Poker player Karina Jett is a well-respected figure on the tournament circuit. Highly skilled with the cards, it also doesn’t hurt that she’s an exotic beauty. The mother of two children by fellow poker pro and husband Chip Jett, Karina has over 23 cash finishes and $150,000 in winnings during her tournament career.
Karina Jett - Growing Up in Casinos
Born Karina Mikelis on August 16th, 1974 in Saigon, Karina’s father was a Greek-American, and her mother was Vietnamese. When she was only nine months old, her parents moved to St. Petersburg, Florida. A year later, her father, a colonel in the U.S. Air Force, was transferred to Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.
As it happened, both of Karina’s parents loved poker, with Seven-Card Stud being a favorite of her father. They took their daughter everywhere on the Las Vegas strip, and the little girl was soon friends with many of the dealers, players and pit bosses.
When she was a young child, Karina found the game boring and would often spend her time in the casino arcade. But when she grew into a teenager, she took an interest in poker and started playing $1/$5 Stud Poker to pass the time.
After high school, Karina attended college but had to withdraw to help with the family businesses, a jewelry store and Chinese restaurant. During this time, Karina was once again rubbing elbows with her mother’s old gambling buddies, and it wasn’t long before her interest in poker was renewed. Her good looks were also evident, as she would capture the title of “Miss Photogenic” in the Miss World Nevada pageant.
Karina Jett - Poker Pro
She started playing Seven Card Stud again and slowly increased her level of competition. She worked as a prop player in California for a time and was ready to turn pro by 1996.
After playing Seven Card Stud for a year, her cousin Tan Le helped her expand to Texas Hold’em. She won a number of local tournaments and then expanded her game to major tournaments, making final tables at season four of Late Night Poker in 2001, and the Four Queens Poker Classic and L.A. Poker Classic in 2002.
In 2001, she was introduced to poker pro Chip Jett, and the two quickly became a couple. They were married at the Little White Chapel in Las Vegas five weeks later.
Over the next five years, Karina would cash in 20 events and Chip would win over $1 million in tournament play. While Karina has won over $150,000 in tournaments, her focus is on Limit Hold’em cash games.
In 2003, Karina was chip leader at the Four Queens Poker Classic in Las Vegas. She was also pregnant at the time and went into labor at the table. She was rushed to the hospital and gave birth to a daughter named Athena. Three years later, the Jetts would also have a son named Apollo.
In 2005, both Chip and Karina reached the final table of the London Open’s $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Tournament. By doing so, they became the first husband/wife team to ever make the final table in such an expensive event.
The duo serve as instructors at the World Poker Tour’s Boot Camp for new players, and they also write columns in various magazines, including Card Player. They have founded Jett Poker Inc. and market a series of playing cards featuring some of the biggest names in poker (called “Poker’s Most Wanted”). Chip is on the ace, while Karina is on the queen of spades.
Karina Jett - Poker Wins
The following are a list of Karina Jett’s largest poker tournament wins:
- 4th place in the $1,000 Ladies Limit Hold’em Tournament at the 2004 World Series of Poker ($12,800)
- 5th place at the Grand Final of the 2005 Poker Royale: Battle of the Sexes ($15,000)
- 8th place at the 2005 London Open’s $10,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament ($45,000)
- 2nd place at the 2007 US Poker Bowl’s $40,000 No-Limit Hold’em tournament ($16,667)
