Samantha Abernathy Net Worth 2026: Career Earnings, Age & Poker Bio

Samantha “Sam” Abernathy is an American poker player and graphic designer with an estimated net worth of $600,000 to $700,000. She turned a free-to-play app into a full-time profession, with a career-best 3rd of 732 entries at the 2016 Aussie Millions Main Event for $437,543.

Hendon Mob tracks $643,713 in live tournament earnings across 66 cashes, two of them at EPT Barcelona in August 2026. We separate the verifiable from the estimated throughout this profile, and flag the difference clearly.

Samantha Abernathy’s net worth is an estimated $600,000 to $700,000 in 2026, and the inputs behind that range are set out below so the reader can see where the number comes from.

Celebrity biography sites list figures between $1 million and $5 million, and none of them survive contact with the data. The most common version rests on a claim of “over $1 million in live tournament earnings”, which Hendon Mob’s record contradicts.

What the $600K to $700K estimate is based on

Four income streams feed the estimate: gross tournament prizes, sponsorship income from 888poker and the WSOP free-to-play app, Poker Night in America appearance fees, and limited tracked cash game winnings. Only the first is fully documented.

All net worth figures for poker players are speculative. Nobody outside Abernathy’s inner circle knows the real number, and we revise the range whenever a verified input changes.

Net worth estimates and why they vary by $4 million

The $1M to $5M range cited by aggregator sites traces back to a single inaccurate claim about her prize money. Hendon Mob records a figure well short of seven figures.

The gap comes down to what counts as income. Tournament earnings are gross payouts before travel, accommodation, buy-ins that missed, and any staking arrangements.

What we can verify: 66 tracked live cashes

Hendon Mob tracks 66 live tournament cashes, and the total is built almost entirely on one result. The third-place finish at the 2016 Aussie Millions Main Event accounts for 68% of her lifetime tracked prize money.

Her remaining 65 cashes average roughly $3,172 each. Most come from low to mid-stakes events in Las Vegas, with a handful from WSOP side events, the Venetian Deepstack series and, since 2026, EPT stops.

Income beyond tournaments: 888poker, Playtika and television

Abernathy held an 888poker ambassadorship from 2021 to approximately 2023. She then joined the WSOP Thrill Team in 2023, before signing as the WSOP free-to-play app’s global ambassador in June 2025.

She also earned appearance fees from 25 Poker Night in America episodes between 2015 and 2018, and is represented by Above The Felt Entertainment for brand deals and live appearances. None of these income figures are publicly disclosed.

On the cash game side, a fan-run livestream tracker shows +$25,325 across six sessions at $50/$100 on Hustler Casino Live. That figure only covers on-stream play and is not representative of her total cash game activity.

Abernathy’s Hendon Mob record spans 66 tracked live tournament cashes, placing her 6,135th on the all-time money list. These results form the verifiable core of the net worth estimate above.

Her first recorded cash came in January 2014: 129th of 5,316 entries in a $160 Mega Millions event in Los Angeles for $1,600. Her most recent came on 27 August 2026, a 9th-place finish in the €550 Women’s Event at EPT Barcelona for $1,538.

Samantha Abernathy’s 2026 results

Three cashes in 2026 match 2021 as her busiest year on record, and all three came at European Poker Tour festivals. The Paris Main Event run in February and a 30th-place finish in the €2,700 Second Chance at EPT Barcelona both cleared five figures.

Prizes are shown in US dollars per Hendon Mob (€8,550, €9,280 and €1,320 respectively).

How much has Samantha Abernathy won in poker?

Samantha Abernathy has won $643,713 in tracked live tournament earnings across 66 cashes, per Hendon Mob. That figure represents gross payouts, not profit, and does not account for buy-ins, travel, staking splits or cash game results.

Her results are heavily front-loaded. Between 2017 and 2020 she went four calendar years without a five-figure cash, and the 2025 WSOP Main Event was her first five-figure result since the 2021 Main Event.

The 2026 EPT cashes mark a change in pattern: her two most recent five-figure scores both came in Europe rather than Las Vegas, consistent with her relocation to Andorra.

Top 10 live tournament cashes

All figures sourced from Hendon Mob and shown in US dollars. The 2016 Aussie Millions payout was converted from Australian dollars at the prevailing exchange rate.

Has Samantha Abernathy won a WSOP bracelet?

