There’s hardly any list of casino games where you won’t find poker. The peculiarities of poker as a casino game make it possible to find a lot of professional poker players out there. Some of the greatest poker players are multiple-time WSOP Main Event winners.
Read on as we review the best poker players of all time. Here is our list of the greatest players:
- Phil Ivey
- Doyle Brunson
- Johnny Moss
- Doug Polk
- Johnny Chan
- Stu Ungar
- Barry Greenstein
- Tony G
- Antonio Esfandiari
- Daniel Negreanu
Phil Ivey
Phillip Ivey is an American professional poker player who received ten WSOP bracelets and one World Poker title. He is one of the top 10 poker players of all time. The “Tiger Woods of Poker,” Phil Ivey, got his start in the game in the 1990s, playing telemarketing company games with coworkers. As a teenager in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Ivey went so far as to obtain a phony ID before playing poker legally.
Ivey set a record in 2002 by winning three bracelets in a single year, a mark that has yet to be broken since. Ivey has had great success on the World Poker Tour outside the World Series of Poker, making it to nine final tables and taking home one first-place award. Just from one tour, he has made nearly $3,000,000 in revenue.
Ivey cemented his place among the greatest poker players of all time when he was elected to the Poker Hall of Fame in 2017. Beyond his illustrious poker career, Ivey’s influence has extended to the online gaming world, where his success is often studied by Aussie pokies online enthusiasts and other interested gamblers.
Doyle Brunson
Doyle Brunson is a professional American poker player who has been in the game for over 50 years. Not many poker players on this list have played the game more than Doyle Brunson, a highly accomplished player. The athlete, born in Texas, started his career by touring southern states for activity.
According to Brunson, numerous of the tables he frequented were hosted by members of an organized crime group and offered illegal games. He’s even told stories of being pulled over by a gun while he was playing them.
After overcoming obstacles in the early years of American poker, Brunson went on to win the main event of the World Series of Poker twice. With two WSOP bracelets tied for second place all-time, Brunson will always be remembered as a poker legend.
Johnny Moss
Without the sadly deceased Johnny Moss, poker would just not be the same as it is now. Moss was an American poker player and gambler who lived from 1907 to 1995. Moss transformed into a professional poker player known as a “rounder” during the late 1920s when he would traverse the nation in search of activity.
Professional poker players had to go to the most active card-playing regions of the country because there were no recognized casinos or authorized betting establishments on that particular day. However, Moss was mainly limited to Texas because it was the state with the highest activity level.
Doug Polk
One of the brightest persons in the poker scene is Doug Polk. He was regarded as one of the world’s top online cash players in a matter of years. He gained renown in a heads-up, no-limit showdown against Ben Sulsky, winning more than $800,000 by dominating him over 15,000 hands.
Polk and Negreanu decided to play a heads-up encounter with 25,000 hands in 2020. The poker community paid close attention to this high-profile duel. Side bets totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars on who would win. Polk won nearly $1,200,000 despite the steep odds, on top of the roughly $500,000 he earned from side bets he put on his victory.
Johnny Chan
The poker world enjoyed a tremendous surge in popularity in the late 1990s, mainly because of Matt Damon’s poker thriller Rounders. Seeing Damon’s character cheer Chan on as he wins his second World Series of Poker championship and then knocks him out in a hand by making him fold to his bluff is one of the most memorable scenes in the film.
ESPN aired that 1988 championship table, introducing the sport to a younger and larger audience. Had Chan won, he would have become the first player to accomplish a three-peat. Chan finished second in the 1989 World Series. His career earnings are projected to be more than $8 million.
Stu Ungar
Stu Ungars is arguably the greatest poker player ever, and his story is nothing short of amazing. Ungar, a New York oddsmaker’s son, was exposed to gambling from an early age.
His photographic memory helped him win gin rummy tournaments by the time he was twelve years old. Ungar carried his abilities to Vegas, where his true legend was solidified when he was blacklisted on the East Coast for accruing debt.
In 1980 and 1981, he emerged victorious in the WSOP main event twice in a row, making history as the third player to accomplish this feat. Although he was deeply involved in a fight with drug addiction, he managed to win his third major event in 1997.
Barry Greenstein
Barry Greenstein is unquestionably one of the greatest producers of all time, even if he is known for his unbearably awful beats. Early in the new millennium, Greenstein gained notoriety by participating in live, high-stakes poker tournaments on television alongside legends such as Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan, and Phil Hellmuth.
Throughout his remarkable career, he has reached 17 final tables, won three WSOP bracelets, and finished in the money more than 100 times. He has yet to have as much success in the main event, though; his best result was a 22nd-place finish in 1992.
Tony G
Tony G, a Lithuanian gamer named Antanas Guoga, has one of the more intriguing backstories of any person on our list. Before turning eleven, he was the Lithuanian champion in the Rubik’s Cube.
His journey to poker prominence was a little slower than others; he discovered the game at 18, and it took him almost 12 years to start experiencing significant success at prestigious tournaments.
Daniel Negreanu
Known by most as “Kid Poker,” Daniel Negreanu is one of the most well-known poker players in the world. In addition to winning two World Poker Tour championships, he has six WSOP first-place finishes. Kid Poker has won almost $40,000,000 in live tournament cash, placing them third all-time. Negreanu is unquestionably one of the best players since being inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2014.
Antonio Esfandiari
Before Daniel Negreanu surpassed Esfandiari in 2014, the latter held the record for the most tournament winnings ever. He has won three World Series of Poker bracelets, twice won the World Poker Tour championship, and appeared on several poker television series, including the Big Game.
Before turning his skills to the tables, Esfandiari worked as a professional magician. Today, he is regarded as one of the greatest poker players ever.
Wrap Up
To wrap up, the journey to poker greatness, as demonstrated by the legends on this list, is a testament to dedication, skill, and an unwavering passion for the game.
Many of these poker players devoted years to the game to be worthy of an all-time list, embodying the spirit of perseverance. It is evident that constant practice is needed in any engagement – even something considered fun, like games.
Their stories not only highlight the highs and lows of competitive poker but also serve as inspiration for anyone aspiring to master their craft, showing that success in any field requires more than just talent; it demands hard work and resilience.
