Poker is undoubtedly one of the most intriguing, entertaining, and popular card games in the world. Poker players who play high-stakes cash games take inspiration from popular poker players with a high net worth and success rate. Picking the world’s best poker players of all time is a rather tricky task owing to the abundance of successful players based on live tournament winnings, notable titles, longevity, and more.
So, for all the poker fans looking to get some inspiration from the greatest players in poker history, here’s a list of those poker world players in no particular order in both male and female categories.
Table of Contents
List of the Greatest Male Poker Players of All Time
| Poker Player | Nickname | Country | WSOP Money Finish | WPT Money Finish | EPT Money Finish |
| Daniel Negreanu | Kid Poker | Las Vegas, USA | 148 | 24 | 4 |
| Phil Ivey | The Tiger Woods of Poker | Las Vegas, USA | 59 | 13 | 3 |
| Phil Hellmuth | The Poker Brat | California, USA | 165 | 18 | NA |
| Bryn Kenney | Mega Crusher | NYC, USA | 32 | 6 | 5 |
| Stu Ungar | The Comeback Kid | NYC, USA | 15 | NA | NA |
| Dan Smith | Cowboy Dan | Manalapan, USA | 23 | 3 | 4 |
| Erik Seidel | Sly | Las Vegas, USA | 92 | 26 | 1 |
| Johnny Moss | Grandfather of Poker | Texas, USA | 25 | NA | NA |
| Stephen Chidwick | Stevie444 | Kent, England | 53 | 3 | 12 |
| Fedor Holz | CrownUpGuy | Saarbrücken, Germany | 2 | 3 | 3 |
1. Daniel Negreanu
One of the top poker players today is Daniel Negreanu. In fact, it’s safe to call him one of the best poker players of all time. Daniel Negreanu is the best representative and is recognized as an ambassador of the Poker game. He dominated tournament poker wins over four years and won over $39,000,000. Negreanu is referred to as the Kid Poker. He has won six WSOP bracelets and 2 World Poker Tour championship titles. He is a member of the Poker Hall of Fame.
2. Phil Ivey
One of the best poker players, Phil is also known as the Tiger Woods of Poker. Phil has been a consistently successful player throughout his poker career. Currently, Phil Ivey is a popular high roller and a regular guest at Atlantic City’s most expensive games. Ivey’s net worth ranges from $100 million to $125 million online. He’s known to play at maximum limits in cash contests and has won over $1,000,000 each time in six different games. He won his first poker bracelet in 2000 and won three more thereafter in 2002. Phil Ivey held seventh place in the World Series of Poker ME in 2009, reaching the theorize zone fifty times through the series. He is a member of the Poker Hall of Fame.
3. Phil Hellmuth
The Poker Brat, Phil Hellmuth, who is one of the best poker players, became famous at a very young age. At the age of 24, he became the youngest World Series champion in the WSOP Main Event, winning a gold bracelet. As a poker player, his first big win was during his second trip to Las Vegas, where he won $10,000, which led him to pursue a poker career. Phil became the youngest WSOP champion in 1989, winning $755,000. Subsequently, he won numerous tournament poker and was recognized in most of the contests.
4. Bryn Kenney
Bryn is a top poker player who began playing poker in his school days and realized the profitability of the game at the age of 16. His first big win was in 2016 at the $1,00,000 Super High Roller tournament at PCA, where he won $1,687,800. He also won millions of dollars from the Triton Super High Roller Series main event in 2016. In the 1028 Super High Roller Bowl event, Bryn finished fifth and won HK Dollars 2,000,000 and $1,484,000.
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5. Stu Ungar
Many poker players consider Stu Ungar as the best Texas Hold ’em and Gin Rummy player in the history of poker. Stu and Johnny Moss are the only players to have won the World Poker Tour Main Event thrice in poker history. Ungar had won five WSOP poker bracelets, over $3.7 million in poker tournaments, and won over 10 out of 30 major No-Limit Texas events. He is a professional poker player who is said to be one of the best poker players!
