If you’re searching for inspirational women in poker, you can now look to more than just the likes of Vanessa Selbst—considered the best female player in the history of the sport—and Bride of Chucky star-turned-pro Jennifer Tilly. With all the confidence and skills she brings to the table, Ebony Kenney has quickly emerged as another strong contender for a leading role in the poker world.
Kenney is no stranger to breaking boundaries. In 2022, she placed fifth at the Coin Rivet Invitational, one of the world’s most exclusive poker tournaments, winning over $1.7 million for her efforts. Her participation alone was transformative: Winning Poker Network (WPN) CEO Phil Nagy inviting her to join was recognized as a move that went against the norm at the time. It made her the first woman in the tournament’s history to make the final table, and her winnings are easily her best in live cash so far.
Now, Kenney is known for being one of the “winningest” women in poker. Here’s more on her journey in the sport and all the inspiration it has to offer.
Early career
Kenney got into poker in her early 20s, explaining to PokerNews that her ex-boyfriend taught her how to play. That encouraged her to start small and hold home games with friends “to get a feel for the game and slowly [learn] a bit more.” Pretty soon, she was playing for real money.
Of course, Kenney also aimed to remain financially stable in the process, which is why she went through a number of day jobs during the first few years playing professionally. Though she’s been a waitress, a makeup artist, a real estate agent, and even a poker dealer, she’s known for her stints in modeling and acting.
After Kenney cropped her hair and dyed it blonde, multiple photographers began approaching her, leading her to take a break from poker and pursue these careers full-time. That saw her appearing in music videos for hit songs like Sweet by Bow Wow ft. Lil Wayne and Rap Song by T-Pain ft. Rick Ross. Her filmography also includes an episode in the TV series The Adventures of Belle.
It wasn’t until 2013—when she was coaching her friend, who made it to the final table at the Caesars Main Event—that her love for tournament poker came back in full force. “I guess I was so jaded from the hustle and the grind and from the negativity from other players, but being around her really jump-started my passion,” Kenney shared. Now, she believes she’s playing the best poker of her career.
Growing success
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Kenney returned to the sport with a bang, continuously ranking in the top 50 during major tournaments like the World Series of Poker (WSOP) and World Poker Tour (WPT) in 2013 alone—and rounding off the year with a 10th-place finish at the Caribbean Poker Tour. By 2017, she won first prize at the Rio Deepstack event in Las Vegas for $34,637 and continued to play in top form for the next few years.
Her growing success attracted the attention of none other than ACR Poker, the WPN’s flagship website. Known for being the largest online poker site in the whole of America, it’s renowned for digital tournaments like the Venom, which is endorsed by ACR Pros like legend Chris Moneymaker and two-time Latin America Poker Tour winner Nacho “Back-To-Back” Barbero.
Kenney joined the ranks of the site’s Pros in 2020, which fueled her professional playing career even further. Her streak began when she won the ACR-hosted celebrity charity poker tournament All In For America, which Hollywood A-listers Ben Affleck and Matt Damon organized to raise money for the country’s food banks. Just a year later, Kenney placed in the top five at multiple events, including the Orleans 2021 Fall Poker Series, the RunGood Poker Series, and ACR’s Enjoy Poker Tour in Uruguay.
In 2022, under the mentorship of Nagy himself, she nabbed her historic win at the Coin Rivet Invitational. “Before coming to Cyprus, the biggest buy-in I had played in was just $10,000, so there was obviously a lot more on the line,” Kenney added after the event. “My one big hope is that other women get to experience these same kinds of thrills.” True to her word, she focused on just that in the next few years.
Continuing advocacy
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Today, Kenney continues to nab wins along the professional poker circuit. Some notable ones include third place at the Moneymaker Tour—established by co-ambassador Chris Moneymaker with ACR Poker—when it held a Ladies’ Event in Houston in 2024. That same year, she won fourth place at the Enjoy Poker Tour’s return to Uruguay and 10th place at the WSOP Paradise that same year. To date, she’s won over $2.7 million in total live earnings and sits comfortably in the top 1,000 on the Hendon Mob’s All Time Money List—as well as the top 500 for the database’s dedicated US list.
Kenney has also expanded her influence in the sport. Now, she’s one of the biggest poker streamers on Twitch, where she shares “positivity, inclusivity, and a boost of chill” alongside her extensive poker knowledge. She also frequently guests on podcasts like The Better Human and The Heart of Poker. Perhaps more importantly, she continues to uphold the importance of confidence, especially when it comes to encouraging more women to join the traditionally male-dominated space that is poker.
Kenney has previously shared how she struggled with self-confidence throughout her poker career, noting how women players are often remembered for their beauty rather than their skills—and that, due to her work as a model, people tended not to take her seriously as an opponent. “Representation matters. And when people who look like me can see themselves in a space like this, big dreams feel more attainable,” she added in an interview with US Weekly.
As a result, Kenney founded the Uncaged Collective, where she serves as a confidence coach. One major initiative she’s undertaken here includes From Doubts to Dominance: Your Poker Glow-Up 30 Day Series, a free service that reflects her own poker journey to motivate women to confidently find their place in the world.
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