Jason Mercier: Player Profile
Jason Mercier is one of the most impressive professional pokers today. At just the age of 26, Mercier already earned around US$10 million in live tournament winnings, two World Championship of Online Poker titles, two World Series of Poker gold bracelets, and the number one ranking on the Global Poker Index. With this track record, it’s no wonder he consistently performs well at the poker table – both live and online.
Early Life and Jason Mercier’s Beginnings in Poker
Mercier was born in Port Charlotte, Florida. Like most boys at a young age, Mercier developed a liking for sports. At six-years-old, he was playing baseball, basketball, and soccer. Being the youngest of four siblings, Mercier was motivated to be better than his two brothers and sister. He wanted to be the best athlete in the family.
When he grew older, Mercier attended Florida Atlantic University for one year on a full academic scholarship. It was during his college days that he first became interested in poker, when a friend introduced him to good online poker sites.
Mercier claims that his family gives him the biggest support. He said “My parents have always been extremely supportive of what I do, and it’s one of the reasons I was able to pursue my goal of being one of the top professional poker players in the world.
“I credit my mom with my character and my dad with my competitive nature and drive. Both have been such an intricate part in my growing up and molding myself into who I am today, and I can’t thank them enough for everything.”
While attending college in 2007, Mercier set himself up to win the Supernova Elite on PokerStars. He was also coaching basketball on the side at the time. Mercier played up to 50 hours of 12 or more online poker site tables every week.
It was during his third year in college that Mercier decided to pursue a poker career full-time. He said, “After three years of college, I realized that I was going to make a good living playing poker and decided not to go to university again.” By the end of that year, he became the 16th player in history to achieve Supernova Elite status. Little did he know then that this win would affect his professional poker career profoundly.
Jason Mercier’s Success in Professional Poker
When Mercier attained the Supernova Elite Status, he earned packages to attend two like PokerStars events. The first was a package to the 2008 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, and the other was the European Poker Tour Grand Final in Monte Carlo.
When Mercier went to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, he gained lots of experience at the tables. It was also here that he won a seat to the European Poker Tour San Remo. And this was the beginning of his success in professional poker.
Mercier was among the 700 poker players who attended the EPT San Remo. After hours and hours of intense action on the tables, Mercier was left standing as the winner. He won more than one million dollars for his first EPT win.
After his EPT win, Mercier continued to perform well at professional poker tournaments. He went to Las Vegas to participate in the WSOP, where he cashed in three times, earning five figures each time.
In September and October 2008, Mercier played at the EPT Barcelona, the WSOP tournament in Europe and the EPT London. From this three competitions, he won a total of US$2,752,423. That year, he was no longer seen as a newcomer from Florida – Mercier was a poker superstar.
From then on, Mercier has excelled (and also sometimes failed) at poker competitions. But he knows that he has many more years to hone his skills.
“When people look back on my career, I want to be considered the best all-around player to ever play the game,” says Mercier. “I recognize my career is still young and I have a long way to go, but I’m determined to put in the work to achieve my ultimate goal.”
Jason Mercier Trivia
Here are some things you may not know about Mercier:
- He attended college with the intention to be a math teacher.
- Pot-limit Omaha is his favorite cash game.
- In 2009, Mercier was named the Player of the Year by BLUFF magazine.
- He plays as “treysfull21” on all online poker rooms. But, as a member of Team PokerStars Pro, he uses the screen name “JasonMercier”.
- Mercier says he’s not related to Isabelle Mercier, fellow Team PokerStars pro. His name and background include seven different ethnicities, the largest portion being Portuguese (25%).
- Mercier says that an exercise routine keeps him energetic and sharp at the poker table. When on a time off, he enjoys playing basketball, and boating.
- Mercier owns a Miami food delivery business called “Doorstop Delivery”.
Jason Mercier Style of Play
Mercier’s Rules on Aggression
Mercier is known for a smart aggressive style of play that confounds opponents. According to Mercier, his brand of aggression is more of timely aggression as opposed to sheer aggression. This means that before he makes a decision, he understands his opponents first and find out what they are capable of.