6. Dan Smith
Dan Smith, also called Cowboy Dan, became a professional poker player at the age of 16 and soon became one of the greatest players in the world. He has won seven-figure winnings in nine live events throughout his career. One of Dan’s most impressive winnings was in The Big One for One Drop of $1,000,000, where he finished third and won $4,000,000 in WSOP. Later, he finished third in the Triton Million series at Triton Poker and won a sum of $8.76 million.
7. Erik Seidel
Erik Seidel has numerous victories to his name and is a record-holder in poker history. His first appearance was at the WSOP Main Event in 1988 against Johnny Chan. Being a poker veteran, Erik also competes with young players and takes the titles and trophies home. He has also won 8 World Series of Poker bracelets and accolades, including Poker Hall of Fame membership. In 1994, Seidel won the Limit Holdem tournament worth $5,000 and won his 4th WSOP bracelet in 1988 at the No Limit 2-7 Draw Game.
8. Johnny Moss
The Grandfather of Poker, Johnny Moss remains one of the best poker players of all time. He was among the few players who won the World Series of Poker Main Event thrice. Johnny placed second in a $10,000 Limit 7-CardStud Poker at the 2nd World Series of Poker, winning $34,150. A few days later, he also won a $10,000 No-Limit Hold ’em World Championship event, winning his third WSOP bracelet and a cash prize of $160,000. Johnny won his fourth WSOP bracelet and a prize of $ball 44,000 in this 6th World Series of Poker, where he played $1000 Limit Seven Card Stud. He is a member of the Poker Hall of Fame who has multiple WSOP bracelets and was a professional poker player.
9. Stephen Chidwick
Stephen Chidwick progressed from being a regular grinder to being a top poker player in the world, having won over $32,000,000 during his career. Stephen started playing poker as a pastime at the age of 16 and is still believed to be in the initial stages of his career. Stephen’s first live tournament was at the European Poker Tour in Prague. His impressive feat in different poker tournaments makes him one of the top poker players in the world. Chidwick prefers playing live events over online poker tournaments.
10. Fedor Holz
Fedor Holz has an immense buzz around his name. He was one of the world’s best poker players at the age of 21 and currently ranks fourth position in the Global Poker Index of the top live tournament players. His live tournament winnings in December 2017 were over $26,700,000 and his lifetime winnings are over 32,550,000. He has won several monetary and non-monetary awards, including the World Series of Poker.
Top 5 Female Poker Players of All Time
| Poker Player | Nickname | Country | WSOP Money Finishes | WPT Money Finishes | EPT Money Finishes |
| Liv Boeree | Iron Maiden | Kent, England | 20 | NA | 12 |
| Annie Duke | The Duchess of Poker | California, USA | 38 | 4 | NA |
| Kathy Leibert | PokerKat | Las Vegas, USA | 47 | 21 | 1 |
| Maria Ho | None | California, USA | 64 | 14 | NA |
| Annette Obrestad | The Huntress | Sandnes, Norway | 10 | NA | 3 |
1. Liv Boeree
With a net worth of $4 million, Liv Boeree is a poker player who holds an impressive poker tournament record. Liv is the only female poker player to have won major events in the World Poker Tour and European Poker Tour. She also won her first WSOP bracelet in the 10k Tag-Team event in 2017 and over $3.5 million in tournament winnings.
2. Annie Duke
Annie Duke, also known as the Duchess of Poker is a poker player who has a net worth of $9 million. She is a high-stakes poker crusher, author, and business founder. Known for her cash games skills, Annie holds an amazing tournament record, including wins like a WSOP bracelet, first rank in the WSOP Tournament of Champions in 2004, and National Heads-Up Poker Championship in 2010. She was also the leading female poker player in the World Series for several years. Annie has also co-created the Global Poker Index, co-co-founded the Epic Poker League, and written strategy books such as Decide to Play Great Poker and The Middle Zone.
