Michael Moncek: Two-Time WSOP Bracelet Winner and High-Stakes Finalist
POKER HALL OF FAME
Inducted 2014
Michael Moncek has developed one of the more versatile tournament résumés among active American poker players. Known widely as “Texas Mike,” Moncek has won two World Series of Poker bracelets and four WSOP Circuit rings while producing major results in limit hold’em, no-limit hold’em, pot-limit Omaha and mixed formats.
His career has also expanded well beyond his bracelet victories. Moncek reached the final table of the Triton Million at the 2024 WSOP Paradise for the largest live cash of his career, then finished runner-up in a $50,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller at the 2025 WSOP Paradise. He remained active throughout 2026 with deep runs in both Europe and Las Vegas.
As of September 8, 2026, The Hendon Mob lists Moncek with $8,304,984 in live tournament earnings and a career-best cash of $1.2 million. The official WSOP player database lists two bracelets and four Circuit rings.
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Who Is Michael Moncek?
Michael Moncek is an American poker player from the Chicago area who is commonly known in the poker community as “Texas Mike.” PokerNews reports that the nickname is connected to his time attending the University of Texas at Austin rather than being a reference to his home state.
The Hendon Mob lists Moncek's residence as North Barrington, Illinois. His tournament record reflects an unusually broad range of poker formats, with significant results in hold’em, pot-limit Omaha, limit games and mixed events.
Before winning his first WSOP bracelet, Moncek had already established a record on the WSOP Circuit. He entered the 2022 World Series of Poker with three Circuit rings and later increased his career total to four.
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Michael Moncek's First WSOP Bracelet
Moncek's breakthrough at the World Series of Poker came in 2022 when he won Event #13: $1,500 Limit Hold’em.
The tournament drew 522 entries and generated a $696,000 prize pool. Moncek defeated Ben Ross heads-up to earn $145,856 and his first WSOP bracelet.
The victory was particularly notable because Moncek told PokerNews that he had never played limit hold’em before entering the tournament. Rather than specializing in the format beforehand, he entered because it fit his WSOP schedule and ultimately converted the opportunity into his first bracelet.
That result established a theme that would become increasingly clear throughout his career: Moncek has been willing and able to compete across a wide variety of poker disciplines rather than limiting himself to one tournament format.
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Second WSOP Bracelet in 2023
Moncek needed only one more summer to become a multiple-bracelet winner.
At the 2023 World Series of Poker, he captured Event #6: $5,000 Mixed No-Limit Hold’em/Pot-Limit Omaha. The event attracted 568 entries and created a $2,612,800 prize pool.
Moncek won $534,499 after surviving a tournament that combined two of poker's most widely played big-bet formats. The victory gave him his second WSOP bracelet and produced what was, at the time, the largest recorded tournament cash of his career.
Winning bracelets in both limit hold’em and a mixed no-limit hold’em/pot-limit Omaha event also demonstrated the breadth of his tournament game. His later results would reinforce that versatility, particularly in pot-limit Omaha and high-roller competition.
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Triton Million Produces Moncek's Largest Live Cash
Moncek reached another level financially at the 2024 WSOP Paradise in the Bahamas.
He advanced to the final table of the Triton Million, an invitational pairing recreational competitors with professionals. The Hendon Mob lists a $500,000 individual buy-in plus a $25,000 fee; the $1 million description referred to the two entrants' combined nominal buy-ins. Moncek finished ninth for an individual $1.2 million prize.
That remains his largest recorded live tournament cash as of September 8, 2026.
The final table included several established high-stakes professionals, including Benjamin Heath, Daniel Dvoress, Alex Foxen and Aleksejs Ponakovs. Alejandro Lococo ultimately won the tournament.
For Moncek, the result was important even without a title. It demonstrated that the player who had built his reputation through Circuit events and WSOP bracelets could also compete deep into one of the highest-buy-in tournaments on the international schedule.
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Strong Results at the 2025 WSOP Paradise
Earlier in 2025, Moncek finished runner-up to Chad Eveslage in the inaugural Super High Roller Bowl Mixed Games, earning $725,000.
Moncek returned to the Bahamas for another productive WSOP Paradise festival in 2025.
His largest result of the series came in Event #13: $50,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller. Moncek reached heads-up play against Charles Hook in a 115-entry tournament and finished second for $966,000.
The runner-up finish brought him within one opponent of a third WSOP bracelet.
That was not his only major result at the festival. Moncek also finished fifth in the $25,000 GGMillion$ Single Day Turbo for $370,200 and ninth in the $50,000 High Roller Turbo for $157,500.
Those results further established high-stakes tournaments and pot-limit Omaha as important parts of his modern tournament résumé.
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Michael Moncek's 2026 Results
Moncek remained highly active in 2026 and continued recording deep finishes across multiple poker formats.
At the 2026 WSOP Europe in Prague, he finished third in the €5,300 Pot-Limit Omaha European Championship for €175,000. He also cashed in several other events during the series.
