Nicknamed 'Iron Maiden' due to her love of heavy metal music, British Liv Boeree is turning heads in more ways than one on the professional poker scene. Not only is the 32-year-old a natural beauty, she's an extremely complex character, with a First Class Honours Degree in Physics with Astrophysics and a yearning for the alternative music scene.
Since the age of 15, Liv has been enchanted with Metal and its raw power. Metallica's "The Unforgiven" was the first Metal song Liv heard as a young teen and she confesses on her own fan site that it left her with goosebumps and an inspiration to pick up and learn how to play the guitar herself.
During her time at the University of Manchester in her early twenties, Liv was part of a metal band called Dissonance, for whom she played as an accomplished lead guitar. Latterly, Liv was enticed to play guitar for gothic rock outfit,Nemhain.
Having made such an impression on the regional Metal scene, Liv soon became a popular pin-up girl, modelling for a host of alternative rock and Metal magazines and some mainstream publications too.
Back in 2010, Liv was named 'Hottest Chick in Metal' by Revolver Magazine in July/August and she's not been shy in showing off her love for Metal and guitar on her YouTube channel. You can watch her playing"Kissing the Shadows"by Children of Bodom. Her personal guitar collection now features an Ibanez and a Schechter.
There's actually a genuine symmetry between the ruthless, no-holds-barred approach of Metal bands on stage and professional poker stars on the table felt.
It was back in 2005 when Boeree was introduced to the world of poker, after being selected to appear in a UK television show which saw five novices taught how to play poker by professional players, Dave Ulliott, Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke.
Although Liv performed terribly, she was immediately hooked by the game and began to play regularly at a London poker club, known as the Gutshot. In only her second multi-table tournament (with a £5 entry) Liv came first, winning £750. It was here on in when she began to see the game as a potential career.
With a strong mathematical background, Liv was easily able to apply the mathematical theory and the psychology of the game to great effect. She underlined her aptitude for the game by winning the 2008 Ladbrokes European Ladies Championship for $30,000 and has since accumulated 15 World Series of Poker cashes to date.
She also became only the third woman to win a European Poker Tour title at Sanremo, scooping €1,250,000 in April 2010.
Today, Liv Boeree is one of the most successful female poker players of all time, earning more than $2,000,000 in live tournament earnings. She is now part of an elite team of professional poker champions, known as the Team PokerStars players and could well be entering inthe upcoming PokerStars Championship in Panama.
Liv's whirlwind lifestyle as a professional poker player across the globe has seen her meet some of her Metal heroes, namely James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett and Slash.
It's great to see that despite her riches, she's lost none of her metalhead roots!
