The Most Famous Poker Players Of All Time

Poker players did not achieve the status of legends until the early 2000’s when the card game achieved a prominent worldwide status thanks to televised poker tournaments. It was only then that early poker tycoons like Doyle Brunson, who had been beating all sorts of players road tripping around the country, became known as one of the greatest poker players of all time despite not having most of his career on record.

Now, almost every player after the 2000’s has his achievements well documented on different websites that track events won and total revenue made, both in live tournaments and online poker; the second which is again proving hard to track player achievements and income if they hide under different aliases.

So who are the most famous poker players of all time?

Doyle Brunson

As told, Brunson is one of the very first poker players to be recognized as a legend. Before The World Poker Series existed, Doyle used to travel North America playing informal poker tournaments and games in bars and private locations. In professional poker, he has over 10 World Series Poker bracelets, and two Main Event wins. Doyle Brunson’s name is well-known for his books Super System and Super System 2. The recommended poker introduction reads for new players and details some of the 7 most famous poker hands.

Daniel Negreanu

He is one of the two most recognizable faces in the modern poker era and became the brand ambassador of a big poker house. He has won six WSOP bracelets and two World Poker Tours with over $42 million in prize money. In 2014 he was named the best poker player of the decade by the Global Poker Index and inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame.

Phil Ivey

Phil Ivey stands side by side with Negreanu as one of the most popular poker players of all time. He is a quiet ninja at the poker table who always managed to reach the final round by mastering the perfect poker face. His most incredible skill was to modify his playing style according to the opponent in front of him, mastering the art of buffing and calling bluffs.

We will soon see his extravagant personal story on the big screen as a movie about him and the Baccarat Machine hits the screens. Ivey made the headlines when it was discovered that he cheated against multiple casinos using a unique technique to distinguish baccarat playing cards and precisely determine which cards would be showing up next. He did this with the help of a Chinese woman who was a master at this technique and would signal him what to do. Several casinos have presented law-suits for the millions of dollars he won plus interests.

Ivey has won 10 WSOP bracelets and over $20 million from online poker, with another $20 plus million from his baccarat cheating stunt. The film will probably take him another couple million.

Dan Bilzerian

Enter the age of Instagram influencers, Mr. Dan Bilzerian. While TV made the last generation famous, Bilzerian represents a new generation of social media-made celebrities. Some may question him as a legendary poker player, he certainly is not among the best, but his fame comes from his social media following. Poker is just one of his multi-millionaire facets that represent the fitness-traveler lifestyle of the perfect millennial. Bilzerian himself claims to have raked more than $50 million through poker in just one year.

Dan Bilzerian does not participate in the main poker events, so no bracelets for him or concrete records from his poker prowess, as most of his wins come from private cash games.

Phil Hellmuth

Phil Hellmuth is among the top 3 poker players with 15 WSOP bracelets and counting. He holds the record of most bracelets won. He began his professional career at 24 when he won his first bracelet in 1989 and his last one in 2018.

Jennifer Harman

Jennifer Harman was one of the first women to achieve top poker player status in the early 2000s. She was a consistent finalist on Poker After Dark, High Stakes Poker, and several WSOP events.

Vanessa Rousso

Vanessa Rousso became known when she finished 7th in a WPT Five-Star World Poker Classic and since that moment began to show up more often in main events. She landed great sponsorships and finally won a big event at the 2006 WPT Borgata Poker Open. In total, she earned more than $3.5 million across her career.

These are just some of the most popular and recognizable poker players of all time. We might be missing a few old legends mentioned in the books and did not cut the professional scene before retirement or simply because they prefer anonymity. New players begin to arise, especially in the online poker scene where their personalities are more obscure.

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