Jason Koon

Jason Koon (born August 14, 1985) is an American professional poker player from Weston, West Virginia, known for his accomplishments in live and online poker tournaments. He has won two World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets, and he holds a record 12 Triton Poker Series titles. He is ranked third on the all-time money list. He was inducted to the Poker Hall of Fame in 2026.

Early life

Koon was born in August 14,1985 and spent his childhood in rural Weston, West Virginia. His father was sent to jail for domestic violence when he was eight, after which they had no more contact. There he received his Masters in Business Administration and Finance. In his sophomore year, he suffered an injury that resulted in torn hip ligaments, and he started playing poker to stave off boredom while recuperating from his injury. His roommate taught him Texas hold 'em, and Koon realized that he has the aptitude for playing poker, that poker is a game of skills and he could make money from the game. His initial venture into online poker was unsuccessful, but he persevered in learning to play the game and started winning.

Poker career 2006–2011: Online achievements Koon began playing poker in 2006 during college. He played online under the alias JAKoon1985 on PokerStars and NovaSky on Full Tilt Poker. Koon's online earnings had exceeded $2.4 million by 2011. In 2010, Koon finished 4th in the World Poker Tour main event at the Bellagio for $225,000. He won $700,000 in three years from live poker.

In 2013, Koon finished runner up to David Peters in the $10,000 Bellagio Cup earning $316,000.

In 2015, Koon turned $100 into $110,820 after 18 hours of play finishing third in a low buy in event at the SCOOP on PokerStars. He won $842,084 in total in 2015, which he considered "roughly break-even" due to the stakes involved. He won $2.89 million in 2016.

2017–present: Super high roller wins In 2017, Koon won $1,650,300 in the PokerStars Championship $100,000 Super High Roller event in the Bahamas. Later in the year Koon won a large pot off Doug Polk in the hybrid cash game on Poker After Dark. He won $4.3 million in total in 2017.

In August 2019, Koon finished 2nd in the Event 3 of London Triton Poker Super High Roller Series (£50,000 No Limit Hold'em - 8 Handed) for £907,000.

On January 13, 2021, Koon made his debut on High Stakes Poker after filling the seat left empty by Jean-Robert Bellande in Episode 5 of Season 8. Koon bought in for $300,000 and the game was $400/$800 No-Limit Hold'em. In June, he finished third at the U.S. Poker Open, earning $336,000. During the 2021 WSOP, Koon won Event #11, the $25,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em Championship for his first WSOP bracelet.

In October 2022, Koon won Event #10: $50,000 No-Limit Hold'em of the 2022 Poker Masters. Koon topped a 37-entrant field to win $666,000. In December 2022, Koon faced off with Phil Hellmuth in Round 5 of PokerGO's High Stakes Duel 3. Koon defeated Hellmuth and won the $1,600,000 prize while advancing to Round 6. Koon finished third overall on the 2022 PokerGO Tour leaderboard with 2,833 PGT points. Koon was one of the 21-eligible players that were able to participate in the season-ending PGT Championship. Koon finished Day 1 as the overwhelming chip leader before winning the event after defeating Sean Winter heads-up for $500,000.

In January 2023, no challenger stepped up to take on Koon in Round 6 of High Stakes Duel 3, and he was declared the champion. On February 18, 2023, Koon won the 3rd annual World Series of Art Poker in Los Angeles, CA. The unique artist based tournament is put on by Stussy, Casinola, and Wood Kusaka Studio every year coinciding with LA's art fair week. Later that year, on May 22, Koon triumphed against Sam Greenwood, winning the $100,000 Triton Main Event in Cyprus and taking home $2,451,082. In December, he finished second in the $100,000 Ultra High Roller event at the WSOP in Bahamas which earned him $1,817,000.

In May 2025, Koon won $3,393,656, the second-largest prize of his career thus far, at Triton Poker's $150,000 no-limit hold'em event in Montenegro. He followed this with another win in the final event of the series, the $30K PLO Bounty Quattro event, which was his 12th win at Triton Poker. He had more than twice as many wins at Triton than the nearest competitors who each had five. In June 2025, he also won $1,968,927 and his second WSOP bracelet in the $50,000 High Roller event. This took his career winnings to $66 million, third in the all time money list.

In May 2026, Koon won €1,000,000 ($1,173,378) in the 100K European Poker Tour Monte Carlo Sit & Go tournament with a 'winner take all' format. As of June 2026, Koon's total live tournament earnings exceed $77 million. He stands 3rd in the world all-time money list in 2026. The couple first met while on the track and field team at West Virginia Wesleyan College. Their second son was born in June 2023.

Koon was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2026, the first year he became eligible.

Sponsorships In October 2017, Jason Koon was announced as a member of partypoker’s team pro. In August 2021, Koon left partypoker.

He also works as a coach on RunItOnce.

In October 2021 at the 2021 World Series of Poker, Koon was announced as a GGPoker Global Ambassador. He left GGPoker in February 2024, later that year he became a PokerStars ambassador. He is also ambassador for the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series since 2019.