Poker is a complicated game. So, naturally, when you think about the best poker players out there, there are many aspects that one must consider, such as notable titles wins, cash winnings, longevity, etc. Many top poker players also have to be compared based on their approach to the game’s old and modern standpoint.
Keeping all of that in mind, here are the top 20 poker players the world has seen so far.
Justin Bonomo (Zee Justin) – The 33-year-old poker sensation has made himself really tough to beat and has given some strong competition to the best of players in the tournaments. In 2018, he won the $10,000 Heads up no-limit Hold ’em championship at the World Series of Poker for $185,965 and has also won 2 more bracelets in that short time by winning the $300,000 Super Bowl High Roller for $5 Million and the $1 Million one for one drop at WSOP for $10 Million. Winning 18 major tournaments since 2016 just proves that he is the best player to play this game.
Doyle Brunson (Texas Dolly) – The most experienced poker player on this list is 85-year-old Doyle Brunson, who has an impressive 10 World Series of Poker Bracelets, including the main event in 1976 and 1977. He also holds the record for the oldest winner of a World Poker Tour event when he won the Legends of Poker at the Bicycle Casino in 2014, aged 71. He was even inducted in the Poker Hall of Fame in 1988.
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Johny Moss (Grandfather of Poker) – After passing away in 1995, Johnny Moss is still fondly remembered as one of the world’s best professional poker players. He was the first winner of the World Series of Poker Main Event; he was awarded the title by the vote of his peers in 1970. He also won the current tournament format of the WSOP Main Event twice in 1971 and 1974.
Phill Hellmuth (The Poker Brat) – The only player till date to have won a WSOP Main Event title in Las Vegas (1989) and a WSOP Main event in Europe (2012), Phill has had a brilliant poker career for himself, winning a total of 15 WSOP titles. He has also written many bestselling books.
Phil Ivey (The tiger Woods of Poker) – As he grew up in Atlantic City, Phil’s life was surrounded by Poker and he would just sit and play Poker for 15 hours a day and that too with a fake ID. His first big win came at the age of 21 when he won the first Jack Binion World Poker Open for $53,297. He won his first WSOP bracelet at 23 and went on to win a total of 10 bracelets.
Stu Unger (The comeback kid) – In 1980, Ungar was the youngest player to win a main event in the WSOP. He is also one of the only two players to win the WSOP main event three times and one of only four to have won it back to back. He ended his career with 5 WSOP Bracelets and got posthumously inducted in 2001.
Daniel Negreanu (Kid Poker) – Second only to Bonomo on the list, Daniel has a total of almost $40 Million in live cash earnings so far. He is one of the biggest names in Poker and has 5 WSOP bracelets and 2 WPT titles to his name. He was also the 2004 WSOP player of the year.
Eric Seidel (Sly) – Eric Seidel is a mad poker enthusiast, and his game has won him many laurels and a lot of fame. He was a stock trader when he first started to play this game and won his first bracelet in 1992. His most recent bracelet came in 2007 when he won the $5,000 No limit 2-7 Lowball championship. The poker pro even got mentioned in Maria Konnikova’s bestseller – The Biggest Bluff, in which she has written about how Eric taught her to play the game right from the basics and helped her secure a major win at the PCA.
Bryn Kenney (Mega Crusher) – Bryn is currently at the top of the list with a total cash wins of $56 Million. He grabbed his first WSOP bracelet in 2014, and his first seven-figure score came in 2016 when he won $1.7 Million at the PCA. His consistency at the top level has earned him a lot of money and made him one of the best modern-day poker players ever.
Stephen Chidwick – Stephen is a fantastic poker player, and his winnings have pushed him into the top 10 on the all-time money list as well. He has taken down many high roller games and eventually got himself a WSOP bracelet in 2019. Chidwick remains one of the world’s best players and is still striving to improve his skills to stay on top of his game.
Dan Smith (Cowboy Dan) – Dan’s first win after dropping out of college to pursue Poker full-time came in 2008 when he won the $1650 Heartland Poker Title for $101,960. As of June 2020, he has a total of $33 Million in live cash winnings. Keeping all his achievements aside, he has also served to many charities through initiating different charity events like Double Up Drive etc. to help needy players with some funds.
Fedor Holz (Crown Up Guy) – Fedor is mainly an online poker player and has won millions placing bets in the online championships. He has also played in live Poker table games and has won many games like the $3.1 Million win in the Triton Super high roller. His first WSOP bracelet came in 2016 and later on he even came 2nd in the $1 Million version of the game and earned a massive payout of $6 Million. He is a perfect example of a modern poker player who became successful even after switching from online success to the live tables.
David Peters – With two WSOP bracelets to his name and one being in 2020, David Peters is one of the most successful poker players to still be playing the game. He is also ranked no. 7 in the all-time money list with a total cash winning of about $33.5 Million.
Jason Koon – The talented 35-year old’s biggest win came when he won the Triton Poker’s 2018 Super High Roller and got $3.5 Million in winnings. He is ranked no. 9 in the all-time money list with a total earning of $31 Million so far.
Steve O’Dwyer – Steve is one of the many successful players in Poker at the moment. Although he hasn’t won a WSOP bracelet yet, his list of accolades is second to none. He has won the 2015 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Super High Roller for $1,872,580, months after winning the 2014 Asia Championship of Poker Super High Roller for $1,811,828.
Daniel Colman – Daniel is an online poker player and has participated and won many tournaments. In 2013, he became the first player in history to win a massive $1,000,000 in hyper-turbo tournaments in a calendar year. He also has a WSOP bracelet, which he received after winning the Big One for one drop in 2014 and got about $15 Million as winnings.
Mikita Badziakouski – The Belarusian professional poker player plays online Poker and has most of his high-stake wins to blame for taking him to the 13th spot on the all-time money list. He is also the all-time money leader in Belarus.
Cary Katz – After learning to play Poker from his grandmother, Cary started playing competitive Poker in 2004. His best performance came in 2019 when he won Super High Roller Bowl in London and earned $2.5 Million.
Antonio Asfandiari – Antonio “The Magician” Asfandiari, is an Iran born professional poker player and has won many tournaments in his career so far. He has won three WSOP bracelets and was also a former magician who was famous for his chip tricks hence getting the nickname ‘The Magician.’
Isaac Haxton – Isaac is well known for his High roller poker games and his online Poker performances. A majority of his winnings have come from the World Series of Poker, and as of June 2020, he has an impressive total of $27.6.
Written By
Shashwat Nishant
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