There is nothing more engaging and appealing than a poker game. It doesn’t matter whether it is poker online or poker in a casino, the gaming experience can be really exhilarating and thrilling.
To win it, one has to direct all their concentration, exercise all their patience, and employ all their best strategies.
1. Doyle Brunson
It looks that no other person loves poker more than Doyle Brunson who started the game early and didn’t leave it until reaching 85. The Texas-born genius was the first player to earn $1 million in poker tournaments. He authored several books on the game and has the distinction of being the two-time World Series of Poker Main Event champion.
The World Series of Poker first took place in 1970 and Brunson was a regular player there. However, despite making some WSOP championship event final tables, he didn’t win any titles until 1976. That was the year when he won the $5,000 Deuce to Seven Draw and the $10,000 No Limit Hold’em World Championship. The former American poker player claimed eight more WSOP bracelets over the following years, with his latest victory coming at the $5,000 No Limit Shorthanded Texas Hold’em in 2005.
Brunson’s tournament earnings amount to around $6 million, and he is widely regarded as one of the most influential forces in the world of poker. He makes regular appearances on televised cash games and so he is one of the most recognized players for poker enthusiasts.
2. Justin Bonomo
Justin Bonomo is one of the most successful poker players in the world, with the American high-stakes professional bagging $44.6 million in cash winnings. He made this prodigious sum in high roller tournaments as well as in games featuring some of the best contenders.
Bonomo created headlines in the poker world when he came fourth at the European Poker Tour in Deauville, France in 2005, despite being only 19 at that time. The year 2018 was highly successful for him as he won two World Series of Poker bracelets. The American genius claimed the 300,000 Super High Roller Bowl in May 2018 before landing the 10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em Championship the following month.
Bonomo’s successes didn’t stop there and he went on to win several more lucrative prizes over the next years. He greatly increased his reputation by proving his skills against some of the best players in the world.
3. Phil Hellmuth
Phil Hellmuth may not be the most likeable character but no one can deny his genius for the game. After all, no player can win 15 WSOP bracelets without having an extraordinary amount of talent and skills. He also swelled his bank accounts by amassing around $23 million in tournament winnings.
Hellmuth attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison for three years but left in the middle to pursue a career in poker. The Poker Brat surprised everyone in 1989 when he won the Main Event of the WSOP at the age of 24.
He has also the distinction of winning the Main Event of the 2012 World Series of Poker Europe.
4. Johnny Moss
Alan Shearer was quite a formidable force in English football during the 90s. And even though plenty of time has passed since the striker’s glory days, his name is still enormously famous in the country as one of the EPL top goal scorer. Similarly, Johnny Moss also played during the early years of the World Series of Poker, but his achievements were so huge that his name is still popular in the world.
Moss won the inaugural WSOP main event in 1970 and followed that up with two more victories in 1971. The Grand Old Man of Poker continued his brilliance over the next years, winning the WSOP bracelets in 1974, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1981 and 1988.
The Texas-born gambler’s cash winnings are unknown but his tournament winnings amount to $1.25 million. His name was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1979.
