Last Updated on August 5, 2026 by Bala Kumar
Michael Mizrachi, known globally by the nickname “The Grinder,” is one of the most decorated tournament poker players of the modern era and, as of 2026, the reigning WSOP Main Event champion. Built on relentless short-stack survival skills and mixed-game expertise, and with a career spanning more than two decades at the highest levels of live poker, Mizrachi has completed a feat almost no one else in the game’s history has: winning both the $50,000 Poker Players Championship and the WSOP Main Event in the same calendar year, 2025.
The American poker star has built his legacy primarily at the World Series of Poker, where he ranks third all-time in official WSOP tournament earnings and holds the record for the most Poker Players Championship titles ever won (four). As of 2026, Mizrachi has accumulated more than $30.7 million in total live tournament earnings according to the Hendon Mob database, was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2025 immediately following his Main Event win, and continues to compete at an elite level well into his mid-40s.
Michael Mizrachi Quick Facts
| Category | Information |
| Full Name | Michael David Mizrachi |
| Poker Nickname | The Grinder |
| Date of Birth | January 5, 1981 |
| Birthplace | Miami / North Miami Beach, Florida |
| Nationality | American |
| Residence | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Profession | Professional Poker Player (full-time since 2004) |
| WSOP Bracelets | 9 |
| WSOP Rings | 1 |
| WPT Titles | 2 |
| Poker Hall of Fame | Inducted 2025 |
| Total Live Tournament Earnings (Hendon Mob) | $30,747,390 |
| Official WSOP Career Earnings (WSOP.com) | $22,678,490 |
| Main Poker Sponsor | GGPoker (Global Ambassador, since October 2025) |
Sources: WSOP.com official player page; Hendon Mob Poker Database. Figures current as of mid-2026 and subject to change with future results.
Early Life & Family
Michael Mizrachi grew up around gambling from an early age and began playing poker as a teenager. He originally set out to become a doctor before dropping out of college to pursue poker professionally. Poker runs deep in the family: his older brother, Robert Mizrachi, is himself a five-time WSOP bracelet winner with more than $6.6 million in career earnings, and his twin brother Eric also plays. The Mizrachi brothers became just the second pair of siblings ever to both hold WSOP bracelets when Michael won his first in 2010, with Robert finishing 5th in that very event.
Note on sourcing: More detailed personal claims found in some secondary poker-bio sites — including specific details about his mother’s nickname, his father’s heritage, language spoken at home, and childhood casino experiences — could not be confirmed against a primary source (WSOP.com, PokerNews, or a direct interview) and have been omitted here pending stronger sourcing.
Michael Mizrachi WSOP Bracelet Wins
Mizrachi’s bracelet resume is headlined by a record four Poker Players Championship titles — the $50,000 buy-in, multi-day mixed-game event widely regarded as tournament poker’s toughest all-around test of skill — plus poker’s single biggest prize, the WSOP Main Event. Bracelet numbers below reflect the official sequence confirmed by WSOP.com and cross-referenced against Wikipedia’s sourced results.
| Bracelet # | Year | Tournament | Prize | Notes |
| 1 | 2010 | $50,000 Poker Players Championship (1st title) | $1,559,046 | Defeated Vladimir Shchemelev heads-up; brother Robert finished 5th in the same event |
| 2 | 2011 | €10,400 No-Limit Hold’em Split Format (WSOP Europe, Cannes) | €336,008 | Defeated Shawn Buchanan heads-up |
| 3 | 2012 | $50,000 Poker Players Championship (2nd title) | $1,451,527 | Defeated Chris Klodnicki heads-up |
| 4 | 2018 | $50,000 Poker Players Championship (3rd title) | $1,239,126 | Set a new PPC record with a third title, later matched by Brian Rast |
| 5 | 2019 | $1,500 Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better | $142,801 | Defeated a field of 460 players |
| 6 | 2024 | $888 No-Limit Hold’em Crazy 8’s Encore (WSOP Online) | $108,815 | First-ever online bracelet |
| 7 | 2025 | $50,000 Poker Players Championship (4th title) | $1,331,322 | Record-breaking fourth PPC title, breaking a tie with Brian Rast |
| 8 | 2025 | $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event | $10,000,000 | Defeated John Wasnock heads-up to become world champion, 19 days after his 4th PPC win; inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame immediately after |
| 9 | 2026 | $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship | $1,350,203 | Won exactly one year (to the day) after his 2025 PPC victory; ties Benny Glaser and Johnny Moss for 6th-most bracelets all-time |
Mizrachi also holds one WSOP Circuit ring, won at the 2013 WSOP Africa Main Event in Johannesburg for $101,267. With nine gold bracelets, he stands among a small group of players to reach that total.
