A List of the Best Players in Poker History

Every few years, the game of Poker experiences the introduction of players who seem to dominate the casino title in terms of money earned or the number of successful games played. As such, here’s a look at the best Poker players of all time. 

Phil Ivey

Popularly known as the Tiger Woods of Poker, Phil Ivey has always been a top player in the Poker world. Coming from a humble background, Phil started his Poker journey by playing against his colleagues at a telemarketing company in the late 1990s.

Phil is renowned for having won his first World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet at the young age of just 23 years. If you’re unaware, the WSOP bracelet is given to players who win the World Series of Poker tournament and is considered a highly prestigious achievement in the Poker world. If that sounds great, then let us tell you that Ivey has received 10 WSOP bracelets throughout his career.

Besides Poker, Phil enjoys placing wagers on sports tournaments, Blackjack game variations and several other casino titles. And the Poker star is also quite successful in these casino gambling options. To date, Ivey has won over $26 million from live tournaments.

Phill Hellmuth

Phill Hellmuth takes the second spot in our list of the best Poker players. Hailing from Madison, United States, Hellmuth became famous in the Poker community in his early 20s. When playing at the 1988 World Series of Poker tournament, he ended at the 33rd spot. But just one year later in 1989, Phil went on to win his first WSOP bracelet by beating the two-time defending champion.

Since the start of his career, Phil has received 15 bracelets from WSOP tournaments. Also, the Poker player has managed to get 162 cashes in bracelet events. And both these records remain unbeatable to date. Speaking about his live tournament cashes winnings, Hellmuth has won over $24 million from live events.

Daniel Negreanu

Commonly referred to as Kid Poker, Daniel Negreanu is arguably the most famous Poker player of modern times. Besides having 2 first spot finishes in the World Poker tour, Negreanu has six WSOP bracelets to his name. Furthermore, the Canadian Poker player has won more than $39 million from live cashes tournaments.

What makes Daniel stand out from other Poker stars is the fact that he has had a successful Poker career that spans over two decades. He enjoys trying his hands at new and unique Poker variations, with Four Card Poker and Caribbean Stud Poker being some of his favourite Poker titles.

Doyle Brunson

Now in his late 80s, Doyle Brunson is a widely accomplished Poker star who has been playing Poker longer than anyone else mentioned in our article. As with Phil Ivey, Doyle Brunson has won golden bracelets from ten different WSOP events, including the Major Tournament of 1976 and 1977. Also, he won the 2004 World Poker tour at the age of 71, which made him the oldest Poker player to do that.

In an interview, Brunson recalled that unlike the top mobile casino which holds a valid gambling license and is completely secure, many of the tables he played on at that time were illegal. In fact, he even saw players pointing guns at him in some of these games. Nevertheless, Doyle Brunson is still a highly successful Poker player, with $6.2 million in winnings from live cashes tournaments.

Stu Ungar

Stu Ungar was widely referred to as “The Kid” in the 20th-century Poker community, all thanks to his teenage looks. Hailing from Manhattan, New York, Ungar began his card-games journey at a very young age. To give you an idea, he won his first gin event at the mere age of 10 years. Now that seems something exceptional!

Ungar’s professional Poker career started in the late 1970s and he managed to win the WSOP Main Event just a few years later in 1980. The then young lad went on to repeat that achievement by winning the Main Event again in the following year. His third and final WSOP win came in the year 1997. While Ungar succumbed to heart disease in 1998, he remains one of the only two people who have won the No Limit Hold’em World Championship three times.

Bryn Kenney

A relatively new star in the Poker world, Bryn Kenney found card games fascinating since his school days. As with many other Poker players, Bryn started his professional Poker journey online. Interestingly, he used to stick to low buy-in tournaments that came with good Video Poker odds initially.

Bryn’s first live cash tournament came in the late 2000s. From there, he quickly went on to become a high-stakes Poker player. Using his impressive skills and taking the help of the Video Poker strategy, Bryn won his first WSOP bracelet in 2014. His best win came in the year 2019 when he grabbed $20.5 million in winnings at the Triton Million London series.

Final Words

As different Poker players gauge success based on different parameters such as the number of successful runs, total live tournament winnings and prestigious titles, creating a list of the best Poker players of all time wasn’t easy. Nonetheless, the names mentioned in our list have achieved enough success in Poker that they can motivate players to reach new feats in the Poker world. You can join our new online casino to try your luck at Poker games alongside players from across the globe.