy Raymond.
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Where is JJ Liu from?
JJ Liu is from Taipei, Taiwan. Hendon Mob lists Taiwan as her nationality and Las Vegas, Nevada, as her current residence.
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Is JJ Liu still playing poker?
Yes. Liu remained active in 2026, recording multiple cashes at the World Series of Poker as well as results at Wynn and Venetian tournament series.