Justin Saliba

American poker player Justin Saliba became a WSOP bracelet winner in the 2021 WSOP Online Event #15, $5,300 High Roller Freezout taking home $253,800. The following year, he came in fourth place in Event #65, the 2022 WSOP $3,000 Freezeout No-Limit Hold’em, for $194,525.

Justin Saliba: Early Life

Justin Saliba was born in Dayton, Ohio. He has an elder brother named Joey and a younger sister named Alaina. Around the age of 10 or 11, he actually first learnt how to play poker while playing with his family. While playing with his friends, his brother Joey was watching the game on television. The group naturally gravitated toward online poker and devised a cunning plan to support their habit.

Like many young men from the Midwest, Saliba was interested in sports, and when he started high school, soccer took precedence over poker. He also became completely engrossed in chess during his junior year. It was the game that would consume the most of his time when he joined the chess team and rose up the rankings.

After graduating from high school, Saliba enrolled at the University of Dayton. He pursued a career in chemical engineering while playing goalkeeping in Division 1 soccer. 

Saliba finally made his way back to poker and met his first poker study group in 2017 through a mutual acquaintance. 

Justin Saliba: Poker Career

Justin Saliba relocated to Las Vegas at the start of 2019 to grind cash games. That summer, Saliba’s close friend Aram Zobian enquired about his plans to compete in the WSOP Main Event. Early in 2020, when COVID struck, Saliba made the decision to fully get into tournament poker and started playing exclusively tournaments. He then made the trip to Playa del Carmen for the GGPoker WSOP Online series. He really started to fire hard and consistently work on his game. 

Justin Saliba won the top prize of $195k, earning him his second six-figure salary of 2023. His poker career’s fourth-largest cash was earned with this victory. 

Conclusion:

According to The Hendon Mob, his total lifetime earnings are currently $4,022,346. He now has two wins from the World Series of Poker Online in addition to this tournament victory. Additionally, he earned just over $300,000 at the Borgata during the first week of the year. Saliba finished fifth in the Borgata $5,300 The Return in Atlantic City for $304,629, putting him on a bit of a roll to start the year.