If Kristen Foxen isn’t the best female poker player of all-time, she’s certainly right near the top of the list. The Canadian poker pro is among an impressive list of stars, right up there with Vanessa Selbst and Jennifer Harman. And she’s really just getting started even though she’s been a professional poker player for over a decade.
Who is Kristen Foxen?
Kristen Foxen is a fascinating poker player and one of the best in the game. She's married to poker pro Alex Foxen, the two-time Global Poker Index Player of the Year, but she’s far more than just a sidekick to the high-roller superstar. She’s a superstar high roller herself.
Contrary to popular belief, Foxen was actually the one who was crushing it on the felt when the poker power couple started dating years ago. She began playing low-stakes cash games in Canada before building up a bankroll online. These days, she regularly competes in tournaments at the highest level.
Kristen Foxen biography
Foxen was born December 29, 1986 in St. Catharines, Ontario. Like many young women who eventually went on to play cards, she became fascinated with Jennifer Harman’s play on Poker After Dark back in the day. Harman was a regular on the show during the poker boom era, and was almost indisputably considered the top female poker player in the game at the time.
Foxen made a wise decision taking after Harman, a Poker Hall of Famer and a legend of the game. She clearly paid close attention to the poker great when she took up the game as a freshman in college in 2006. It was then she created the online moniker of “krissyb24” on PokerStars, the poker site she used to gain some notoriety in the poker world.
She played over 2.5 million hands per year in 2011, 2012, and 2013 on PokerStars. That level of play earned her Supernova Elite status, the ultimate accomplishment of an online poker player back then. It’s still a high honor in the poker world, although PokerStars removed the program, to the dismay of the pros, in 2016.
Misogyny in Poker
Despite being widely considered one of the most attractive women in poker, Foxen says she hasn’t experienced much misogyny at the poker table. She made those comments in a series of tweets in March 2021, and received some criticism from women who argued that misogyny exists in the game and is one of the main reasons women only represent about 5% of the poker community.
“I could walk into the poker room and focus on the negative. It exists. I have encountered negativity and gender bias MANY times. But, the truth is, there has been vastly more positive than negative! Not to mention the counterproductivity of focusing on the negative,” Foxen wrote.
She continued by saying that she appreciates the movement of empowering women in poker and “I want women empowered, comfortable, and treated well.” Foxen also made it clear she doesn’t want to focus on the negative aspects of poker, which is why she’s considered one of the game’s top ambassadors.
Kristen Foxen poker accomplishments
Foxen was a beast on the virtual felt before joining the live poker ranks. She has grown from online pro to live poker tournament crusher, and she’s earned some impressive accolades along the way, including being a three-time Global Poker Index Female Player of the Year recipient.
With over $7.5 million in live tournament cashes, Foxen ranks second all-time among women behind Vanessa Selbst ($11.9 million). Given that Selbst retired from poker and only plays occasionally these days, there’s a very good chance Foxen will one day surpass her.
The Canadian poker pro is a three-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner. She won her first bracelet in 2013 in the $1,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold’em Championship for $173,922. Her most recent title came in 2020 during the WSOP Online Bracelet Series on GGPoker ($2,500 No-Limit Hold’em 6-Handed for $356,412).
