Xuan Liu

Xuan Liu was born on June 25, 1985, in Tianjin, China, and moved to Toronto, Canada at age five. She grew up in a family that valued strategy games, learning cards, chess, and Go as a child, which laid the foundation for her analytical poker style. Liu has stated that her love for poker began in childhood, recalling, "I would pretend to have limited information about each doll and make decisions based on hypothetical scenarios." Her sister Anny described her as always highly competitive. From 2003 to 2008, Liu studied political science at the University of Waterloo. During college, she started playing poker online and hosted home games with other notable poker players such as Glen Chorny, Steve Paul, and Michael McDonald. Although Mandarin is her native language, Liu has said she prefers teaching poker in English because she can explain complex strategies more fluently.

Liu's live tournament career began in 2007, but it was not until 2010 that she started taking it seriously. In 2010, she finished 69th in the WSOP $1,000 Ladies Event, her first WSOP cash. In 2011, she placed third in the European Poker Tour (EPT) Sanremo Main Event for over $500,000, her first EPT Main Event cash. In 2012, she finished fourth in the PCA Main Event for $600,000, becoming the first woman to reach a PCA Main Event final table. That same year, she placed sixth in the WSOP $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo for $29,985, coming close to a gold bracelet.

In addition to live events, Liu has been active in online poker, using the screen names "xx23" and "xxl23". From April 2014 to February 2015, she was a member of Team 888 Poker, promoting the brand alongside Sofia Lövgren. In October 2016, she joined the online poker professional team "Team Hot", representing the platform with Kitty Kuo and Dong Kim, participating in live events and Twitch streams. From May 2024 to May 2025, she served as a WPT Global Ambassador.

In May 2025, Liu won the $25K WPT Global Slam event in Montenegro, taking home a career-high $860,000 and becoming the first woman to win a Triton Poker Series event. This victory marked her return from a semi-retirement period between 2018 and 2024.

Liu's career tournament earnings exceed $3.4 million ($3,491,020 according to The Hendon Mob). She recorded annual earnings over $100,000 in four years between 2011 and 2018. Notable results include:

She has also cashed in multiple WSOP, WPT, EPT, APPT, Aussie Millions, and other events. In 2022, she appeared on High Stakes Poker alongside Doyle Brunson and Tom Dwan.

Liu is actively involved in efforts to increase female participation in professional poker. As a visible female player in high-stakes events, she emphasizes skill over gender. In interviews, she has stated that women should not be afraid of aggressive play, saying, "You can be competitive without compromising your femininity." She shares strategy through instructional videos and articles, encouraging more women to take up poker. Her humility and professionalism are respected within the poker community.

Liu's style is characterized as solid yet aggressive, with strong use of position and nuanced post-flop play. Her strategy blends game theory optimal (GTO) with exploitative tactics, and she excels at managing stack depth in the late stages of tournaments. She emphasizes the importance of emotional control and table image, viewing poker as a combination of math and psychology.

Liu stepped away from full-time poker from 2018 to 2024, during which she married a poker player, though the marriage has since ended. She currently resides in Canada and continues to participate in poker events and teaching.