Greatest Poker Players to Ever Play the Game: Top 100

You also have to look beyond just earnings because some players can climb the all-time winnings list with a few big scores. But while a lot of factors go into deciding the best poker players, some pros stand out above others no matter what games or format they play. Not even 25 years old, Fedor Holz has rapidly ascended to the top of the poker world thanks to a flurry of big tournament finishes.

Since then, Cates has remained a consistent winner in high stakes online cash games, proving both his longevity and ability to keep up with the competition. Regarding the latter, Smith has finished: Daniel Negreanu has plenty of pursuits outside of poker, namely being the face of PokerStars. Nevertheless, he still finds time to hit the felt and rack up cashes. The final hand of this tourney appears as a scene in the movie Rounders. Ben Sulsky learned poker on a spring break trip to Mexico, reading books and playing online hands during his downtime.

Perhaps Hellmuth is underrated because he draws so much flack for his incessant whining, blowups, and self-aggrandizing nature.

Top 5 Best Poker Players of All Time | HobbyLark

One of the most recognizable faces of the Poker Boom, Patrik Antonius continues to be relevant in the online scene. These are just a couple highlights from a career that also includes the following finishes: Dan Colman will always be remembered for two things: Some of his other big cashes include: Doug Polk is a triple threat, known as a great coach, live tournament player, and online cash grinder. Polk relies on his successful resume when coaching other players and releasing training videos.

His first big score came in the WPT L. Other big cashes for Mizrachi include: Other impressive cashes by Seiver include: In addition to her poker acumen, Selbst is also a civil rights lawyer and graduate of the Yale School of Law.

Top 5 Best Poker Players of All Time

Nevertheless, with Ivey concentrating on business interests these days, his game has slipped from its once dominant form. Which players have perplexed their opponents, wowed the crowds, bluffed, betted and folded with that flair of genus that only a handful of men, out of millions, attain? From the steamboats to the saloons, from Vegas to the internet, poker has undergone a dramatic evolution.

Today there are more players, and more professionals, than ever before. But among the novices, tourists, mathematicians, degenerates, rounders, high-rollers, hustlers and online grinders, a tiny elite of legendary names regularly surface in the ongoing debate about the greatest poker player of all time. Ungar was an enigmatic New Yorker and son of a bar owner and illegal bookmaker. A self-destructive but generous reprobate with a razor-sharp mind and a supernatural instinct for reading the game, his talents extended far beyond the poker table. He was unbeatable at gin rummy and destroyed his closest rivals with such fierce certainty that the queue of challengers dwindled to zero.

He applied his genius to blackjack too and won hundreds of thousands of dollars before the casinos banned him from playing. But it was poker where he achieved immortality. The fast-talking gin prodigy settled in Las Vegas in the late s and was soon a regular in the high stakes poker cash games. Despite having limited experience, Ungar took to poker with lightening speed.

He successfully defended his title the following year. His success spanned several variations of the game including holdem, draw and stud. Money won from cards was usually squandered on sports bets.

Top 10 Poker Players as of 2018

In the early eighties he developed a cocaine addiction that would torment him for the rest of his life. He constantly went from millionaire to bust and would often solicit loans for drugs under the pretence of rebuilding his poker bankroll. He came first, crushing a field of players and announcing his return as the king of the card room. Eighteen months later, having declined to defend his title, Ungar was found dead in a low rent Vegas motel room. At his very best, Ungar played poker with an aggression and creativity that was years ahead of its time.

Chip Reese very nearly sidestepped poker immortality. On his way to Stanford University to study law in , he dropped by Las Vegas for the weekend for a little low stakes poker. And so it became. Goodbye Law School, Hello Poker. Reese honed his card game skills as a young boy under the guidance of his mother. At college he won so much money from his fellow students and lecturers that they named the campus card room after him.

Settling in Vegas in the mid s, he quickly built a reputation for himself as one of the best cash game players in the city. Reese mainly shunned the tournament scene, favouring cash games which he felt where more profitable. Despite this, he still claimed two WSOP bracelets in and before adding a third in E event which is a tournament combining five variations of poker.

E tournament in the world takes genius. He became such a respected and trusted figure in the game that the Dunes casino asked him to manage their cardroom. At the age of 40, he was the youngest ever inductee into the poker hall of fame. Chip Reese died aged 56 in Doyle Brunson gave him a fitting farewell. Ivey is both a throwback to yesteryear and a thoroughly modern pro. He goes searching for action with the same lunacy and indifference to money as Stu Ungar, Jack Strauss and the old Texas gamblers who were capable of betting on any event at any price.

At the same time, Ivey maintains a presence in online and televised poker, building the kind of reputation and public profile that is considered the hallmark of professional players in the 21 st century. Despite this, he rarely makes self-promotional media appearances, relying instead on an audacious playing style and sixth sense to fortify his place at the top of the poker community. Ivey learnt the game in Atlantic City in the s. Over the course of the next decade he added seven more bracelets to that tally , becoming the youngest and quickest player ever to reach that figure.