He has also said in an article in PokerPlayer magazine that he does not generally gamble his entire stack, but part of it. When it comes to a big stack, he says “When you are a big stack, being aggressive is still very situational, player dependent and stack-size dependent. It depends on what the player is like who has the stack that’s half the size of yours. How do you think you can exploit him? Do you have position on him or are you out of position? You also need to factor in the other players at the table. If I have 150,000 and there’s a good player who has 75,000 and a bunch of fish with 30,000, I’m not going to go after the one good player with 75,000.”
In addition, he discusses playing great poker hands: “If I had to give one bit of advice in terms of getting more aggression into your game, I’d say to pick some spots in which your hand is not good enough to call a raise but it still plays well, and three-bet it. A good example would be a hand such as J-9 suited. If you’re on the button against the hijack, it’s probably not good enough to flat-call, but by three-betting you take the lead in the hand. Now you have a chance to pick up more chips and you’re in position.”
Mercier on the Poker Table
When it comes to table matters, Mercier says that getting to the tables is not about being on the table with lots of chips. He claims that he would rather be in a table with average poker players, regardless of their stacks.
But, we know that Mercier can’t always battle with the average players. When it comes to facing off with the best of the best, he says that he is willing to wager bigger. This is especially true if he is in a winner-takes-all format, such as a bounty shootout.
More than a Poker Player
Mercier is the kind of poker player who accepts both the good and the ugly that comes with playing poker professionally. This is why he remains a pretty good ambassador of the game.
To be a good poker ambassador is to have the ability to overcome obstacles throughout one’s career. Mercier has been able to do just that. He knows that poker can become very unkind to a player like himself. But Mercier believes that all players need to do is remain confident, focused, and willing to play the best game.
Mercier is known to consult with tournament staff. He also takes the time to give advice to fans, beginners and fellow players. That is why in many ways, Mercier is more than just a poker player. His love for the game goes beyond the competition.
Jason Mercier Winnings and Rankings
According to the latest figures in The Hendon Mob Database, Mercier’s total live tournament winnings is estimated at US$16,422,563. This places him at 11th place in the All Time Money List.
Jason Mercier winnings can be divided into three areas: US$6,456,277 from competitions in Europe, US$8,336,436 from the Americas, US$702,350 from Oceania, and US$927,500 from other live tournaments. Mercier also has US$2,206,185 from total online earnings.
Mercier is currently in 6th place for the Global Poker Index ranking. He was previously in the number 1 spot. In fact, Mercier holds the record for the most weeks spent at number 1 on the GPI rankings with 80 weeks in total (out of which were 50 consecutive weeks). Since the ranking system debuted, Mercier has never dropped below the 9th spot – which is an impressive feat in itself.
Mercier is also currently in 9th place in popularity ranking.
Jason Mercier Net Worth
When asked about his net worth, Mercier often declines to say anything about it. Although he has more than US$16 million in live tournament earnings, there are travel and tournament fees to consider when it comes to Jason Mercier worth. Not to mention investments (mostly in real estate) that Mercier has already made. Gamboool! speculates that Mercier’s net worth is somewhere in the US$4 million to US$6 million range.
Tournament Rewards
North American Poker Tour
Mercier was victorious at the 2010 NAPT Mohegan Sun $25,000 Bounty Shootout tournament where he earned a total of US$475,000. He defeated Faraz Jaka and Sam Stein at the final table for the grand prize.
European Poker Tour
Mercier made two final tables at the European Poker Tour (EPT) in 2008. As mentioned earlier in the article, his first final table was at the EPT San Remo in Season 4, and this was his breakout poker performance. In this tournament he won a total of US$1,372,893. He beat out professional online poker players (and Team PokerStars Pro’s) William Thorston and Dario Minieri. The next season, he made his next EPT final table. He finished in 6th place at the 2008 EPT Barcelona event in Season 5. He won a total of US$324,946.
In the same year, he won the EPT London £20,000 High Roller Event, also known as the 2008 £1 Million Showdown. This competition was a non-title event. Mercier was able to cash in US$944,847. The fional table included John Juanda, as well as online pros Mike “SirWatts” Watson and Isaac Haxton, and Scotty Nguyen, David Benyamine and Isabelle Mercier.
