Mike McDonald

Mike McDonald

aka "Timex"
Nationality
Canada
Canada
GPI Rank 149,573
EPT Wins 1
Total Live Earnings $13,392,440
The Hendon Mob Data provided by The Hendon Mob

Biography

Mike McDonald is a Canadian poker player who was born on September 11, 1989. He burst onto the poker scene when in February 2008, at the age of 18, he won the European Poker Tour (EPT) German Open for $1,370,161, to become the youngest person to win an EPT event.

Six years later, he finished runner-up to Dominik Panka in the 2014 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) Main Event, good for $1 million but coming up just one spot shy of becoming the first-ever two-time EPT champ.

As of October 2022, McDonald had $13.3 million in lifetime tournament earnings, which at the time put him seventh on Canada’s all-time money list according to the Hendon Mob.

Background

McDonald started playing poker when he was a teenager and soon became known at the online poker tables by his nickname “Timex”. McDonald was still underage when he picked up the lifestyle of an online grinder, and as soon as he became of age, “Timex” took his game to the live felt.

Seven-Figure Scores

McDonald also made a name for himself at the Aussie Millions thanks to a trio of seven-figure scores in back-to-back years. In February 2014, he finished second in the Aussie Millions $100,000 Challenge for $1,343,436, and two days later placed third in the $250,000 Challenge for a career-high $1,701,808. The following year, he took second in the $250,000 Challenge for $1,235,228. As it happened, Phil Ivey won both of those $250K tournaments.

All told, McDonald has five career seven-figure scores. He also won the 2011 Epic Poker League $20,000 Main Event for $782,410, and in 2015 took down the EPT Malta €25,000 High Roller for $561,622.

World Series of Poker

While McDonald has had success at Aussie Millions, EPT, and even the World Poker Tour (WPT) – he finished third in the 2013 WPT Alpha8 St. Kitts for $434,560, his skills haven’t translated over to the World Series of Poker (WSOP) as he’s amassed just $281,123 in earnings. Granted, McDonald doesn’t play a ton of WSOP tournaments, but nonetheless, he’s still considered “one of the best without a bracelet.”

McDonald's first WSOP money finish was in 2011 as it was the year when he could start legally playing poker in the United States. He marked his debut by cashing in two events. In one of the two, McDonald went all the way to the final table and collected over $70,000 for the sixth-place finish in the $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha - Six Handed tournament. He came back to Vegas in the summer of 2012 and scored five more money finishes. His best result was once again the sixth place finish at the $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em / Ante Only event in which he cashed almost $40,000. A few months later he went to the WSOP Europe in Cannes, France, and placed 11th in the €1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha / Six Handed event for just over €5,000.

Mike McDonald's Top 5 WSOP Results

YearEventPlacePrize
2011$5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha - Six Handed6th$73,965
2012$1,500 No-Limit Hold'em / Ante Only6th$39,931
2012$10,000 Main Event386th$28,530
2011$10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship32nd$20,699
2012$10,000 No-Limit Hold'em / Six Handed44th$20,050

Basketball Prop Bet

McDonald, who launched the now-defunct PokerShares platform, made headlines in 2020 when he won a highly-publicized prop bet for $250,000. He had to shoot 90 percent from the free throw line over a 100-shot sample to win the bet, and despite not being a basketball player and with an unorthodox stance, he won the bet within five months. Some of the poker pros he beat included Nick Schulman, Will Jaffe, Jake Abdalla, and Christian Harder.

Did You Know?

  • Not only was McDonald the youngest player to win an EPT event, but he also became the youngest person to score a win in the infamous Epic Poker League. He won the $20,000 No-Limit Hold'em 8 Handed League Main Event just before his 22nd birthday.
  • He earned the nickname “Bank of Timex” due to his propensity to book bets, set lines, etc.
  • In 2008, he won two awards at the European Poker Awards – People’s Choice Award and Best Overseas Player.
  • In 2017, McDonald topped a 53-entry field to win the $10,300 partypoker MILLION North America High Roller for CA$200,000.
  • McDonald was a part of the Montreal Nationals team in the defunct Global Poker League (GPL).
  • McDonald beat out Steve O’Dwyer by a slim margin – less than one point – to become the EPT Season 12 Player of the Year.
  • McDonald coached 2012 October Niner Jacob Balsiger.
  • McDonald was once a guest instructor in a three-week course MIT course by former online poker pro Will Ma that discussed the mathematical strategies needed to be a no-limit hold’em specialist.

