Poker nicknames usually come from one of three places: a story from a player's past, a famous win, or an online screen name. Phil Ivey's 'No Home Jerome' comes from a fake ID he used as a teenager, Adrián Mateos became 'The Closer' after winning the 2015 EPT Grand Final, and Eelis Pärssinen was known online as 'EEE27' long before his WSOP bracelets.
Poker has always loved a nickname. In the old road-gambler days, nicknames were colorful labels earned at the table. Today many of the best-known names in the game are online screen names, picked at a keyboard years before the player was famous. Here's how some of poker's notable nicknames came about, using only what the record shows.
Nicknames from a backstory: "No Home Jerome"
The most famous origin story belongs to Phil Ivey (full name Phillip Dennis Ivey Jr.), the eleven-time WSOP bracelet winner. As a teenager he used a fake ID to get into poker rooms in Atlantic City before he was old enough to play, and the name on that card gave rise to "No Home Jerome" (Wikipedia). He picked up other nicknames as his career took off, including "The Phenom" and "the Tiger Woods of Poker." Ivey learned the game playing five-card stud with his grandfather, and in 2000 he won his first bracelet, becoming the first player to beat Amarillo Slim heads-up at a WSOP final table.
Nicknames from a big win: "The Closer"
Some nicknames are earned in a single moment. Spain's Adrián Mateos Díaz became "The Closer" after his win at the 2015 European Poker Tour Grand Final (Wikipedia). He's kept living up to it: in June 2026 he became the youngest player ever to win six WSOP bracelets.
Nicknames from the internet: screen names
The online poker boom of the 2000s created a new kind of nickname. Players were known by their usernames long before anyone saw their faces, and some of those names followed them to live tournaments.
- "EEE27" (Eelis Pärssinen). The Finnish pro rose to fame as a pot-limit Omaha player under this handle (PokerNews). In 2026 he won two bracelets in six days and became Finland's most decorated WSOP player.
- "philivey2694" and "luvtheWNBA" (Isaac Haxton). The former youth chess champion, who studied philosophy at Brown, plays online under these names, along with "Ike Haxton" (Wikipedia). The sources we checked don't explain why he chose them.
- "krissyb24" and "Saraswati" (Kristen Foxen). Born Kristen Bicknell, she reached PokerStars Supernova Elite three years running as "krissyb24" (Wikipedia), and our bio also records "Saraswati" as her WSOP Online name.
- "tedsfishfry" and "shaundeeb" (Shaun Deeb). Deeb used both before Black Friday, the 2011 shutdown of major online poker sites in the US (Wikipedia).
- "bigfox86" (Alex Foxen). The former Boston College tight end's PokerStars name (Wikipedia).
Why screen names matter
Because online results are tracked by username, a screen name can carry a whole career's reputation. That's why fans and fellow pros still say "EEE27" or "krissyb24" years later. It's also why realnameof.com lists screen names alongside real names: if you've watched a high-stakes online game or a stream, the handle may be the only name you know.
Married names and name changes
Not every name change is a nickname. Kristen Foxen played as Kristen Bicknell early in her career and now competes under her married name; she married fellow pro Alex Foxen in April 2022, four years after he beat her heads-up for the MSPT Venetian title (Wikipedia). Results databases often list both names, which is a common source of confusion for new fans.
How to find a player's real name
If you only know a nickname or screen name, search it on realnameof.com. Our poker bios list each player's real name, known aliases and sources. We only list names that have been publicly reported, and we mark anything we couldn't verify. For current results, see our News post on the 2026 Player of the Year race.
FAQ
Why is Phil Ivey called No Home Jerome? As a teenager he used a fake ID to get into Atlantic City poker rooms, and the name on that card gave rise to the nickname (Wikipedia).
Who is EEE27 in poker? Finnish pro Eelis Pärssinen, a three-time WSOP bracelet winner.
Who is philivey2694? Isaac Haxton, an American high-stakes pro. He also plays online as luvtheWNBA.
How do poker players get nicknames? Usually from a story in their past, a famous win, or an online screen name that followed them to live poker.