No. Abernathy has zero WSOP bracelets and zero WSOP Circuit rings. She has nine WSOP cashes totalling $55,773, including Main Event cashes in 2021 and 2025, and recorded no WSOP cash in 2026 per Hendon Mob.

Her deepest WSOP run by finishing position was 31st of 1,295 entries in the 2023 Ladies Championship, where back-to-back Ladies champion Shiina Okamoto finished runner-up before winning the next two. Her best by prize money was the $17,500 cash in the 2025 Main Event (1015th of 9,735).

WSOP results, 2015 to 2025

That 2025 Main Event drew 9,735 entries and generated a $90.5 million prize pool. It was won by Michael Mizrachi for $10 million, capping a summer that also earned him a Poker Hall of Fame induction.

Online poker results: WSOP.com Nevada

Abernathy plays under the screen name “SamanthaA” on WSOP.com Nevada. Her tracked online tournament cashes total approximately $18,900 per PocketFives, with a best single result under $1,000.

Online results are a minor component of her overall record. She is primarily a live player.

Abernathy grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, playing board games, card games and anything competitive. Her mother has recalled how she was winning prop bets for pocket money from as young as seven: solving a Rubik’s cube against the clock, landing backflips on difficult surfaces.

How old is Samantha Abernathy?

Samantha Abernathy was born on 11 May 1991 in Atlanta, Georgia. She is 35 years old in 2026.

She trained as a competitive gymnast from childhood, working with two Russian coaches who instilled what she has called a healthy competitive mindset. A spinal injury at 18 ended her athletic career and redirected her path.

SCAD, Chicago and the touring years

Abernathy enrolled at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in Georgia, where she studied design. After graduating she moved to Chicago and landed a job at a digital agency, designing apps, games and software.

She left the agency to join a touring production crew with artists Steve Aoki and Waka Flocka Flame, working as a photographer and production-stills specialist. When the tour headed to Russia for the 2014 Winter Olympics, Abernathy stayed behind at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Florida.

How did Samantha Abernathy start playing poker?

Samantha Abernathy started playing poker on the WSOP free-to-play app before ever entering a live game. Her first live tournament was at the Seminole Hard Rock in Florida around 2013 to 2014, where she registered on a whim and fell in love with the game.

Within a week of that first live session, she flew to Prague to play World Poker Tour events. She came home convinced, moved to Las Vegas in 2014, and began grinding full-time.

In her first year she played more than 30 live events across Las Vegas, supplementing tournaments with $2/$5 and $5/$10 no-limit hold’em cash games. Freelance design work covered the gaps between cashes.

The 2016 Aussie Millions Main Event at Crown Casino in Melbourne was the tournament that made Abernathy’s name. She entered the A$10,600 buy-in event less than two years into her professional career, with no result larger than $25,053 to her name.

The field of 732 was the fourth largest in the event’s history. The prize pool reached A$7,320,000, with A$1,600,000 reserved for the winner.

What happened at the 2016 Aussie Millions?

Samantha Abernathy finished 3rd of 732 entries in the 2016 Aussie Millions Main Event on 31 January 2016. She earned A$625,000 (US$437,543), the best finish by a woman in the event’s modern history.

The final table featured Canadian Ari Engel, who took the title for A$1,600,000, and American commentator Tony Dunst, who finished second for A$1,000,000.

“Ship it to mama”: the Day 4 hand

The phrase that defined Abernathy’s Aussie Millions was born on Day 4. She moved all-in with pocket sixes against Mikel Habb’s pocket kings, and a six hit the river to send Habb out in 15th place.

Commentator Jason Somerville shouted “Ship it to mama” as the pot was pushed her way. The phrase became Abernathy’s on-felt catchphrase.

The hand also drew attention for Habb’s conduct. He had slow-rolled the preflop action, feigning reluctance with the second-best starting hand in hold’em before eventually three-betting.

Abernathy’s tournament ended three-handed. She shoved 15 big blinds from the small blind with ten-eight, and Engel called with ace-nine. The flop of nine-ace-jack gave Engel top two pair while Abernathy picked up an open-ended straight draw, but the turn and river bricked.

Two women at one final table: Kitty Kuo and Abernathy

At the time, her third-place finish was the best result by a woman in the modern era of the Aussie Millions. Prior female final table finishers, including Kirsty Gazes (2007) and Annette Obrestad (2010), had each exited in 7th.

