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The 15 Best Poker Players of All Time in Canada
Mercier then continued to win the World Poker Tour Ladies’ Night, earning $25,000 in 2004, and in 2005 she earned €23,090 after finishing 10th at the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo. One of her biggest cash-outs was during the PokerStars Sunday Million tournament, where she earned $115,000 and finished third. Her top payouts include winning $328,500 after finishing 11th at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $25,00 PokerStars Player Championship in 2019, $290,768 for finishing first at the $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Bounty at the World Series of Poker in 2016, as well as $284,960 for finishing first at the APPT Macau HK$80,000 No-Limit Hold’em in 2018.
Top 10 Canadian Female Poker Players of All Time
Poker has always been one of the most played games in brick-and-mortar casinos, but it boomed in popularity after several televised events, such as Poker After Dark and High Stakes Poker. These TV shows allowed everyday people to get more familiar with the game and showed them that anyone skillful enough can make a profit by playing poker.
In today’s time, one of the most talented and famous poker players is undoubtedly a Canadian Daniel “Kid Poker” Negreanu who’s made millions of dollars by playing poker. However, what about his fellow Canadians and members of the fairer sex?
If you’re curious to find out who the best Canadian poker players of all time are, we’ve prepared a short list of some of the best ladies from Canada who have sat at a poker table.
| # | Player | Earnings |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kristen Bicknell | $ 4,058,529 |
| 2 | Xuan Liu | $ 1,968,017 |
| 3 | Isabelle Mercier | $ 1,196,277 |
| 4 | Kara Scott | $ 664,795 |
| 5 | Carla Sabini | $ 559,415 |
| 6 | Louise Francoeur | $ 485,254 |
| 7 | Evelyn Ng | $ 377,191 |
| 8 | Darlene Lee | $ 307,569 |
| 9 | Thi Hoa Nguyen | $301,501 |
| 10 | Pam MacNaughton | $260,475 |
1. Kristen Bicknell
She started playing poker during her freshman year at college and played mainly online on PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker. In 2011, 2012, and 2013 she played around 2.5 million hands per year, grinding games to become the best Canadian female poker player of all time.
Kristen also played offline and has two WSOP bracelets and 18 money finishes to her name alongside three money finishes at the World Poker Tour and four money finishes at the European Poker Tour.
Her top payouts include winning $328,500 after finishing 11th at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $25,00 PokerStars Player Championship in 2019, $290,768 for finishing first at the $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Bounty at the World Series of Poker in 2016, as well as $284,960 for finishing first at the APPT Macau HK$80,000 No-Limit Hold’em in 2018.
2. Xuan Liu
Some of the most notable prize money rewards include $600,000 for finishing 4th at the 2012 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $10,000 Main Event and €360,000 for finishing 3rd at the 2011 Sanremo €5,000 Main Event.
While Liu is currently retired and has decided to invest her time in eSports, she is still considered to be one of the best female poker players Canada has ever had.
3. Isabelle Mercier
Mercier then continued to win the World Poker Tour Ladies’ Night, earning $25,000 in 2004, and in 2005 she earned €23,090 after finishing 10th at the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo. One of her biggest cash-outs was during the PokerStars Sunday Million tournament, where she earned $115,000 and finished third.
She has seven money finishes at the WSOP, four at the WPT, and four at the European Poker Tour.
4. Kara Scott
One of her most notable achievements includes winning PartyPoker Sports Star Challenge and winning €312,600 after finishing second at the Irish Open in 2009. In addition, Kara Scott finished 104th (out of 6,844 players) at the 2009 World Series of Poker $10,000 buy-in Main event and earned $41,816 for doing so.
Her records to this date include four money finishes at the WSOP and one money finish at the EPT.
5. Carla Sabini
Her latest money prize comes from the DeepStack Championship Event #111 $400 NLH MonsterStack $60K GTD, where she finished fourth and won $8,733. Some of her biggest cash prizes include winning $214,544 after finishing 4th at the Event 26 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller EPT Season X in London and $139,839 after finishing second at the Mile High Poker Open Main Event back in 2012 at the Heartland Poker Tour – Black Hawk.
Sabini has two money finishes at the WSOP and one money finish at the EPT.
6. Louise Francoeur
Her biggest payouts include her winning $49,108 for finishing 142nd at the $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em 2016 World Series of Poker and $32,743 for finishing 3rd at the $600 No-Limit Hold’em $400K GTD 2015 Deepstack Extravaganza II.
While Francoeur doesn’t have gigantic wins under her belt, she plays on the regular and is able to continuously earn money by playing poker.
7. Evelyn Ng
Ng’s highest achievements include finishing second right after Clonie Gowen at the Ladies’ Night I tournament in 2003 and finishing 238th at the World Series of Poker in 2008. Her all-time records include 10 money finishes at the World Series of Poker and four money finishes at the World Poker Tour.
