Alex Jacob

Alex Jacob was born on October 27, 1984, in Houston, Texas, and grew up in Parkland, Florida. He graduated as valedictorian of Deerfield Beach High School in 2002, where he was in the International Baccalaureate program. He then attended Yale University, graduating in May 2006 with a degree in economics and mathematics.

Jacob began making his mark in poker early, winning the Peter A. Fabrizio Memorial Poker Classic in 2003. His breakout year came in 2006: he finished runner-up in the World Poker Tour (WPT) event at Foxwoods Resort Casino on April 9, 2006, winning $655,507. Later that year, he won his biggest prize by winning the 2006 United States Poker Championship, earning $878,500 for first place. That event was a no-limit Texas hold 'em tournament televised by ESPN.

At the World Series of Poker (WSOP), Jacob has 25 money finishes and four final tables. His highest WSOP finish was third in Event 3 (No-Limit Hold'em) at the 2007 WSOP, worth $282,367. As of 2012, his total live tournament winnings exceeded $2,600,000; the Hendon Mob database records $2,630,257 in total live earnings.

Jacob's poker talent was spotted early by author James McManus, who played against him at Yale in 2004 and later mentioned him in an Esquire article. After playing in the WSOP Main Event in 2013, Jacob stepped away from poker, saying, "I kind of lost the love of it, lost the passion a little bit." He then worked as a currency trader in Chicago in 2014 before leaving that job late the following year.

After leaving professional poker, Jacob became a contestant on the game show Jeopardy! in 2015. He won his first appearance on April 10 and went on to win five more games before losing on April 20, totaling $151,802 in seven appearances. His victories qualified him for the 2015 Tournament of Champions, which he won, collecting the grand prize of $250,000. Host Alex Trebek called Jacob's run to the Tournament of Champions title "the most dominant performance by anyone in any of our tournaments."

Jacob pioneered the strategy of aggressive Daily Double wagers, later used by James Holzhauer. He also employed the "Forrest Bounce" originated by Chuck Forrest and a "stalling tactic" that slowed the game, tactics that were within the rules but rarely used. His unconventional style rankled some viewers, but Jacob said, "I was pleasantly surprised on Twitter and on the internet. The majority were really positive." He later appeared in the All-Star Games as part of team captain Buzzy Cohen's team, which lost the wild card match but earned $75,000.

In June 2016, Jacob returned to the World Series of Poker for the first time in three years, finishing 52nd in the $1,500 buy-in "Millionaire Maker" No-Limit Hold'em event, which drew 7,190 entrants. At the time, he was a resident of Greensboro, North Carolina, and was working for a startup that created a quiz app called Trivia Monster.

Jacob is a frequent player on the trivia app FleetWit, winning over $24,000. In June 2019, he won a $20,000 prize on HQ Trivia, which was initially unpaid but later resolved in August 2019.

Jacob resides in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is noted for his academic background and his nickname "Fro-Poker," a reference to his distinctive afro hairstyle during his poker career.