Poker has been one of the most popular card games in the world not just in terms of playing, but also watching it. It’s one of the few card games that could genuinely be considered something of a spectator sport. Among fans of poker there has always been a certain fascination with the game: from the early high stakes cash games to the live tournament circuit, to the online game. In particular, many people enjoy following the top players and there are a number of poker players that have achieved celebrity status. This is usually due to their skills on the felt of course, but it’s often the personality of a player that elevates them above others in terms of fame. On this page, we have listed some of the most famous poker players of all time and provided a little bit of background information on each of them. Our apologies if we have missed out any of your personal favorites.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Johnny Moss | American Johnny Moss was one of the initial inductees into the Poker Hall of Fame and for good reason. Born in 1907 he was one of the greatest poker players of his time. He won the very first World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event in 1970, when it was played in a cash game format. The following year, when it was played as a freezeout, he won again. Moss continued to play in the WSOP right up until the year he died, 1995. He won the Main Event again in 1974 and won a total of nine WSOP bracelets overall. He also played in a number of other tournaments and was famous for regularly playing high stakes cash games. Moss was widely known as The Grand Old Man of Poker in deference to his stature in the game. |
| Doyle Brunson | When it comes to longevity in the game, few (if any) players can touch Doyle Brunson. The American was born in 1933 and at the time of writing he’s still playing regularly. He has twice won the WSOP Main Event, has a total of 10 WSOP bracelets and was the first player to earn over $1 million in tournament winnings. He’s a Poker Hall of Fame inductee and, in 2006, was voted as the most influential person in world poker by Bluff Magazine. |
| Chris Moneymaker | Chris Moneymaker is at the very least partially responsible for the huge boom in the popularity of online poker. In 2003, at the age of 27, he won the WSOP Main Event for around $2.5 million. What made his win amazing was that it was his first live tournament and he had qualified for the event at an online poker room. He had paid just $39 to enter a satellite at the PokerStars poker site. Moneymaker gave poker players all over the world hope that they too could match his achievements. His win generated huge publicity and, it was what dubbed the “Moneymaker Effect”. There was a massive increase in the number of people signing up at poker sites after his win. While online poker would undoubtedly have become popular anyway, Chris Moneymaker definitely gave things a significant kick start. |
| Phil Hellmuth | Some people love him, some people hate him, but there’s no doubt that Phil Hellmuth is one of the best known poker players of all time. He has won a very impressive 13 WSOP bracelets, including the 1989 Main Event. Just 24 years old at the time, he became the youngest ever winner of the Main Event. Hellmuth has something of a temper, and he has been described as being brash and arrogant. Poker would almost certainly be poorer without him around though. |
| Phil Ivey | Phil Ivey is regarded by many as the greatest all around poker player in the game today. He has never won the WSOP Main Event, but he does have nine bracelets to his name. He is a feared cash game player and has shown time and time again that he’s willing to gamble it up. As a former member of the Full Tilt Poker team of pro players he could often be seen playing at the online poker room at the very highest stakes |
| Vanessa Rousso | Vanessa Rousso is considered one of poker’s sex symbols and has appeared in a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. However, she is far more than that and is a very accomplished player too. Born in 1983, by the age of 30 she had racked up well over $3 million in tournament winnings and is one of the most successful female pokers ever. She is vocal about her pro-gambling stance. |