3. Kathy Leibert
With a net worth of $6.89 million, Kathy Leibert has also achieved an amazing record in the highest-stakes poker tournaments. One of her records was a deep run in the World Series Main Event, where she finished in 17th place, busting within sight of the final table. Her poker feats include winning her first WSOP bracelet for the Limit Hold ’em Shootout event in 2004, six final tables in the World Poker Tour, and winning the 2002 Party Millions. She is one of the best poker players of all time!
4. Maria Ho
Maria Ho is a Taiwanese-American poker player with a net worth of $4 million. Her poker career recently surged with her induction into the Poker Hall of Fame. Ho has won $3 million in tournament earnings during her poker career, including 54 World Series of Poker Cashes. She was also the last female in the 2007 Main Event busting in 38th place. Moreover, she has made it to five World Poker Tour final tables and won several minor events worldwide. Ho also holds hosting and broadcasting credits, and she is the first female strategic commentator and commentator for the Super High Roller Bowl events.
5. Annette Obrestadt
Annette Obrestadt, also known by her online poker name Annette_15, holds a net worth of $3.9 million. She won the World Series of Poker in 2007 and became the youngest player to win a coveted gold bracelet. She rose to fame since that event and went on to win many more major tournaments. Annette Obrestadt is also known for her online poker achievements, including winning a 180-player Sit N Go where she didn’t look at her own hole cards if not facing an all-in bet. She is said to be one of the best poker players!
Honorable Mentions
Doyle Brunson
Net Worth: $75 Million
Undoubtedly, Doyle Brunson deserves an honorable mention as one of the greatest poker players and the most influential person in the world of poker. He has won 10 WSOP bracelets and won the Main Event two times. The Texas Dolly had authored the book ‘Supersystem’ in 1978, also considered the Poker Bible.
Justin Bonomo
Net Worth: $48 Million +
Justin Bonomo has been playing since the age of 16 and is well-known for both his online events and live tournaments. He was also one of the first players who gained recognition for Sit&Go on Party Poker and won Sunday Million on Poker Stars.
Joanne ‘JJ’ Liu
Net Worth: $1.5 million
Joanne Jishung ‘JJ’ Liu is one of the top ten poker players in the female category and ranks 2nd on the Taiwan All-Time Money List. JJ began playing poker live tournaments after 1996 and won $3.2 million in tournament winnings. In 2007, she was the highest-placing female player in the World Poker Tour Championship event. She finished as the runner-up at the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Stars event.
Maria Constanza Lampropulos
Net Worth: $6.5 million+
Maria began her poker career after she began dating a professional poker player from Argentina. She mainly played only live tournaments since 2014 and accumulated $3.3 million as her career winnings. Maria also played in the Main Event of PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in 2018 and became the first female to have won the main event. She won a prize of around $1.1 million from the event held in the Bahamas.
Kristen Bicknell
Net Worth: $5 million
Kristen Bicknell is a Canadian professional poker player who began playing online poker in 2006. Kristen won three poker bracelets in the World Series of Poker, played at the final table twice in the European Poker Tour, and once in the World Poker Tour. Bicknell was the highest-ranked female poker player in the live tournament of 2017, ranking above Maria Ho and Maria Lampropulos.
Sandra Naujoks
Net Worth: $2 mllion+
The German poker player, Sandra Naujoks, is also known as the Black Mamba in the poker world. Sandra mainly plays No-Limit Hold ’em live tournaments. Some of her poker feats include winning the final table at the Casinos Austria Poker Tour in 2008, the GIGA Poker Night in 2008, winning the European Poker Championship in 2008, and winning the main event of the European Poker Tour in 2009. Sandra Naujoks has not won any poker bracelets to date.
FAQs
Who is the world’s best poker player?
Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, and Phil Hellmuth are some of the best poker players of all time!
Who is the poker legend?
Stu Ungar, Johnny Chan, and Doyle Brunson are some of the poker legends.
Does a top poker player play online poker?
Yes, many top poker players participate in online poker along with live tournaments. Online poker is preferred because it offers flexibility, lower buy-ins, and access to a wider range of games and competition. However, some players still prefer the social aspects and prestige associated with live events.