The other woman at the table was Taiwanese high-stakes regular Kitty Kuo, who finished 6th for A$270,000. It marked the first time two women had reached the same Aussie Millions final table.

The result moved Abernathy from the Las Vegas daily circuit onto the international radar. It remains the only six-figure cash of her career.

Poker Night in America was a cash game television show that aired on CBS Sports between 2014 and 2019. Abernathy appeared on 25 episodes between 2015 and 2018, one of the show’s most frequently featured women.

Most of her sessions were at the $25/$50 no-limit hold’em tables, filmed at the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida, and SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia. The show mixed pros with recreational players.

Was Samantha Abernathy on Poker Night in America?

Yes. Samantha Abernathy appeared on 25 episodes between 2015 and 2018, mostly in the mid-stakes cash games. Her best documented session was a profit of roughly $24,000 (480 big blinds) during a Ladies Night episode.

Those Ladies Night lineups included Cate Hall, Kelly Minkin, Lexy Gavin, Jamie Kerstetter and Natasha Mercier. She also played mixed sessions alongside veteran tournament pro Maria Ho and 2015 WSOP Main Event champion Joe McKeehen.

What is Samantha Abernathy’s playing style?

Abernathy plays an aggressive, action-oriented style rooted in her competitive athletics background. On Poker Night in America she was known for creative lines, including a widely replayed bluff against Mike Dentale.

She is comfortable bluffing at high frequency, which made her a natural fit for cash game television. Her PNIA run established her among the most recognisable female poker players of the mid-2010s.

She supplemented television with regular mid-stakes sessions in Las Vegas, treating cash games as a counterweight to tournament variance.

Hustler Casino Live, six tracked sessions

Abernathy has also played on Hustler Casino Live, the Los Angeles livestream. A fan-run results tracker covers six on-stream sessions totalling 24 hours of play, with a net positive result.

The tracker is a fan project rather than an official record, so we treat its +$25,325 as indicative rather than audited.

Abernathy’s sponsorship history reflects a shift from traditional poker room deals to social gaming and talent representation. She has held five notable affiliations since entering the industry.

Her first visible patch was RunGood Gear, a poker lifestyle brand and tournament series based in the American Midwest. She wore their branding at the 2015 WSOP.

Team888 ambassador, 2021 to 2023

On 22 September 2021, Abernathy signed a Team888 ambassador deal with 888poker alongside Canadian streamer Jordan Banfield. She replaced Chris Moorman on the roster, joining Kara Scott, Sofia Lovgren, Vivian Saliba and Dominik Nitsche.

She represented 888poker in promotional content and at live events for approximately two years. The deal ended around 2023, with no formal termination date announced.

Above The Felt and the 2023 WSOP Thrill Team

On 8 August 2022, Above The Felt Entertainment announced Abernathy as headline talent for a new European marketing and talent division. The Orlando-based agency represents poker players for brand endorsements, content creation and live appearances, and she remains on its roster.

In early 2023, the WSOP named Abernathy to its inaugural Thrill Team: a seven-member roster of pros promoting the WSOP free-to-play app. Her teammates included Patrik Antonius, Espen Jorstad, three-time bracelet winner Vanessa Selbst, Landon Tice, Adam Hendrix and Ethan “Rampage” Yau.

Is Samantha Abernathy still sponsored?

Samantha Abernathy is no longer with 888poker. Her Team888 deal ended around 2023, with no formal announcement of the split. She is currently the WSOP free-to-play app’s global ambassador, a role announced on 26 June 2025 by Playtika.

The June 2025 agreement gave Abernathy a custom in-game avatar and positioned her as the app’s public face for marketing, content and live event appearances. It built on her prior Thrill Team involvement and marked a return to the platform she credits as her introduction to the game.

Above The Felt continues to handle her commercial opportunities outside the WSOP app.

The most widely told story about Abernathy outside of poker has nothing to do with cards. In March 2016, she wagered that she could cycle from Las Vegas to Los Angeles within 72 hours for $10,000.

The lay side was taken by Instagram high-stakes personality Dan Bilzerian. Abernathy risked nothing: she stood to collect on completion and owed nothing on failure. It was a textbook freeroll.

Did Samantha Abernathy complete the Bilzerian bike ride?

Yes. Samantha Abernathy completed the Las Vegas to Los Angeles bike ride on 13 March 2016, finishing in under 60 hours and well inside the 72-hour deadline. She collected the $10,000 from Bilzerian.

