The Most Famous Poker Players of All Time (And What You Can Learn from Them)
Not so long ago, most poker pros thrived in the shadows. They quietly built their bankrolls in smoky Vegas card rooms, private games in Los Angeles, and hidden backrooms around the world, preferring to stay under the radar as they took down unsuspecting opponents.
Then came the poker boom of the early 2000s, and everything changed. Practically overnight, the game exploded onto TV screens everywhere. Top players became celebrities, raking in massive pots and cementing their names in poker history.
But who truly deserves the title of the most famous poker player of all time? And, more importantly, what can you learn from these legends to sharpen your own game?
Let’s dive in and find out.
Best Poker Players – Top 10 List
Below, you’ll find our picks for the ten best poker players ever to stack chips. From fearless risk-takers to steady strategists, each of these legends has left a mark on the game and has something to teach anyone hoping to improve their skills.
10. Erik Seidel
Poor Erik has the misfortune of being known for the biggest hand he ever lost, but he’s also established himself as one of the most dangerous players in the history of the sport.
Most casual fans know him primarily as the runner-up to Johnny Chan at the 1988 World Series of Poker, a matchup that was immortalized in the 1998 film classic Rounders. He also became famous as one of the many Full Tilt Poker pros in the early 2000s.
What You Can Learn from Erik Seidel:
Seidel is one of the most modest and unassuming players in the world, an attitude belying the fact that he’s incredibly feared in both tournaments and cash games alike.
The lesson here is to always let your play do the talking. You can draw attention to yourself at the table if you like, but at the end of the day, the only thing that matters is who walks away with the most chips. In the games that Erik plays in, that person is usually Erik.
9. Tom Dwan
Viewers of the popular High Stakes Poker television show were soon introduced to Tom “durrr” Dwan, an internet pro who quickly became one of the most successful and unpredictable players in a lineup of legends.
Dwan is known for his loose-aggressive style, playing hands that many other pros would much, but playing them with such reckless abandon that other players can’t help but fold better holdings.
He burnished his status as one of the top players in the world by playing a series of heads-up challenges at nosebleed stakes against some of the fiercest competition he could find. Dwan more than held his own in these encounters, but his reputation was harmed by allegations of unpaid debts and ducking particularly strong challengers.
What You Can Learn from Tom Dwan:
Since 2016, Dwan has largely abandoned the Vegas and tournament poker scene in favor of playing high-stakes games in Macau and Manila.
He clearly understands the only thing that matters at the table: winning as much money as possible. While testing your skills against great players is fun, a smarter long-term strategy is to just find the fish and filet them.
8. Barry Greenstein
There have been some great nicknames in the poker world, but it’s hard to top “the Robin Hood of Poker.”
Greenstein earned this nickname due to the fact that he donates his (considerable) tourney winnings to charity. One thing people overlook about Robin Hood that also rings true for Greenstein, though: the guy was pretty deadly when he wanted to be.
Many pros have called Greenstein one of the best to ever play the game, but he flew under the radar for a long time due to his preference for playing cash games over tournaments. Eventually, though, Barry got his due, and he’s now one of the most famous and beloved pros ever.
What You Can Learn from Barry Greenstein:
The most enduring quality Greenstein brought to each game was his unflappable demeanor. No matter how cruel the cards could be, he always kept his cool and stayed classy with his competition.
Poker is a sport that rewards a grounded mentality, and it’s often the player who controls their emotions that bests the ones who make brilliant plays in the long run.
7. Antonio Esfandiari
Nicknamed “the Magician” for the fact that…well, he’s a magician, Esfandiari also happens to be an incredible poker player.
He’s a fan favorite for his charming demeanor, and he’s one of the few players who looks like he’s actually having fun at the table. Of course, he was also once the record holder for the biggest score of all time ($18 million in the “Big One for One Drop” tourney in 2012), which definitely helps in the fun department.
