Poker is not an official course at the University of Waterloo, in southern Ontario, but several former students have gone on to big financial success in the game they started on campus.
International poker super-star Mike Watson‘s live winnings are about $6.8 million to date. And Xuan Liu has won $300,000 online and over $1.4 million in live tournaments. The 28 year-old is now on the World Poker Tour’s “Ones to Watch” list.
Xuan Liu remembers her interest in mah-jong as a child in China but in 2003, at university in Waterloo, it was poker that won her over. In an interview with CBC Liu explained, “We wanted an alternative lifestyle. We saw something bigger that was possible. And given the economy at the time, when we were students and even right now, I think it was important and valuable for us to take certain risks.” It took time. “Playing so much poker and studying poker so much in college definitely made me a terrible student. I missed a lot of classes, improving on my poker game,” said Liu.
The University of Waterloo made headlines in Canada this week for purchasing 5 buildings from their Waterloo neighbour, Blackberry. But the success of other poker stars and former students, like Mike McDonald and Steve Paul Ambrose, casts the region in another international spotlight.
Mike McDonald, the winner of $5.5 million dollars, is the only poker star that still calls Waterloo home. Former professional poker player Steve Paul Ambrose, McDonald’s mentor, told CBC one of the reasons Waterloo may be such a poker incubator is the “large number of undergrad students majoring in math or math-related subjects, want to apply their learning in the real world.”
In winter it snows a lot
Will Ma, who taught a for-credit course in poker at M.I.T. credits Waterloo’s poker prowess to location and climate: In an interview with CBC he said, “Being in a small town and the fact that in winter it snows a lot I think is a pretty big factor. I think the fact that you’re just inside a lot more is very relevant than say if we were in Los Angeles or something.”
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