His expertise pervades through all formats of poker — a rare talent! A syndicate of players combined their bankrolls and took it in turns to play Beal. A demoralised Beal ended the challenge shortly after. Johnny Moss is perhaps best known for his role in establishing the WSOP as the biggest poker extravaganza in the world. The inaugural event in was contested by six of the most prominent names in the game and the winner decided by ballot. Moss received the backing of his peers and became the first ever poker world champion. In , when the WSOP reverted to a winner-takes-all tournament format, he won again.

In all, Moss won a total of nine first-place bracelets and was the most successful WSOP player of the s. Born in , Moss was an old-school Texas road gambler who dodged bullets and lawmen in search of action in the Deep South. The match was said to have lasted for five months. Johnny Moss continued playing poker tournaments right up until his death in at the age of Doyle Brunson has been called The Godfather of Poker.

Top 10 Poker Players in 2018

He is the elder statesman of the poker world, a father figure to the game who has witnessed firsthand the staggering transformation that poker has undergone in the last sixty years. Now in his late seventies, Doyle remains competitive in the biggest cash games and tournaments in Las Vegas. Behind the grandfatherly and genial demeanor lies the battle hardened soul of a man who first made a living from poker when it was necessary to carry a gun as protection. After briefly flirting with a job as a salesman, Doyle found that he could make far more money playing cards and turned to poker for a full time income.

He teamed up with other rounders including Amarillo Slim, and they pooled their resources and toured Texas looking for action. Many of the games in those days were organized by crime syndicates. Brunson was the victim of several robberies and assaults during those days on the road and even claimed to have once seen a player shot dead. In the early s he moved to Vegas and became a fixture in the newly formed World Series of Poker. He would go on to win ten first place bracelets over the next thirty five years, currently lying in second place on the alltime list, one behind Phil Helmuth.

Like Chip Reese, Brunson has played a prominent role in the biggest cash games in Las Vegas for over three decades. Despite his advancing years, Doyle even became skilled at internet poker without quite matching his betting stakes in the real world and also has a large following of devoted poker fans on Twitter.

The book was one of the first poker instructional guides and in it Brunson shared his poker philosophy, endorsing an aggressive style of play. He has kept himself at the forefront of every major develop in poker since he arrived in Vegas in , adapting his game and persona to each new passing generation. He is a poker legend in the truest sense. With all the different variations and formats of the game, and so many playing styles, any article featuring the top five best poker players of all time is bound to be highly subjective and maybe a little controversial.

Do you agree with the list above? Perhaps your own list would be made up of five entirely different players? Or possibily you concur with my selection but disagree with the order? Feel free to vote in the poll below or leave a comment. Sign in or sign up and post using a HubPages Network account. Comments are not for promoting your articles or other sites. Erik Seidel is definitely number 2! He is so underestimated … In my opinion he's the greatest poker player alive … only surpassed by Stu.

With over votes how can both Johnny Moss and T. Cloutier have zero votes? My father beat Stu Unger and Chip Reese head up regularly, so how can they be the best. Best tournament players, maybe. Poker is very popular game and has lot of fans including the fans of the well know poker players. I am fan of Phil Ivey and I follow him. I am very happy too see him in this best players of all time list. I've been playing poker for a while now against all types of players and beat the best tables single handedly over and over again.

I rarely lose any battles on the felt, the only man I would fear at my table is Ungar. Of course, he gets my vote. I love reading your insight on the trailblazers. In the poker world. I especially liked the last paragraph with an exception. I would have loved to see Stu play minus the cocaine against Daniel. As was said about Ungar in , the same can be said for Negreanu now. They both are the closest thing to a clairvoyant playing poker knowing what their opponents hole cards are as have ever been.

I do concede that Daniel does not listen to that inner voice as much as he Stu did. That is a heads up match wish could have happened. About the comment about older generation not competing with todays players. Chip Reese won the players Championship also. Also Doyle just placed in the top in the main event. Doyle set record on HSP with 18 straight wins on that show. Also the time of his death Chip was considered by young and old alike as the Best Cash Game Player in the world. I also believe if Stu Ungar had quit coke he would be the bracelet leader ahead of Helmuth.

Lets Face Stu only played in 14 Main events and won 3. Would have won 4 if not for overdose in He would of Crushed WPT especially early on. This list is absolutely correct. Internet Whiz Kids would be crushed by these gentleman in their Prime. Ungar v Ivey in their prime would have been an epic encounter. Thanks for your comment. Unger woild have ate ivy alive but theres a great player that no one knows yet but his name is Alexander Milanese he is the best unknown player out there. As I've mentioned in some of the earlier comments, I certainly consider Negreanu one of the best players of his generation.

Solid top 5 but I think Daniel Nagranue should be mentioned or at least close to the top 5. A great list of online players, most of whom I've watched. I do miss Tom Dwan and dearly love Doyle Brunson. Hard for me to agree with the guys saying Negreanu isn't a good player. I think he's fantastic. Also, tough year for Ivey online but he's still a great player.