What You Can Learn from Antonio Esfandiari:
In recent years, the Magician has reduced his involvement in the poker world, preferring to spend time with his wife and child rather than a bunch of sweaty card sharks.
However, he’s beginning to reenter the high-stakes cash game world, and recent evidence suggests he hasn’t lost a step.
This underscores the importance of having interests away from the table. It’s easy to get sucked into online casinos where all that matters is the results of your next session, but that’s not a healthy way to live, for you or for your bankroll.
6. Johnny Chan
The other pro made famous by Rounders, Chan, came out smelling like a rose in comparison to Seidel. The movie essentially calls him the best player of all time, something many casual fans still believe (even if the evidence for the claim is a bit sparse).
While Chan still occasionally plays in high-limit mixed games in Vegas, LA, or Houston, he seems to focus most of his time and energy on his non-poker-related businesses.
The game has also passed him by to a certain extent, as his super-tight style doesn’t play as well now as it did 30 years ago. Still, there doesn’t seem to be any shortage of rich amateurs willing to donk off their chips to him, just so they can say they lost to “The Orient Express.”
What You Can Learn from Johnny Chan:
Poker is a fun and potentially lucrative hobby, but it’s a hard way to get rich. Chan clearly recognized this, which is why he funneled his winnings into setting up legitimate businesses.
If you mainly care about coming out ahead financially, you’re better off sticking to the business world than learning more poker lessons from professional players.
5. Chris Moneymaker
The man with the name made for TV, Moneymaker, is probably the weakest player on this list, but the one every other player owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to.
Moneymaker’s Cinderella win at the 2003 WSOP Main Event was the spark that set off the poker boom, and many fortunes were made (and lost) due to his unlikely rise to the top.
Of course, that initial title was mostly due to running good, and Moneymaker soon found himself being targeted by more skilled pros. Over time, though, he built himself into one of the toughest players on the circuit, and he has more than $8 million in live tourney winnings to his name.
What You Can Learn from Chris Moneymaker:
Moneymaker learned this lesson the hard way…but he learned it. Over the years, he worked on every aspect of his strategy, from bankroll management to understanding when tactics like slow playing can give you an edge against aggressive opponents.
Most players would have slinked off into obscurity after encountering the kinds of struggles Moneymaker endured after his big win, but he remained committed to the game, eventually earning respect from other pros and fans alike.
4. Daniel Negreanu
Although the nickname “Kid Poker” doesn’t fit anymore, Negreanu is still one of the most charming and ubiquitous ambassadors for the game.
Whether chatting up other players on TV or explaining his reasoning on his YouTube channel, Negreanu is always happy to talk poker. Many modern pros have learned quite a bit from Negreanu, as he’s one of the few experts willing to let other players in on his thoughts and strategies.
Beyond being one of the toughest cash game and tourney pros in the world, Negreanu is also the go-to anytime Hollywood needs someone to represent the sport. He spends as much time commenting on games as playing in them, and he’s the only player on this list to ever match wits with an X-Man in a cash game.
What You Can Learn from Daniel Negreanu:
There’s very little you can’t learn from Daniel Negreanu, honestly. Between his YouTube channel and penchant for narrating his own thought processes in the middle of hands, he’s one of the most transparent pros ever to play the game.
Negreanu may be most famous for his hand reading skills, as he’s often able to put opponents on their exact holdings. This may seem like some sort of ESP, but the fact is, you can learn to do this almost as well as Daniel does.
The important thing is to pay attention to the table. Study your opponents for patterns, and think logically about their actions. You may not be right all the time, but that’s ok, Daniel’s not always right, either.
3. Phil Ivey
Phil Ivey is unique on this list in that he’s here almost exclusively on skill alone. Seriously, we’re not sure if he’s said more than 100 words in his entire career.
You don’t have to be chatty if you let your talent do the talking, though, and Ivey is widely considered to be the best poker player of all time. Equally adept at both cash games and tournaments, Ivey is always a favorite at any table he chooses.
