Jonathan Jaffe was born in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, part of the generation inspired by the 2003 "Moneymaker Boom." Before his poker ascent, he worked as a summer camp counselor, using his modest earnings to make his first $200 online deposit. He attended Westfield State University, but his tenure in higher education was short-lived; after just one semester, he convinced his parents to let him drop out to pursue poker full-time.
Jonathan Jaffe Poker History
Jaffe first made his mark as an online heads-up specialist under the screen name "Iftarii." He transitioned to live play with immediate success, notably finishing runner-up in the 2008 WPT Foxwoods World Poker Finals for $670,636.
In 2013, Jaffe finished 42nd in the WSOP Main Event for $185,694 before winning a WPT title the following year. He took home $409,657 for winning WPT Montreal.
He final-tabled the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic in 2019, and the WPT Tampa Championship in 2021 for combined cashes of almost $600,000.
The first seven-figure cash of Jaffe's career came in the 2023 WPT Alpha8 for One Drop for over $1.5 million. Later that year, Jaffe won his first Triton Poker Series title in Monte-Carlo for $501,000. Jaffe has gone on to amass multiple seven-figure scores as a regular on the Triton Poker Series. This includes a $1,330,000 cash at Triton Poker Series Monte Carlo in 2024 and a second Triton title in Jeju the following year for $1,061,672.
The largest cash of Jaffe's career came at the 2025 Triton Invitational in the Bahamas, finishing fourth for $2,860,000.
Jonathan Jaffe Top 5 Poker Cashes
| Date | Event | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 2025 | $250,000 Triton Invitational (WSOP Paradise) | 4th | $2,860,000 |
| July 2023 | $111,111 WPT Alpha8 for One Drop | 1st | $1,537,600 |
| Nov 2024 | $125,000 Triton Main Event (Monte Carlo) | 5th | $1,330,000 |
| Aug 2025 | $25,500 SHRPO High Roller | 1st | $1,061,672 |
| Dec 2025 | $150,000 Triton 8-Handed (WSOP Paradise) | 5th | $891,000 |
| Sept 2023 | $50,000 Poker Masters Finale | 1st | $756,000 |
Jonathan Jaffe Controversies
The "Dolphin Trainer" Prank
During an early WSOP broadcast on ESPN, Jaffe famously pulled a prank on the production team. When asked for his background for the televised graphics, he humorously claimed to be a professional dolphin trainer. The niche "fact" was aired to millions before the poker community realized it was a complete fabrication.