The nominal route was roughly 270 miles, but detours and a storm pushed her actual distance above 320 miles according to her own reporting. No third-party GPS verification of the total distance has been published.

Abernathy made the ride without a support convoy, police escort or professional cycling coaching. She documented the journey on social media, posting updates from the road throughout the three days.

The contrast with what followed makes the story. Just over two weeks later, Bilzerian rode the same route for a six-figure wager against Bill Perkins, with side action reportedly taking his total exposure to around $1.2 million.

Abernathy’s appetite for prop bets predates her poker career: her mother recalled childhood wagers on Rubik’s cube solves and gymnastics feats. The Bilzerian ride sits comfortably among the most famous poker prop bets in the game’s recent history.

Abernathy has a notably clean public record by poker industry standards. There are no cheating allegations, legal disputes or confirmed ethical violations associated with her name. That matters for a player whose profile was built on television, where reputations are easiest to lose.

The Bilzerian exchange, October 2016

The only public dispute of note involved Dan Bilzerian. In October 2016, seven months after paying out on the bike ride, Bilzerian made crude public claims about Abernathy on social media. She responded directly on her own Twitter account, rejecting the claims.

The exchange drew attention at the time but had no lasting impact on Abernathy’s career or standing in the poker community. It is included here for completeness, not because it reflects on her conduct.

Staking, debts and collusion: nothing on record

No debt disputes, staking disagreements or collusion allegations have been credibly linked to Abernathy. She has not been involved in any known legal proceedings related to poker.

The one on-table incident attached to her name, the 2016 slow-roll by Mikel Habb, was his conduct rather than hers, and it is covered in the Aussie Millions section above. Her sponsorship exits from 888poker and the Thrill Team were quiet rather than contested, with no public falling-out reported.

Abernathy’s personal life has shifted significantly since her early grinding days in Las Vegas. She is now married with a young son and based in Europe.

Who is Samantha Abernathy married to?

Samantha Abernathy is married to Lautaro Valentino Guerra Cabrerizo, a Spanish-born Pot-Limit Omaha professional. The couple married on 27 September 2023 in the Maldives.

Guerra is a high-stakes tournament player in his own right, with over $11 million in tracked live earnings. He won his first WSOP bracelet in the $100,000 PLO at WSOP Paradise in December 2024, and finished 15th in the 2025 WSOP Main Event for $450,000.

Their son, Luca Guerra Abernathy, was born in July 2024. The arrival coincided with a pause in Abernathy’s tournament schedule: she recorded no Hendon Mob cashes in 2024, then returned with three in 2026.

Abernathy was previously engaged to Irish poker player Rory Brown. The engagement was announced in August 2018 and ended before her marriage to Guerra.

Where does Samantha Abernathy live?

The family is based in Andorra, a small country in the Pyrenees between Spain and France. Abernathy lived in Las Vegas from 2014 to approximately 2023 before relocating to Europe.

Twelve months ago her record showed one cash in two years. 2026 has produced three: the EPT Paris Main Event in February, then two cashes in a week at EPT Barcelona in August, including 30th in the €2,700 Second Chance for $10,828.

The pattern is a European one. Both five-figure scores came at EPT stops, with Barcelona a few hours’ drive from her Andorra base, and she recorded no WSOP cash in 2026.

Off the felt, the Playtika WSOP app ambassadorship announced in June 2025 remains her only disclosed sponsorship, and Above The Felt Entertainment continues to handle her commercial opportunities outside it.

For the latest results and updates across the poker world, visit our latest poker news and results.

This profile was researched and written by the VIP-Grinders editorial team. Last updated 8 October 2026, when every tournament figure was checked against Hendon Mob.

How we handle ‘net worth’

Net worth figures for poker players are inherently speculative. We combine tracked tournament earnings, known sponsorship deals, televised cash game results and publicly reported income streams into a range, and never present a figure as confirmed unless the player has disclosed it.

How we report earnings

We use Hendon Mob as the primary source for live tournament earnings. Figures represent gross payouts and do not account for buy-ins, travel, staking arrangements, taxes or expenses.

Online results come from PocketFives.

How we cover controversies

We include controversies that are publicly documented and verifiable through primary or credible secondary sources. We do not publish unverified rumours, and where a controversy involves another party’s conduct we frame it accordingly.