His Las Vegas summer included another group of significant results. Moncek finished eighth in the $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller for $118,753 before placing ninth in the $250,000 Super High Roller for $518,518.
He later reached another large-field WSOP final table in the $800 Summer Celebration. The tournament attracted 6,803 entries, and Moncek finished third for $240,000.
His other 2026 WSOP cashes included results in pot-limit Omaha, seven-card stud hi-lo, limit 2-7 triple draw, no-limit hold’em and additional mixed or specialty formats.
The variety of those results is an important part of Moncek's profile. His tournament record is not built around one game or one type of field.
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WSOP Bracelets and Circuit Rings
According to the official WSOP database, Michael Moncek has two WSOP bracelets and four WSOP Circuit rings as of September 8, 2026.
His bracelet victories are:
2022 WSOP Event #13: $1,500 Limit Hold’em — 1st place, $145,856
2023 WSOP Event #6: $5,000 Mixed No-Limit Hold’em/Pot-Limit Omaha — 1st place, $534,499
His broader WSOP record includes dozens of cashes and final-table appearances across bracelet and Circuit competition.
The four Circuit rings also show that Moncek's tournament success predates his national breakthrough at the 2022 WSOP. By the time he won his first bracelet, he was already an established winner within the WSOP Circuit system.
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Michael Moncek's Live Tournament Earnings
As of September 8, 2026, The Hendon Mob lists Michael Moncek with $8,304,984 in live tournament earnings.
His largest recorded live cash is the $1.2 million he earned for finishing ninth in the 2024 Triton Million at WSOP Paradise.
Other major scores include:
$966,000 for second place in the 2025 WSOP Paradise $50,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller
$725,000 for second place in the 2025 Super High Roller Bowl Mixed Games
$534,499 for winning his second WSOP bracelet in 2023
$518,518 for ninth place in the 2026 WSOP $250,000 Super High Roller
$370,200 for fifth place in the 2025 WSOP Paradise $25,000 GGMillion$ Single Day Turbo
$240,000 for third place in the 2026 WSOP $800 Summer Celebration
$202,006 equivalent recorded by The Hendon Mob for third place in the 2026 WSOP Europe €5,300 Pot-Limit Omaha European Championship
Recorded tournament earnings are gross cashes before buy-ins, expenses and taxes, rather than profit or net worth. Career totals are a dated snapshot and change as new results are recorded.
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What Makes Michael Moncek's Poker Career Notable?
Versatility is one of the clearest characteristics of Moncek's tournament record.
His first bracelet came in limit hold’em. His second came in a tournament rotating between no-limit hold’em and pot-limit Omaha. Later high-dollar results have included no-limit hold’em super high rollers and major pot-limit Omaha events.
That range separates his résumé from that of a player whose results are concentrated primarily in one discipline.
Moncek has also successfully moved through several levels of tournament poker. His career includes WSOP Circuit victories, regular WSOP bracelet events, large-field tournaments, high rollers and one of the most expensive live tournaments ever staged.
Rather than being defined by a single breakthrough score, his record has continued developing after each major milestone.
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Where Is Michael Moncek Now?
Michael Moncek remained an active tournament player throughout 2026.
His results during the year included final-table appearances in Europe and Las Vegas, a cash in the $250,000 WSOP Super High Roller and a third-place finish in a 6,803-entry WSOP event.
The Hendon Mob's most recent recorded result for Moncek as of September 8, 2026, is an 82nd-place finish in the 2026 WSOP $5,000 8-Handed No-Limit Hold’em event on July 14.
With two bracelets, four Circuit rings and more than $8.3 million in recorded live earnings, Moncek enters the next stage of his career as an established multi-format tournament player whose largest scores have increasingly come against high-stakes international fields.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many WSOP bracelets does Michael Moncek have?
Michael Moncek has two WSOP bracelets as of September 8, 2026. He won the $1,500 Limit Hold’em event in 2022 and the $5,000 Mixed No-Limit Hold’em/Pot-Limit Omaha event in 2023.
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How many WSOP Circuit rings does Michael Moncek have?
The official WSOP database lists Michael Moncek with four WSOP Circuit rings as of September 8, 2026.
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How much has Michael Moncek won in live poker tournaments?
The Hendon Mob lists Michael Moncek with $8,304,984 in live tournament earnings as of September 8, 2026. Tournament earnings change whenever new results are recorded.
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What is Michael Moncek's biggest poker tournament cash?
Moncek's largest recorded live tournament cash is $1.2 million for finishing ninth in the 2024 WSOP Paradise Triton Million.
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Why is Michael Moncek called “Texas Mike”?
PokerNews reports that Moncek is from the Chicago area but earned the “Texas Mike” nickname after attending the University of Texas at Austin.
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What poker games does Michael Moncek play?
Moncek has recorded significant results in no-limit hold’em, pot-limit Omaha, limit hold’em and several mixed or specialty games. His two WSOP bracelets came in limit hold’em and mixed no-limit hold’em/pot-limit Omaha.