Xuan Liu stands out as one of the most prominent female figures in modern poker. She lived through a period when poker practically defined her life, then took a step back from the game, returned through cash games and content, and in 2025 achieved one of the most significant results of her career — becoming the first woman in history to win a Triton title. However, her journey was far from a straightforward upward trajectory.
In a conversation with Ivy Teves, the focus is less on specific hands and more on the person behind them. Liu talks about growing up in an immigrant family, money, relationships, self-confidence, her return to poker, and a time she describes as operating in survival mode. She now asserts she is in a completely different place — more peaceful, aware, and much more centered on what she truly wants.
From Grandma's Mahjong to Her Own Home Game
Xuan Liu's connection to gambling began long before her first poker session. Born in China, one vivid childhood memory is her grandmother playing mahjong with other women. It was during these games that Liu recalls seeing her grandmother genuinely happy and laughing.
After moving to Canada, her family had to build their lives almost from scratch. Liu was five years old, and since her parents never mastered English, she had to figure out many things on her own. She claims this independence significantly contributed to making her a better poker player.
She fully discovered poker during her studies in Waterloo, coinciding with the Moneymaker boom. Her friends wanted to play, and Liu immediately saw an opportunity — she started her own home games and began earning from them. What was once just a concept became a way for her to travel the world and craft a life she couldn't have imagined as a child.
Keeping Poker a Secret from Her Parents
In a traditional immigrant family, poker wasn't exactly seen as a career path parents would automatically deem successful. For the first few years, Liu kept her poker journey largely hidden from her family. She never asked them for money and was always very independent, allowing her to choose her path.
Her mother's perspective began to shift during one of Liu's sponsored poker trips when she saw her daughter's face on a billboard. It suddenly became clear that poker was more than just a hobby. Even today, though, Liu says her parents aren't entirely thrilled with her lifestyle choices. The issue isn't just poker anymore. The family would love for her to settle down, get married, and have children. However, Liu doesn't want to pursue a traditional path just because it's expected of her. Like with poker, she wants to make the decision when it makes sense for her.
A Painful Breakup Led Her to Triton. The Result Was a Historic Title
After years focused more on streaming cash games than tournaments, Liu decided to venture back into the high-stakes tournament arena. She had followed Triton for a long time but never envisioned becoming a regular in that sphere. The event she eventually won was the final tournament of her ending ambassador deal.
Determined not to miss this opportunity, a situation most wouldn't consider advantageous gave her a boost. About a month before Triton, her relationship ended. "If I were still in that relationship, I probably wouldn't have won the tournament," she reflected.
With a newfound abundance of free time, she immersed herself in poker study rather than dwelling on the breakup. The result was a historic title and the first female victory at the Triton Poker Series. Liu doesn't see this success as an indication that she's "achieved everything." Instead, it raised her personal benchmark and showed her that she could potentially go even further.
The Biggest Problem Wasn't the Fear of Failure. It Was the Fear of Success
One of the most compelling themes of the interview emerges when discussing why success can simultaneously attract and intimidate a person. Liu admits that during her younger years, she practically had no role models who understood her life. She often doubted if she was making the right decisions, if she deserved her results, or even which direction she was heading.
When her first big poker results came in, along with money and attention, she wasn't prepared. After a year in which her winnings exceeded seven figures, she appeared as a millionaire outwardly, yet she had sold off a significant portion of her action, making her actual profit much lower. Despite this, she began spending and playing as if she had the money. Today, she openly says she sometimes sabotaged her own success. She hadn't yet learned how to handle money or the attention of people who started entering her life after her success.
After a Toxic Relationship, She Had to Discover Who She Really Was
Today, Liu speaks of confidence in a completely different way. According to her, it wasn't built by one major success. She built it brick by brick. A major turning point was leaving a relationship she describes as toxic in many ways. After it ended, she felt that the person beside her had gradually destroyed a part of her identity, leaving her just a shadow of who she once was.
What followed was a simple yet much harder question. Who am I without that person? Liu gradually began piecing together her own values, discovering what truly interests her and what was merely an image created by those around her. Poker, clothing, and a public persona, in her view, are not the core of identity. Once you understand what no one can take away from you, a single mistake doesn't have to change your entire self-perception. According to her, this realization allowed her to stop fearing setbacks.
She No Longer Needs to Play Poker Constantly to Love It
Liu candidly admits she'll never be the kind of player who can grind a massive number of events all year long. Nor does she strive for it anymore. When she loves poker, she wants to come to the table fully focused and play wholeheartedly. But when she doesn’t feel that energy, she refuses to force herself into the game just because a “professional” should play.
After an intense WSOP, for example, she didn't want to see a single hand for about a month. Yet this break helped her naturally regain her passion for the game. Liu also acknowledges that staying competitive is increasingly challenging. Today’s elite players devote enormous time to studying, and she humorously refers to them as “maniacs” in the most industrious sense of the word.
Her ambition, therefore, isn't to prove that she must be the best in the world. Instead, she wants to see how far she can go while she still has the energy. So that years from now, she won't have to wonder what might have happened if she had given it a real chance.
Wants to Be the Person She Once Needed
Upon returning to poker, Liu also started focusing more on content and supporting other women. A key moment was an invitation from Poker Power. After a period when she wanted nothing to do with poker, she had the opportunity to teach women to play. And suddenly, she fell in love with the game again.
Liu knows her vlogs or motivational content may not generate huge numbers. Yet, she says it doesn’t bother her. It's enough when a few people come up to her and say they found themselves in her story. According to her, it's not about convincing more women to become professional players. It's about showing that chaos, doubt, and mistakes don’t have to define the rest of your life. And that circumstances can improve even when you have no idea how at the moment.
Always so nice to see this talent at any stop 🤩 https://t.co/9a1Ddkm4IE
— Xuan Liu (@xxl23) October 13, 2026
Life Beyond Poker: Peace, Family, and a Legacy
If Liu stopped being a poker player tomorrow, she wouldn't, according to her own words, be left without an identity. She describes herself simply as someone who wants to enjoy life, experiences, and be kind to herself and the people around her. Recently, she has been particularly interested in her family history and exploring her Chinese roots.
She discovered, for instance, that her family history might trace back to the setting of the last Chinese dynasty, Qing. Therefore, she's searching for acquaintances, working with genealogical databases, and trying to understand where her family comes from. However, her bigger question is directed forward. What will she leave behind?
Today, Liu says she wants to create a legacy and make a positive impact. Not through another tournament title or a big cash win, but in a way that will make sense beyond the poker scene. After nearly two decades in poker, perhaps the biggest change in Xuan Liu is not in how she plays. It's that she no longer needs poker to tell her who she is.
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