[1] Sexton was a gymnast and attended Ohio State University, where he earned a degree in public recreation after changing majors from business.

In November 2016, Sexton won the WPT Montreal Main Event, besting a field of 648 entries to win the US$317,896 first prize, on a buy-in of CAD$3,850 per player.

[7] Sexton also served as the lead commentator on WPT telecasts, working alongside Vince Van Patten for the program's first fifteen seasons.

[12] In July 2012, Sexton finished in 9th place in the "Big One for One Drop" WSOP event, earning him $1,109,333, the biggest cash of his career.

[14] A former commentator of the World Poker Tour, alongside Vince Van Patten, he wrote articles for Card Player Magazine and the Gambling Times.

[15] Sexton co-founded and was the chairman for PartyPoker.com,[16] at one time the biggest online poker site in the United States, despite the company being under a $500K deficit after its first launch in 2002.

He was widely regarded as one of the game's most influential figures, helping to shape modern poker through his work with both the WPT and PartyPoker.

Sexton played a solid overall game; being one of the first to implement preflop steals meaning to raise with a worse hand with the intention of winning the blinds and antes.

[12] In early 2009, Sexton along with Linda Johnson, Jan Fisher and Lisa Tenner, created PokerGives.org, a nonprofit organization that offers poker players an easier way to give to charity.