Top 10 Prominent Poker Players in History
They live in the here and now; they want more; they do not care about tomorrow. Winning, hitting the jackpot, becoming finalists in top championships without regretting them — this is something that real poker legends are trying to achieve. In this post, we will talk about the best world-renowned players.
Let’s take a look at the top ten poker players based on tournament earnings (ranked in 2021). How do professional gamblers make money? Let’s reveal all the truth further in this post.
#1 — Daniel Coleman: $29 M
Daniel Coleman climbed to an honorable 10th spot on this list, bypassing Daniel Negreanu heads-up at 2014 $1M Big One for One Drop poker history.
#2 — Jason Kuhn: $30 M
2019 was a good year for professional gamblers, Jason Kuhn including. It added over $6 million in tournament winnings to his resume. The two biggest wins of Kuhn’s career came in a pair of Triton Short Deck events. Thus, Kuhn earned over $6.4 million in a year, which is just inspiring for many to play at $10 deposit casino sites.
#3 — Stephen Chidwick: $31.1 M
Stephen Chidwick is considered a top player in high roller tournaments and arguably the best poker player in the world. The Britishman has spent quite some time at the top of the Global Poker Index and won his first World Series of Poker reward at the 2019 WSOP this summer. Chidwick has over $5 million in online revenues in addition to his current bankroll.
#4 — Fedor Holtz $32.6 M
Fyodor Holtz is truly one of the best poker players in history. Between 2016 and 2017, Holtz had one of the most successful seasons ever, raising $21 million in that short time. The player most recently finished second behind Justin Bonomo in the WSOP in the $ 1M Big One for One Drop in 2018. He received a solid $6 M consolation prize.
#5 — David Peters: $33.1 M
David Peters, who has always been a regular in high rollers and a storm for winners, has steadily climbed up the rankings of famous professional gamblers over the past few years. Peters got his first money in 2007 when he played at lower stakes than the 5-, 6-, and 7-figure buy-ins he is currently withdrawing. The player added two more seven-figure prizes to his track record in 2019 and may well be at the top at some point.
#6 — Eric Seidel: $35.7 M
The “old man” on this list, Erik Seidel, is one of the earliest players at New York City’s Mayfair Club. Seidel is an 8-time WSOP bracelet holder. He made a whopping 35 final tables and 92 prize money, including 2nd in the 1988 Main Event after Johnny Chan. The man won his largest cash prize of almost $2.5 million.
#7 — Dan Smith: $36.7 M
Dan Smith is not a leader by nature, but he slowly and surely moved up the list by following professional gamblers’ tips. 2012 was an important year in Smith’s career, bringing the 100,000 buy-in NHLE Aussie Millions Poker Championship for a very respectable $1.04 million. Smith performed incredibly well in Monte Carlo, where he won three consecutive No-Limit Hold’em events in four days. Smith finished 3rd at the 2018 WSOP Big One for One Drop for $4,000,000 and earned the biggest win of his career, finishing in 3rd place with over $8,000,000 at the Triton Million.
#8 — Daniel Negreanu: $41.8 M
Daniel “Kid Poker” Negreanu was short on the list of best players before the WSOP 2018. But Negreanu’s career is not a mockery. He has six WSOP bracelets. He played 38 final tables and made 108 prize money, including finishing 11th in the main events of the 2001 and 2015 WSOP. It is impressive Negreanu’s talent to read his opponents with top accuracy has made him the best.
#9 — Justin Bonomo: $45 M
Justin Bonomo was the first thanks to his $1 million Big One for One Drop win at the 2018 WSOP. The $10 million prize quickly propelled him to the top spot. Now ranked second, 32-year-old Bonomo has managed to achieve success in 2018 by winning wherever he plays. This three-time WSOP bracelet holder got an impressive 10 wins in various champs around the world, including the $300,000 NLHE buy-in Aria Super High Roller Bowl in May and Macau’s Super High Roller Bowl a $3 HK buy-in champ.
#10 — Bryn Kenney: $55.5 M
Brin Kenney’s incredible record has lifted him to the top of this rating, with his biggest career money at the Triton Million. The man finished third in this tournament with $20,563,324. The player won his first live tournament prize pool in 2007. Since then, he has steadily increased his impressive winnings. The player won a WSOP bracelet in a $1,500 10-Game Mix 6-Handed event and has made seven WSOP final tables and won 32 times. His biggest win of almost $2 million was landed in April 2017 at the €100,000 NLHE Super High Roller 8-Max PokerStars Championship in Barcelona. Since then, Kenney has repeatedly ranked in the top five around the world, which makes his path one of the most successful professional gamblers’ stories.
Image credit: World Poker Tour on Flickr