He’s in second place all-time with 11 WSOP bracelets, trailing another player we’ll meet shortly. What’s remarkable about this is he doesn’t particularly seem to care about winning bracelets; it’s just something to do while he’s waiting for the action in Bobby’s Room to start back up again.
There’s not a single game he’s not a master of, including Punto Banco and Baccarat, apparently. While he’s spent quite a bit of time trying to get an edge on those games, he’ll always be best known for his skill on the felt.
What You Can Learn from Phil Ivey:
Ivey’s poker dominance is usually chalked up to his intelligence and iron will. You can’t do much about the former trait, but building up your focus and willpower is smart if you want to make it at higher stakes.
You should always be paying attention at the table. Watch players when they’re in hands, and watch them when they’re not in hands. Pay attention to bet sizes, bet timing, and their general demeanor when deciding what actions to take.
You may never rival Ivey in this department, but every little bit of improvement you make will be worth a small fortune.
2. Phil Hellmuth
No one else on this list has pursued fame as doggedly as the Poker Brat, Phil Hellmuth.
Known for his uber-tight playing style and willingness to explode when things don’t go his way, Hellmuth is the center of attention every time he sits down.
It’s hard to argue with his results, though, as his 17 WSOP bracelets make him the most successful player in that event’s history. Many people consider Hellmuth the greatest tourney player ever, with only the late Stu Ungar as a potential rival to that claim.
Of course, his cash game results are…not as good. He’s struggled against elite competition in high-stakes games, but that makes little difference. Hellmuth has two goals in life: to win poker tournaments and to stay in the spotlight at all times while he does so.
Based on the fact that he’s basically a household name at this point, we’d say he’s succeeded on both counts.
What You Can Learn from Phil Hellmuth:
One of Hellmuth’s trademarks is his tight style of play. While he likely plays quite a bit tighter than is optimal, he understands how precious each chip is in a tournament setting.
Unless you’re playing in a rebuy tournament or your strategy is to build a huge stack or bust out early, you should be extremely careful with every chip in your stack. Making loose calls in small pots is a great way to find yourself on the rail, which is why Hellmuth is so often willing to fold hands other players wouldn’t.
The other thing you can learn from Phil is that if you don’t tell everyone at the table how smart you are, they may never realize it on their own.
1. Doyle Brunson
Was there ever any doubt as to who would take the top spot as the most famous player in the history of poker?
Texas Dolly wasn’t just arguably the best player to ever sit at a table; he was also the perfect ambassador for the sport, helping to shepherd it from smoky backrooms to Hollywood glamour.
He was there when the World Series of Poker was born, and he was there when it became the biggest event in gambling. He played with hardscrabble old pros like Johnny Moss and Treetop Strauss, and he played with hotshot internet whizkids with game theory backgrounds.
And you know what? He beat them all, even when he was well into his 80s.
When you think of poker, you probably think of Doyle Brunson first and foremost. That’s why he tops our list, and it will likely be a long while before anyone stands a chance of dethroning him.
What You Can Learn from Doyle Brunson:
The fact that you know anything about poker is largely a tribute to Doyle, as he was one of the first people to offer solid advice with his Super System guide. That book (and its later update) forms the backbone of most modern poker theory.
Brunson’s most famous advice is still relevant today: the importance of shifting gears.
The idea is that you shouldn’t play tight or loose all the time; you should mix it up quite a bit, and never become predictable.
Today’s players may have all sorts of formulas and algorithms for how to shift gears successfully, but the fact that they know to do it at all is thanks to Dolly.
Who Cracks Your Top Ten?
There you have it, our list of the ten most famous poker players of all time.
Of course, the real fun of making lists like this is arguing about them afterwards. Is there anyone you think we missed? Anyone you think will crack this list in the next few years?
One thing’s for sure: anyone who reaches the pinnacle of the sport in the decades to come will have to get there by standing on the shoulders of the giants above.