PokerNews Covered Events

Event Place Prize
2020 GGPoker WSOP Online Bracelet Events
Event #62: $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha
121st $3,476
2020 GGPoker WSOP Online Bracelet Events
Event #55: HK$8,000 No Limit Hold'em Asia Championship, HK$8M GTD
361st $2,503
2020 GGPoker WSOP Online Bracelet Events
Event #50: $2,100 No Limit Hold'em Bounty Championship
137th $2,258
2020 GGPoker WSOP Online Bracelet Events
Event #48: $1,500 MILLIONAIRE MAKER, $5M GTD, $1M to 1st
718th $2,115
2020 GGPoker WSOP Online Bracelet Events
Event #44: $2,500 No Limit Hold'em 6-Handed
78th $6,699
2020 GGPoker WSOP Online Bracelet Events
Event #42: $400 PLOSSUS [Day 2], $1M GTD
308th $1,166
2020 GGPoker WSOP Online Bracelet Events
Event #41: $400 COLOSSUS [Day 2], $3M GTD
61st $5,338
2020 GGPoker WSOP Online Bracelet Events
Event #40: $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha
50th $5,877
2020 GGPoker WSOP Online Bracelet Events
Event #38: $600 Monster Stack No Limit Hold'em 6-Handed
54th $2,081
2020 GGPoker WSOP Online Bracelet Events
Event #36: $1,500 FIFTY STACK No Limit Hold'em
35th $6,347
2020 GGPoker WSOP Online Bracelet Events
Event #34: $525 Super Turbo Bounty No Limit Hold'em 6-Handed
26th $2,188
2019 World Series of Poker
Event #73: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em MAIN EVENT - World Championship
1174th $15,000
2019 partypoker LIVE MILLIONS North America
CA$10,300 Main Event
22nd 30,000 CAD
2017 partypoker LIVE Million North America
Main Event
109th 10,000 CAD
2017 partypoker LIVE Million North America
$10,300 High Roller
1st 200,000 CAD
2017 PokerStars Championship Bahamas
$5,000 Main Event
52nd $11,560
2016 PokerStars.es EPT Season 13 Barcelona
€5,300 Main Event
259th €8,660
2016 PokerStars.es EPT Season 13 Barcelona
€10,300 High Roller
30th €27,800
2016 PokerStars EPT Season 12 Dublin
€5,300 Main Event
60th €10,270
2015 PokerStars EPT Season 12 Prague
€5,300 Main Event
139th €8,910
2015 partypoker.net World Poker Tour Montreal
Main Event
71st 7,030 CAD
2015 PokerStars.com EPT Season 12 Malta
€5,300 Main Event
27th €17,840
2015 PokerStars.com EPT Season 12 Malta
€25,750 High Roller
1st €498,575
2015 PokerStars.com EPT Season 12 Barcelona
€5,300 Main Event
43rd €22,840
2015 PokerStars.com EPT Season 12 Barcelona
€10,300 High Roller
12th €60,900
2015 PokerStars.com EPT Season 12 Barcelona
€25,500 Single-Day High Roller
5th €257,000
2015 PokerStars.com EPT Season 12 Barcelona
€50,000 Super High Roller
12th €87,900
2015 PokerStars.com EPT Season 11 Malta
€10,300 High Roller
11th €52,100
2015 Aussie Millions
$250,000 Challenge
2nd 1,592,500 AUD
2015 Aussie Millions
$10,600 Main Event
30th 30,000 AUD
PokerStars.net APPT Season 8 Asia Championship of Poker
Main Event
25th 202,000 HKD
2014 World Series of Poker
Event #26: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em
73rd $4,626
2014 Aussie Millions
LK Boutique $250,000 Challenge
3rd 1,900,000 AUD
2014 Aussie Millions
$100,000 Challenge
2nd 1,500,000 AUD
2014 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure
$10,000,000 Guarantee Main Event
2nd $1,064,865
2014 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure
$100,000 Super High Roller
8th $217,320
2013 PokerStars.com EPT Prague
€10,300 High Roller
5th €115,400
2013 PokerStars.com EPT Barcelona
€50,000 Super High Roller
4th €269,400
2013 PokerStars.com EPT London
Main Event
20th £17,500
2012 World Series of Poker Europe
Event #6: €1,650 Six-Handed Pot-Limit Omaha
11th €5,103
2012 PokerStars.com EPT Barcelona
€50,000 Super High Roller
5th €215,100
2012 World Series of Poker
Event 61: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event
386th $28,530
2012 World Series of Poker
Event 57: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em - Six-Handed
44th $20,050
2012 World Series of Poker
Event 49: $1,500 Ante-Only No-Limit Hold'em
6th $39,931
2012 World Series of Poker
Event 46: $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em
90th $6,983
2012 World Series of Poker
Event 31: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em
164th $3,719
2012 PokerStars.com EPT Madrid
Main Event
9th €35,000
2011 PokerStars.com EPT Prague
Main Event
27th €17,000
2011 PokerStars.it EPT San Remo
Main Event
18th €19,000
2011 World Series of Poker
Event #42: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship
32nd $20,699
2010 EPT Deauville
Main Event
3rd €295,000
2008 PokerStars.net EPT4 German Open - Dortmund
€7,700 + 300 German Open Main Event
1st €933,600
2008 Aussie Millions
Event 11 - $1,050 PokerPro No Limit Holdem
1st 33,950 AUD
2008 Aussie Millions
Event 1 - $1,100 No Limit Holdem (2-Day Event)
2nd 85,920 AUD
2007 EPT - Prague
EPT Prague Main Event
14th €20,200

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