Poker Night Section Hero
Support MƒA
MƒA 2026 Poker Night Tournament
You have the opportunity to play No Limit Hold ‘Em against the best poker players and money managers in the world. The tournament will end with a final table of players vying for the title of “2026 Math for America Poker Night Champion."
Math for America (MƒA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to making teaching a viable, rewarding, and respected career choice for the best minds in science and mathematics. Proceeds from the event support MƒA's fellowship programs which bring together outstanding public secondary school math and science teachers to share knowledge, advance teaching skills, and define excellence itself.
Tournament Details
-
Event Details
Thursday, April 16, 2026
The St. Regis Hotel
2 East 55th Street
New York, NY 10022
-
Event Co-Chairs
Ken Griffin
Beth Hammack
Howard Morgan
Peng Zhao
Peter Borish (Honorary Co-Chair) -
Poker Professionals
Clonie Gowan
Molly Bloom
Erik Seidel -
Time
6:00PM – 7:00PM Buffet reception — dinner and open bar
6:00PM – 7:00PM Poker tutorial
7:00PM – 12:30AM Poker Tournament
9:00PM – 12:30AM Dessert Buffet -
Donation
$5,000
Math for America is a 501(c) (3) organization. Donations beyond the value to donor ($400) are fully tax deductible.
Tournament
The 2026 Math for America Poker Night Tournament is a No Limit Hold 'Em tournament. Your initial $5,000 donation to Math for America in connection with the 2026 Math for America Poker Night entitles you to one distribution of chips at the tournament. Three re-buy periods will occur during the tournament. At each re-buy, players will have the opportunity to donate an additional $5,000 to receive another distribution of chips.
-
Teams
• The MƒA Poker Tournament will include teams and a team prize.
• Your company or organization can field a team of 4-6 players.
• Players on each team will be suitably identified and begin the evening at separate tables.
-
Individual Scoring
• Scoring begins once the Tournament reaches 20 remaining players.
• Each time a player is eliminated from that point forward, they receive a score based on the order in which they are eliminated
• A bonus of 5 points is awarded for knocking out a VIP player (defined as previous champions and Poker Pros).
• The individual player with the highest total point score at the end of the Tournament is declared the Individual Winner.How the Scoring Works
→ The Baseline (20th–11th): Points increase steadily by 1 per rank, starting at 1 point for 20th place and reaching 10 points for 11th.
→ The Mid-Tier (10th–6th): Once you hit the Top 10, the rewards jump to 5-point increments per rank, taking you from 15 points (10th) to 35 points (6th).
→ The Elite Tier (5th–2nd): The stakes double to 10-point increments for the top five contenders, scaling from 50 points to 80 points.
→ The Champion (1st): The winner receives a massive 20-point bonus over 2nd place to finish with a clean 100 points. -
Team Scoring
• Teams are scored by summing the total points earned by all individual players on the team.
• The team with the highest combined point total is declared the Team Winner.
Each 2026 Math for America Poker Night participant will be randomly assigned a table prior to the start of the tournament. Play will begin promptly at 7:00PM. Participants who are not present at the start of the tournament will have their hands folded and blinds posted by the dealer until they arrive or they run out of chips. During the first three levels of blinds, players whose chips fall below the level of $3,000 will be allowed to re-buy distributions of $5,000 in chips for an additional donation — up to a maximum of three re-buys. At the end of the re-buy period there will be a short break during which those who have not utilized all of their re-buy opportunities may do so. As players are eliminated, tables will be periodically consolidated until a single final table remains where the finalists will compete for the coveted title of 2026 Math for America Poker Night Champion.