A 15-year full-circle moment: Mizrachi first came agonizingly close to the Main Event title back in 2010, the same year as his first bracelet — he made the “November Nine” and finished 5th for $2,332,992, eliminated by eventual champion Jonathan Duhamel. It would take 15 more years, and three more PPC titles, before he finally closed out the Main Event itself in 2025.
World Poker Tour (WPT) Success
Mizrachi’s rise to fame actually predates his WSOP bracelet collection. In February 2005, at just 24 years old, he won the WPT L.A. Poker Classic (Commerce Casino) for $1,859,909, defeating a final table that included Ted Forrest and Erick Lindgren — the win that launched “The Grinder” nickname into the mainstream poker consciousness. Almost exactly one year later, in January 2006, he captured his second WPT title at the Borgata Winter Poker Open, earning $1,173,373 and a Cadillac Escalade, defeating a final table featuring John D’Agostino and Erick Lindgren. That 2005–2006 stretch was so dominant — around ten tournament wins and roughly $5 million earned — that CardPlayer Magazine named him its 2006 Player of the Year.
Real-Time Poker Earnings (2026)
Two figures are commonly cited for Mizrachi’s career earnings, and it’s worth being precise about which is which:
- Official WSOP-only career earnings: $22,678,490, per WSOP.com’s official player page, current as of mid-2026. This ranks him third all-time in official WSOP earnings.
- Total live tournament earnings across all tours: $30,747,390, per the Hendon Mob Poker Database, which tracks results across WSOP, WPT, and other tours combined.
The gap between the two figures reflects his WPT titles, WSOP Circuit ring, and other non-WSOP cashes not counted in the WSOP-specific total.
Michael Mizrachi’s Biggest Career Cashes
| Event | Finish | Prize |
| WSOP Main Event (2025) | Winner | $10,000,000 |
| WSOP Main Event (2010) | 5th (November Nine) | $2,332,992 |
| $10,000 PLO Championship (2026) | Winner | $1,350,203 |
| WPT L.A. Poker Classic (2005) | Winner | $1,859,909 |
| $50,000 Poker Players Championship (2010) | Winner | $1,559,046 |
| WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open (2006) | Winner | $1,173,373 + Cadillac Escalade |
| $50,000 Poker Players Championship (2012) | Winner | $1,451,527 |
| $50,000 Poker Players Championship (2025) | Winner | $1,331,322 |
| $50,000 Poker Players Championship (2018) | Winner | $1,239,126 |
| WSOP Africa Main Event (2013) | Winner | $101,267 |
His 2025 Main Event victory remains, by a wide margin, the single largest payout of his professional career — arriving just 19 days after his record fourth Poker Players Championship win the same summer, a double ESPN and fellow pros have described as one of the most improbable parlays in poker history.
Defending the Title: Mizrachi at the 2026 WSOP Main Event
As the reigning champion, Mizrachi entered the 2026 WSOP Main Event as one of the most closely watched players in the field, fresh off his ninth-bracelet win in the $10,000 PLO Championship just days before the Main Event began. He built a genuinely deep run through the early days of the tournament, at one point navigating a tough stretch that included running into quads, and kept his title defense alive well into the middle rounds. Ultimately, Mizrachi did not make the 2026 final table.
Note: An earlier version of this profile referenced a WSOP Europe Main Event run in Prague in April 2026. This claim came from a single secondary source and could not be corroborated against WSOP.com’s official schedule (WSOP Europe traditionally runs in the autumn, not April), so it has been removed pending verification.
Michael Mizrachi’s Playing Style
Mizrachi is widely known within the poker community for two specific strengths, based on his tournament results and mixed-game record:
- Short-stack survival: His nickname, “The Grinder,” reflects a well-documented ability to survive and extend deep runs with a short stack, a pattern visible across multiple final tables in his results history.