World Series of Poker
Mercier has a total of three World Series of Poker bracelets. He has also made 11 final tables at the WSOP.
In 2009, Mercier had an incredible year at Las Vegas with four cash finishes and his very first WSOP bracelet.
“It was definitely exciting,” Mercier said of his first WSOP bracelet. He also added that it was a “relief winning that money”. That amount of over a quarter-million dollars allowed him to freeroll for the rest of the series. He continued the series to cash three more times. In the eyes of the poker world, he was no longer a new comer, but a force to be reckoned with.
That year, he was also named Bluff Player of the Year for his performances.
Here are the details of his three WSOP wins:
Year | Tournament or Event | Prize (in USD) |
---|---|---|
2009 | $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha | $237,415 |
2011 | $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha (Six Handed) | $619,575 |
2015 | $5,000 No Limit Hold’em (Six Handed) | $633,357 |
World Poker Tour
Here are Mercier’s first place finishes for the WPT.
Year | Tournament or Event | Place | Prize (in USD) |
---|---|---|---|
2011 | Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic $100,000 High Roller | 1st | $709,767 |
2009 | L.A. Poker Classic $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha | 1st | $35,577 |
World Championship of Online Poker
Aside from live events, Mercier is also known to be great at playing poker tables online. Here are his online poker world championship wins.
Year | Event | Tournament | Prize (in USD) |
---|---|---|---|
2010 | Event 42 | $1,050 No Limit Hold’em | $435,862.07 |
2012 | Event 62 | $10,300 8-Game (High-Roller) | $253,425.00 |
Mercier’s Notable Career Highlights
It was in 2014 that Mercier landed his biggest win so for. In the middle of the 2014 WSOP in Las Vegas, Mercier took time off to play at a High Roller event at the Bellagio. He finished in second place for US$1,622,181.
Date | Tournament or Event | Buy-in | Place | Total Winnings (in USD) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Jun 27, 14 | $100,000 No-Limit Hold’em Eight Max (2014 Summer High Roller Series) | $100,000 | 2 | $1,622,181 |
May 15, 13 | Event 37 – No-Limit Hold’em Super High Roller 8 Max Re-entry (2013 EPT Grand Final – Monaco) | $127,645 | 2 | $1,443,270 |
Apr 05, 08 | EPT Main Event (2008 EPT San Remo – Season IV) | $7,850 | 1 | $1,364,330 |
Oct 06, 08 | High Roller Showdown – Event 7 (2008 PokerStars.com EPT London – Season V) | $36,411 | 1 | $905,141 |
Dec 06, 14 | $100,000 No-Limit Hold’em (2014/2015 WPT Alpha8 St. Kitts) | $97,000 | 1 | $727,500 |
Dec 10, 11 | Event 17 – No-Limit Hold’em Hight Roller (2011 Five Diamond World Poker Classic) | $100,000 | 1 | $683,000 |
Jun 17, 15 | $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em Six Max (2015 World Series of Poker) | $5,000 | 1 | $633,357 |
Aug 27, 14 | €10,300 No-Limit Hold’em Eight Max (EPT Season XI / Estrellas – Barcelona) | $14,028 | 2 | $623,682 |
Jun 22, 11 | $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Six Handed (2011 42nd Annual World Series of Poker) | $5,000 | 1 | $619,575 |
Jun 28, 15 | $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Eight Max (2015 World Series of Poker) | $10,000 | 2 | $572,989 |
Aug 18, 15 | $25,400 No-Limit Hold’em $1 Million GTD (2015 SHR Poker Open) | $25,400 | 1 | $517,187 |
Apr 13, 10 | High Roller Bounty Shootout (2010 NAPT Mohegan Sun) | $25,000 | 1 | $475,000 |
Sep 19, 10 | WCOOP 2010 Event No. 42 (PokerStars) | $1,000 | 1 | $435,862 |
Oct 01, 09 | World Series of Poker Europe Main Event (2009 World Series of Poker Europe) | $14,845 | 4 | $421,937 |
Jan 30, 16 | AUD$100,000 No-Limit Hold’em (2016 Aussie Millions) | $70,817 | 3 | $421,890 |