Daniel Colman is someone to watch for in the next several years. Hi Wammut and Tommy. You've both mentioned some good players in your comments. Johnny Chan definitely featured on my shortlist when I was originally writing this article. Missing incredeble Tom dwan, the back to back wsop champ jonny chan and the big dogg greg merson. The game is vastly different now than it was in the '80s and '90s and I wonder how Ungar would have adapted to the changes.

All amazing players in their own right, I wish Stu had been on the scene for much longer, I would have loved to see him evolve as a player more. Thanks for your comment Pokerpan. You make an excellent point. Ultimately, comparing players from different generations is a futile and impossible exercise it is fun and entertaining though. I certainly think that it's easy to overrate players from earlier generations because of nostalgia and myth. I think modern poker players have a much greater advantage in learning the game than yesterday's players because of internet poker and the boom in poker literature.

Many of today's stars are playing sophisticated moves because they read about them in books then perfected them through thousands of online hands. In the s, players made these moves instinctively. I can't remember the exact quote but I think Negreanu once said something about previous generations knowing HOW to play great poker but not WHY it was great poker.

I appreciate the list, but if you're making a true list of the top 5 greatest players of all-time, Phil Ivey is the only player here who might make the list. And by "greatest" I mean most likely to win a tournament or make money in a cash game if you made these top players go against each other. Stu Ungar, Chip Reese, Johnny Moss, and Doyle Brunson were some of the greatest players of their generation and revolutionized the game. But the game has evolved beyond them, and more effective poker strategies have been developed.

Modern players have more advanced game fundamentals and a better understanding of poker game theory. Other than Phil Ivey, who is one of these modern pros, none of the players on this list could out-compete a modern professional. If you look at the WSOP and WPT circuits, high stakes cash games and successful online players, it is completely dominated by the new generation of players.

None of the old pros from the 60s, 70s and 80s have been competitive in modern tournaments or online. Even top pros from the 90s and early s are not as successful as players from the last 10 years. Most of their books on poker and their theories about the game are now considered outdated. The only older professionals who have been successful are the ones who have adopted modern poker strategies. Again, I appreciate the effort put forth into making this list, but a more appropriate list would be to name the top poker players of their respective generations.

Modern players are simply better.

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Thanks for the suggestion ilikegames. Maybe that will be the topic of my next poker hub Fair enough, thejournalists, but this is an article about 'best' poker players not 'favorite' poker players.

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I like Daniel Negreanu too! I'm not in the mood for a whole text, but sorry, my favorite poker player of all time will always be Daniel Negraunu! Dwan is one of the best players today, RawKnee, but I don't think he's done enough yet to be placed on the same pedestal as the players in this article. I saw you at the hand strength chart in my stats page. I hate to leave Hubs but for no reason Google cut me off and won't answer my emails. I researched and found that it is a robot that is making their decisions.

I am going back to ezine articles because I can use Chiitika which does the same thing as google. And I can also get my articles picked up on other blogs. My rating of Negreanu is he is one of the best in the world. Only 2 to 4 percent actually make money over the long run and he is one of them.

Gus Hansen has improved from being a constant loser the a tight player and winning money. My rating him was where he compared to the top five. Negreanu is one of the best in the world today Gajafa and might be considered among the all-time greats in a few years. The same goes for Gus Hansen.

Yeh good choice for Unger number 1. I'd have Negreanu up a bit higher though, and what about the great Dane, Gu Hanson. I agree with you with some slight differences that might be the result of my style. I find that consistently playing only good hands has some powerful positive advantages. This includes big pocket pairs where you want one to four callers max. If you have a solid table image, the good players get out of your way and you always get one or two players who call with any suited or connected or any pair.

Staying solid always puts the odds in your favor when you get into a hand. I want to always know who I want in on the pot and who I want out. Making a raise and getting five to eight callers out of ten is to play a losing game. He never played anything else. He always got enough callers that he always made money. When you mix up your play the good players know what you are doing and the rest don't remember. Most players are calling flops because of what they have in their hand and play it the way they do without considering what you have.

And making a show can cost more than a player can ever recover. If you want more callers that will reduce the odds of you winning, than show bad cards. You will always get more callers. I win 90 percent of the hands I play to the river. I have watched Daniel Negreanu call the flop seven and eight times per round several different times at different tables. He may have had an exceptional run of good cards but they don't keep happening time after time. I don't know if you still can but if you can watch him play on the Poker Stars real money website.

The hand is a reasonable call heads up. Against one player the odds are slightly in favor of that hand. I don't believe that it is an all-in hand. Doyle said recently that he was going to stop playing that hand because he lost too much money playing it. Of course I have been in forced play situation that forced me to take bigger risks.

I studied a lot watching every limit both at casinos and online. The odds work exactly the same at every limit.