World’s 20 Best Poker Players Of All Time: Know More
Who doesn’t like achievements, whether it’s in business or sports?
Talking about sports, poker has emerged as the most trending card game nowadays. There are many players who have mastered this game over time and have been playing professionally full-time. Plus this game comes with the perks of travelling the world as well, because to play in tournaments you visit the most exotic locations like – Goa, Colombo, Macau and the list goes on.
Today we will have a look at the list of the best poker players of 2023. These champs stand out with their excellent skills and knowledge of the game. It’s a different world when we talk about the most played card game – poker!
Best Poker Players In The World
| Players | Country | All Time Winnings | All time ranking |
| Justin Bonomo | Virginia, United States | $ 60,222,954 | 1st |
| Bryn Kenney | NY, United States | $ 57,265,665 | 2nd |
| Stephen Chidwick | England, United Kingdom | $ 45,518,875 | 4th |
| Phil Ivey | California, United States | $ 38,281,866 | 10th |
| Erik Seidel | New York, United States | $ 42,469,394 | 5th |
| Bertrand Grospellier | Melun, France | $ 14,851,205 | 59th |
| Dan Smith | New Jersey, United States | $ 39,677,357 | 8th |
| Johnny Moss | Texas, United States | $1,254,859 | NA |
| Fedor Holz | Saarbrücken, Germany | $ 37,597,099 | 11th |
| Ben Tollerene | Washington, United States | $11,033,273 | 101th |
| Phil Hellmuth | Wisconsin, United States | $ 28,428,845 | 20th |
| Ben Sulsky | New Hampshire, United States | $1,732,683 | NA |
| Doyle Brunson | Texas, United States | $6,176,737 | NA |
| Stu Ungar | New York, United States | $ 3,677,961 | NA |
Justin Bonomo
He has been a dominating player in poker and grabbed enormous winnings like no one else. He has conquered the cash winnings worth $44.6 million and only participates in the high roller tournaments which turn out in incredible wins! He also won the Heads-up-no-limit Hold’em championship and won $185,965. He has also made his way towards the second bracelet of WSOP which was a great win.
He has been definitely holding his place among the best poker players in the world.
Bryn Kenney
He has been playing poker game since his school days, which is really incredible! He got to know about the profitability of the game at the age of 16 when he won $1,00,000 by playing in Super High Roller Tournament at PCA, and he won an amount of $1,687,800 and also won millions of dollars from the Triton Super High Roller series main event which was held in 2016.
Ben Tollerene
Ben Tolerance definitely has some innate kind of love for the poker game and has given tough competition to the various poker players. The player has always given importance to the high stake tables and has managed to have a good game every time. He has come a really long way which is inspiring for many poker players out there. He started at $25 buy-ins to make millions in online poker tournaments. In the category of best poker player in the world, he has surely made his position.
Phil Ivey
Talking about the best poker players in the world, the list can not be complete without Phil Ivey. Phil Ivey has been the most feared competitor of the poker game and has literally shown off his skills like no one else. Proving himself in the offline poker games again and again, he has won many hearts by now. Phil has won numerous trophies and medals which are really cherished and admired by a number of people out there. He comes in the list of best poker players. This might be hard to believe, but he already has ten world series of poker titles under his belt which is quite commendable.
Erik Seidel
This 30-year-old New Yorker has been a popular undisputed champion who has been marked by a relatively low profile. He has always given preference to his games and has been doing it for a really long time now. Evidently, he has made his space in the list of best poker players in the world. You can surely see his games and analyze how well he chooses his moves. Surely, he has shown some great tricks in various poker games.
Bertrand Grospellier
As we know, the very popular statement, “Passion pays off” by Bertrand Grospellier is a living example of it. He has made several million in various poker tournaments and also earned two titles that are worth $500,000. He has studied the game thoroughly and knows how to show it off! He is definitely on the list of best poker players in the world. You can definitely go through his journey and see how well he has done with the game.
Dan Smith
Dan Smith who is one of the best poker players in the world comes from New Jersey. He dropped out of college to make the poker game his career which was pretty risky for anyone! But the player showed his skills and has amazingly made some great records. He is also known as Cowboy Dan, played hard to become a professional poker player at the age of 16 and is genuinely a great poker player. He won his first major tournament in 2008 and also won a $1,650 Heartland poker tour title for $101,960. He also went for a massive tear at the EPT Monte Carlo and won three events for $521,580.
Johnny Moss
He has been known as the Grandfather of Poker and one of the best poker players in the world. He has shown pretty unique tricks with his strategic mind which is really unbelievable for many. He is among those few players who have won the World Series of Poker main event thrice. Also, he won the $10,000 no-limit Hold’em world championship event, where he also won his WSOP Bracelet for the third time with a cash prize of $160,000. And, he has also won his fourth bracelet and a cash prize of $44,000 in the world series of Poker, 6th edition.
