Cyndy Violette's poker game usually gets less attention than her looks. Her name often gets mentioned in debates about the "best looking female poker player." However, her skills at the poker table equally match her remarkable beauty. For over twenty years, those who have played against Cyndy Violette know that she's not just a pretty face, but one of the best poker players around today... male or female. Indeed, Cyndy Violette is a triple threat -- she's smart, good looking, and is an excellent poker player.
Cyndy Violette - Source: Las Vegas & Poker
Cyndy Violette was born in Queens, NY and always enjoyed playing cards as a child with her relatives at the kitchen table. When she was 12, she moved to Las Vegas, NV with her family. One of her first jobs was dealing blackjack at a casino. She started playing poker when she was 22 years old and pregnant with her daughter. She was looking for something to do in order to kill time. Although she admits she didn't know what she was doing at the time, she quickly discovered that she enjoyed the game immensely.
She dealt poker and blackjack, but it wasn't until she visited Lake Tahoe in 1984 that she took the first big step in becoming a professional poker player. At the time, she was strictly a Seven-card Stud player and she cleaned up in the cash games. She entered a Stud tournament and won the entire thing. First place paid out $74,000, which at the time was the largest purse ever won by a female in the history of poker. Overnight, Cyndy Violette became known in poker circles. She was also the subject of an article in Playboy after her victory and that gave her exposure to a wider audience. She quit her job as a dealer and began playing full time. She eventually made her way up in stakes from $15/30 to $30/60 and eventually to $75/150.
When Cyndy Violette met her second husband, she took a brief hiatus from poker, mainly because he didn't want her to play. In those two years, she focused on her family life instead of gambling. On a visit to Caesar's Palace in 1990, she couldn't resist the temptation to sit at a poker table. She entered a tournament and ended up winning it. She made the decision to return to playing on a semi-regular basis and spent time in Southern California and Las Vegas playing cash games and tournaments in various card rooms and casinos.
When Cyndy's relationship with her husband had run its course, they got divorced in 1993. She spent the summer playing at the Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City and ended up moving there permanently with her daughter. She would return to Las Vegas for a few months every year to play in the World Series of Poker and do the tournament circuit in California.
2005 was a special year for Cyndy Violette. She made three final tables and cashed five times at the World Series of Poker. If it weren't for a bad beat by Erik Seidel, she might have won her second bracelet. She proved that she's an excellent all around player with cashes in Limit, Pot Limit, No Limit Shorthanded, and regular NL Hold'em. She earned her first and only WSOP bracelet in 2004 when she won the Seven-card Stud Hi/Lo event.
Cyndy Violette is one of the top seven female money winners of all time. She has made ten final tables over her career at the WSOP. If she never took a hiatus, she might be the most successful female player of all time. She also used to be strictly a cash game player, but recently began playing more tournaments.
Cyndy doesn't just focus on poker. She leads a very healthy lifestyle as a vegetarian. She had a personal chef prepare her special foods during the WSOP, which she would often eat at the table during grueling 12-14 hour sessions. Cyndy also practices yoga and aroma therapy and you can often see some of her lucky charms at the poker table. She keeps several healing stones within close reach.
"You have to have balance in life," she said in a recent interview. "Poker can be obsessive and then it's not good for you. You have to stay focused at all times; don't get emotionally involved, and don't let it take over your life."
Cyndy is also once of the nicest people you will meet in poker. She always has a warm smile and I've never seen her get angry at another player. She's a true class act and treats everyone with respect, which is rare to see these days.
Cyndy Violette currently lives in Atlantic City, NJ with her daughter but also spends time in California and Las Vegas. She plans on opening up a bookstore and vegetarian cafe in Las Vegas in the near future. You can visit her site at www.cyndyviolette.com.
