Jacob, 33, nicknamed "Fro Poker" for his hair style was first known for winning the 2006 United States Poker Championship Main Event on ESPN.
He left several final tables at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) and World Poker Tour (WPT) and then left poker to become Jeopardy! champion. He is also widely known for his good sportsmanship and a kind winner.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Alex Jacob was a passer-by in his high school class in 2002, and graduated from Yale University in May 2006 with a degree in Economics and Mathematics.
That same year, Jacob finished second at the WPT Foxwoods, winning $ 655,507. In total, Jacob made four WSOP final tables, including finishing third in Event # 3 at the 2007 WSOP for $ 282,367.
As of 2017, Jacob has won over $ 2.6 million in live tournament winnings. He has clearly moved away from poker on his Hendon Mob page, where only money has been shown since 2012.
Alex Jacob later appeared on the hit game show Jeopardy! where he won six victories in April 2015, eventually winning nearly $ 152,000. His prowess put him in the Top 15 of the All Time Peril! winners and qualify for the 2015 Tournament of Champions.
Despite its success, Card Player Magazine has reported that there are many Dangers! fans were annoyed by Jacob's "unconventional" style of play. He went from category to category looking for Daily Doubles, and when found, he usually shoved all in, betting big enough to provide him with overwhelming advantages, or betting small enough to thwart his opponent's ability to double.
According to Keith Williams, 2003 Danger! College champion and game strategist Jacob also excelled in stall tactics. Jacob would slow the game down by waiting a few seconds before answering questions and pulling out the category names to give just a couple of examples. Williams argues that this behavior is perfectly in line with the rules of the game, however, this tactic is rarely used by most players, who may believe that the time wasted can create the impression of cheating.
In essence, Jacob "took advantage of every advantage he could identify," including those that most others threaten! players were unable to view. Of course, it also helps that Jacob is actually a great trivia player with an incredible wealth of knowledge.
The moral of Jacob's story is that while most successful poker players are smart as hell, not everyone is so kind. Jacob has both qualities, and his success is well deserved.