He has shown some great results with the poker game and people cherish his tricks which he has looked up to!
Also Read: Most Common Types of Poker Games
Fedor Holz
His name is enough to leave a mark in the poker world. He has created immense popularity with the games he plays. He secured his position in the list of best poker players in the world at the age of 21. He is currently ranked in the fourth position in the Global Poker Index of the top players for live tournaments. He has won over $26,700,000 and his lifetime winnings are over 32,550,000. Surely, he has taken over many monetary and non-monetary awards which also include the World Series of Poker.
Stephen Chidwick
From being a regular player to becoming one of the best poker players in the world he has come a long way. He has won over $32,000,000 during his whole poker career which is immensely commendable at such an age. He started playing at the age of 16 and is still in the game with many. He is definitely a tough competitor to the players who are there. The impressive tricks and strategies shown by him have made him ace the game many times in his poker journey.
Phil Hellmuth
Popularly known as the poker brat! He has a huge fan base because of the early-age success he conquered! At the age of 24, he became the youngest world series champion in the WSOP event and also won a gold bracelet. He went to Las Vegas and won a big prize amount of $10,000 and also walked towards his elite poker career. He is known as the youngest champion in because of his 1989 contest where he secured the winning prize of $755,000. He has won an enormous number of tournaments like no one else.
Ben Sulsky
He might not be well known to many, but he is among the best poker players in the world. He plays with the utmost excellent skills and amazing tricks which are really admired by poker fans. Starting his gaming career with low stakes, he has made his net worth a lot better but due to some major losses, he left the tables for some time.
But, he returned back to the game and made around $1 million, and took his position back among the top poker players. He has always been an inspiration to the people who have played the poker game dedicatedly. Showing up in online poker tournaments and winning big has always been his game.
He is still in the game and plays with all his focus and passion. Also, he makes some training videos for people who want to make something big with the poker game.
Doyle Brunson
When we talk about top poker players in the world he has done it better than anyone else. At the age of 85, he is still playing and participating in some of the huge cash games. He has won 10 bracelets till now by playing in the world series of Poker in the senior category. He is ranked third in the senior category by WSOP. He has retired now after playing poker professionally for more than 50 years. He has made some inspiring moves that have surprised the users.
Stu Ungar
He has mastered the Texas Hold’em variant and also plays Gin Rummy with all his gaming skills. He has won the world series of Poker Main events thrice in poker history. Also, Stu has won five bracelets and is ranked 19th by WSOP after winning over $3.7 million in poker tournaments. He has participated in the No-limit Texas events which turned out to be a great success for him.
Now, talking about female poker players, there are some best ones who have made their name in this male-dominated industry
| Players | Country | All Time Winnings | All time ranking |
| Annie Duke | New Hampshire, United States | $ 4,270,548 | NA |
| Maria Ho | Taipei, Taiwan | $ 4,496,043 | NA |
| Kathy Leibert | Tennessee, United States | $ 6,822,172 | NA |
| Annette Obrestad | Sandnes, Norway | $ 3,942,232 | NA |
Annie Duke
She is popularly known as the Duchess of Poker and has a total net worth of $9 million. Taking her place in the high-stakes poker crusher, she is well-known for the amazing records she has built in her career. She secured the first rank in the 2004 WSOP tournament and won the WSOP Bracelet. Who would have thought that she would become the leading female poker player in the World Series for several years?
She is absolutely one of the best poker players in the world who have re-marked poker history with their skills and knowledge.
Maria H
We can not leave out Maria Ho while talking about the best poker players in the world. She has won $3 million in the tournaments that she participated in including 54 World Series of Poker Cashes. She also made her position in the final tables of the World Poker tour. She also hosts and broadcast credits and also holds the position of strategic commentator for the Super High Roller Bowl events which is huge.
Kathy Liebert
She holds a net worth of $6.89 million and is also the record holder of highest stakes poker tournaments. She plays big and has shown some great strategies and tricks on the tables which are commendable for any poker player. Evidently, she got a place on the list of best poker players in the world without any doubt. Look at her journey closely and see how she has won millions of hearts.
Annette Obrestad
She is known by her popular online poker name Annette 15 and has a net worth of $3.9 million. She won the World Series of Poker in 2007. She is unbelievable with the game and also became the youngest player to win a coveted gold bracelet which is immensely huge for the best poker players in the world.
Her achievements are big which also include winning a 180-player Sit N Go and that was an incredible win, must say!
Read More: Tips and Strategies to Use While Playing Poker
