Mike McDonald is a unique player and an example proving that the youth is not an obstacle for a successful career in poker.
Despite the fact that Mike has no WSOP bracelets yet, he is considered one of the most ingenious poker players. In spite of his youth, he has achieved several major victories in prestigious live tournaments and won more than a million dollars in an online game. McDonald plays equally well, both in real and online.
How did Mike McDonald get acquainted with poker?
Mike was born in the Canadian city of Waterloo and as a child, he was fond of mathematics and played chess. Apparently, his logical abilities revealed the player’s talent in McDonald when he first got acquainted with poker in the summer math camp. There, Mike, along with other 14-year-old peers, played poker. The game fascinated Mike and he realized that mathematical skills and logic can be used in poker to determine the probability of losing combinations.
Mike made his first deposit at an online poker room when he was only 15 years old. Starting with a bankroll of $ 100, he began playing at micro-limits under the nickname “Timex” and for the first year of the game, McDonald made $ 10,000. Mike could utilize his online winnings only when he reached the age of 18, by which time his bankroll was already $ 100,000. He entered the University of Waterloo at the Faculty of Mathematics, but his studies did not deter him from trying to realize his long-standing dream: to play in a live poker tournament.
Detailed information on Mike McDonald poker career
Two months after Mike was 19 years old, he took his bankroll and went to Europe to take part in live tournaments. His debut took place in England, in the city of Croydon, where he played in a tournament with a buy-in of £ 500 and won £ 4,000, taking 3rd place. A month later, he was already in Prague at the table of the prestigious EPT poker tournament, in which Mike managed to reach 14th place. McDonald decided not to miss all the major poker events and, after the EPT, went overseas to Aussie Millions in Melbourne.
In Australia, he achieved his first victories in a live game. Mike took first place in one of the Aussie Millions tournaments, and also won prizes in two more events of this championship, taking 2nd and 8th places and receiving a total of more than $ 140,000. The young poker player conquering the world did not even think to take a break, his tenacity was amazing, less than two weeks later he was already in Germany at the next stage of the EPT. In the German city of Dortmund, McDonald accomplished the incredible results: he won the main event and became the youngest EPT champion in the entire history. In addition, he became the youngest player to win over $ 1 million.
In 2009, Mike was no less active. He again traveled to Australia, where he won the Aussie Millions prizes twice and then returned to Europe, Germany, hoping to repeat the previous year’s EPT result. There, he again reached the final table of this tournament, took fifth place and received 197,000 euros. In Venice, he participated in another major final, namely in the WPT, in which Mike took fourth place and again received an amount of more than one hundred thousand euros. In Amsterdam, McDonald took second place at Master Classics.
In 2010, Mike had to start his studies and pay less attention to poker. However, this did not stop him from participating in several major events and taking 3rd place on the EPT in Deauville, earning another $ 296,000.
In 2011, Mike took part in the WSOP for the first time. Previously, he could not play in the most prestigious championship, since the age of majority in the USA is 21 and this rule applies even to foreigners. On the World Series of Poker, Mike took sixth and thirty-second places. In the fall, he returned to Las Vegas to take part in the championship of the Epic Poker League, in which he became the winner. For an honorable first place, Mike received the champion’s gold ring and $ 782,410.
At the end of 2011, he achieved another major result: he took second place at the EPT in Prague. In 2012, MacDonald again reached the EPT final table, this time in Monte Carlo and took 8th place in the Grand Final.
It should be noted that on Mike McDonald’s Twitter page, it is possible to read a lot of information about poker and diverse tournaments.
Mike’s Subsequent most successful results are:
| Date | Event | Place | Prize |
| May 12, 2013 | € 10,000 + 300 No Limit Hold’em – 6 Max TurboEPT – 9 – Grand Final, Monte Carlo | 2nd | $ 110,932 |
| January 7, 2014 | $ 10,000 + 300 No Limit Hold’em – Main EventPCA – 2014, Paradise Island | 2nd | $ 1,064,865 |
| February 7, 2014 | A$ 100,000 No Limit Hold’em – $100,000 Challenge2014 Aussie Millions Poker Championship, Melbourne | 2nd | $ 1,343,436 |
| February 1, 2015 | A$ 245,000 + 5,000 #21 The LK Boutique Challenge2015 Aussie Millions Poker Championship, Melbourne | 2nd | $ 1,235,228 |
| October 23, 2015 | € 25,000 + 750 #16 No Limit Hold’em – High Roller – 8 HandedEPT – 12 – IPT – 7 – Malta, Portomaso | 1st | $ 561,622 |
| May 4, 2017 | C$ 10,000 + 300 No Limit Hold’em – High RollerPlayground Poker Spring Classic – partypoker MILLION North America, Kahnawake | 1st | $ 145,789 |
What is the exact McDonald’s net worth?
In spite of the fact that Mike is quite a young poker player, he has managed to achieve impressive results. According to diverse resources providing data on Mike McDonald’s poker net worth, his total live earnings are approximately thirteen million dollars which put him on fifty-second place in the all-time money list.
What are the well-known poker player’s hobbies?
As a rule, when Mike does not participate in live tournaments, he spends a lot of time playing online games. However, the famous gambler still finds time for hobbies. For example, he loves sports: he plays golf, volleyball and runs marathons. Thanks to Mike McDonald’s Facebook page, poker fans have the opportunity to follow his personal life.
Mike also works as a poker coach. In 2011, he was hired to train Pius Heinz when the latter reached the WSOP Main Event finals. McDonald coached him on Skype. As a result, Pius became the champion of the WSOP-2011.
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