- Mixed-game expertise: His four Poker Players Championship titles — an event that rotates through disciplines including Stud, Omaha, Razz, and Limit Hold’em over a grueling multi-day final — represent the clearest evidence of his all-around skill across formats beyond No-Limit Hold’em.
- Tournament adaptability: Commentators and fellow professionals, including Daniel Negreanu, have credited Mizrachi’s ability to adjust his approach based on stack depth and table dynamics as a key factor in his sustained success across two decades of play.
GGPoker Ambassador Career
Michael Mizrachi signed on as a Global Ambassador for GGPoker in October 2025, shortly after his Main Event win and Poker Hall of Fame induction — a partnership officially announced by GGPoker and covered by PokerNews, CardPlayer, Pokerfuse, and TightPoker. He joined a roster that already included Daniel Negreanu and Fedor Holz. GGPoker does not operate in the United States, so the ambassadorship primarily covers international events and online promotion. The specific financial terms of the deal have not been publicly disclosed by either party.
Personal Life
Mizrachi married Aidiliy Mizrachi, whom he met while she worked as a casino dealer; the couple divorced in 2016. He has three children. He grew up in Miami, Florida, and now resides in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he remains an active presence on the live tournament circuit.
Michael Mizrachi Net Worth (2026)
Michael Mizrachi’s net worth is not publicly confirmed. Third-party estimates place it in the range of $18 million to $22 million as of 2026, based on an approximate methodology of tracked live tournament earnings offset by reported real estate losses, a past IRS lien, taxes, and over two decades of tournament-related expenses. This figure should be treated as an informed estimate rather than a verified public record — poker players’ net worth is rarely disclosed directly, and tournament winnings alone don’t account for buy-ins, staking arrangements, taxes, or living expenses.
Michael Mizrachi Social Media
- X (Twitter): @TheGrinder44
- Instagram: @thegrinder44
Why Michael Mizrachi Is One of the Best Poker Players Ever
Michael Mizrachi’s legacy rests on a rare combination of achievements:
- Nine WSOP gold bracelets
- A record four Poker Players Championship titles (2010, 2012, 2018, 2025) — no other player has won it more than three times
- The only player to win the Poker Players Championship and the WSOP Main Event in the same calendar year (2025)
- Third all-time in official WSOP career earnings ($22.68M+), and over $30.7M in total live tournament winnings across all tours
- Two WPT titles won in a single dominant stretch (2005–2006), which first made him a poker star
- Poker Hall of Fame induction (2025), immediately following his Main Event win
- Continued elite-level performance well into his mid-40s, including a ninth bracelet win and a deep Main Event title-defense run in the same 2026 season
Final Thoughts
Michael Mizrachi’s 2025–2026 stretch, a record fourth Poker Players Championship win, a WSOP Main Event title 19 days later, and a ninth career bracelet roughly a year after that — stands as one of the most dominant recent runs by any player in the game’s history. Even as he approaches the middle of his fifth decade, “The Grinder” continues to compete at the highest levels of tournament poker, adding to a legacy that already ranks among the greatest the sport has produced.
FAQs
How many WSOP bracelets does Michael Mizrachi have?
Michael Mizrachi has nine WSOP gold bracelets as of 2026, most recently winning the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship for $1,350,203 in June 2026.
Did Michael Mizrachi win the WSOP Main Event?
Yes. Mizrachi won the 2025 WSOP Main Event for $10,000,000, defeating John Wasnock heads-up, 19 days after winning a record fourth Poker Players Championship the same summer, making him the only player to win both events in the same year.
How many times has Michael Mizrachi won the Poker Players Championship?
Four times, in 2010, 2012, 2018, and 2025, a record no other player has matched.
How much money has Michael Mizrachi won in his poker career?
His official WSOP-only career earnings are $22,678,490 per WSOP.com, ranking him third all-time. His total live tournament earnings across all tours, per the Hendon Mob database, are $30,747,390.
What is Michael Mizrachi’s net worth in 2026?
Michael Mizrachi’s exact net worth is not publicly confirmed. Third-party estimates place it between $18 million and $22 million, based on tracked earnings offset by taxes, past financial setbacks, and career expenses.
Did Michael Mizrachi defend his WSOP Main Event title in 2026?
Mizrachi built a deep run at the 2026 WSOP Main Event as the defending champion but did not reach the final table. His 2026 season still included a ninth career WSOP bracelet, won days before the Main Event began.