8. Darlene Lee
In addition, Lee has five money finishes at the World Series of Poker that got her $90,593 in total, as well as $44,147 from three money finishes at the World Poker Tour. Apart from her $87K finish, Lee’s other biggest payouts include $52,141 from finishing 113th in 2014 at the $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em 2014 World Series of Poker, and $40,723 after finishing 39th at the Championship Main Event 2013 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open.
9. Thi Hoa Nguyen
Although she has not had much success in major WSOP tournaments, she has had consistent success in Las Vegas and Canada putting her just within our top 10 list.
10. Pam MacNaughton
She has had numerous 2nd and 3rd place finishes with her largest win of $94,190 coming from PokerStars Carribean Adventure tournament in Paradise Island
Best Poker Players of All Time
Sean Chaffin
Picking the greatest poker players of all time is no easy task. There has certainly been an abundance of players who have excelled both from an historical standpoint and looking at the modern game.
The criteria could cover numerous bullet points: major titles, cash winnings, longevity – the list could go on and on.
With all that in mind, here’s a look at seven of the best players in history in no particular order.
12 Top Poker Players Are:
- Justin Bonomo - ZeeJustin
- Doyle Brunson – Texas Dolly
- Johnny Moss – Grandfather of Poker
- Phil Hellmuth – The Poker Brat
- Phil Ivey – The Tiger Woods of Poker
- Stu Ungar – The Comeback Kid
- Daniel Negreanu – Kid Poker
- Erik Seidel – Sly
- Bryn Kenney – Mega Crusher
- Stephen Chidwick – stevie444
- Dan Smith – Cowboy Dan
- Fedor Holz – CrownUpGuy
1. Justin Bonomo - ZeeJustin
A dominating force in the modern game, Bonomo tops all players in cash winnings with $44.6 million. His earnings not only come in high roller tournaments at the game’s highest stakes but also against some of the best competition.
In June 2018, he won the $10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) for $185,965. That made his second WSOP bracelet and came only days after winning the $300,000 Super High Roller Bowl for $5 million.
If those finishes weren’t enough, the 33-year-old poker sensation followed up his bracelet win with yet another. Bonomo took down the $1 million Big One for One Drop at the WSOP for $10 million.
And this year, through April 2019, his winnings have already topped $1.1 million as he continues to excel on the felt.
With a keen intellect for the game, Bonomo finds success against some of the top players in the world. Heads-up he seems near-invincible and has won 18 major tournaments since 2016.
That string of wins also includes numerous other final table appearances. He’s not a player you want to square off against.
2. Doyle Brunson – Texas Dolly
When it comes to standing the test of time, no player has done it better than Brunson. At age 85, he still plays in some of the biggest cash games in the world. His cash game prowess includes lessons learned from old Texas road games and nosebleed games in Las Vegas. Brunson’s tournament success is also unmatched by most – highlighted by 10 World Series of Poker bracelets including the Main Event twice, 1976 and 1977.
In 2018, Brunson even made a WSOP final table at age 84. His long poker career also includes a record as the oldest winner of a World Poker Tour event when he won the Legends of Poker at the Bicycle Casino in 2004 at age 71.
A regular on televised cash games, Brunson is one of the most recognised players in poker. His career tournament earnings of $6.2 million may be minute compared to his cash game winnings. His instincts for the game come from a sharp mind, natural feel for the game, and seeing thousands of hands.
Along with being a top-notch player, Brunson is an acclaimed author and his poker strategy book, Super/System: A Course in Power Poker revolutionised the game. He has a quick wit and is a frequent Twitter poster.
An idol for many and a gentleman at the table, Brunson was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1988.
3. Johnny Moss – Grandfather of Poker
While poker has progressed immensely since those early days of the WSOP, Moss was obviously considered a top performer at the table. There were only seven players at that first event at Binion’s Horseshoe in 1970, but his fellow players voted Moss as champion.
A year later, the tournament format was introduced. Moss won that year too and added his third Main Event title in 1974. Moss finished his poker career with nine WSOP bracelets and $1.25 million in tournament winnings.
Like Brunson, Moss was a Texas road gambler, and his cash winnings are unknown. He carved out a stellar career at the tables, however, when finding big-money action wasn’t as easy as it is now.
Moss was inducted in 1979 and passed away in 1995 at age 88. Some of the game’s forerunners and his contemporaries remember him as a keen competitor who was unafraid of aggression.
4. Phil Hellmuth – The Poker Brat
Love him or hate him, it takes significant skill to win 15 WSOP bracelets and amass almost $23 million in tournament winnings. Hellmuth is also the only person to have won a WSOP Main Event title (1989) in Las Vegas and a WSOP Main Event (2012) in Europe. In 1993, Hellmuth had a spectacularly nice summer – winning three bracelets.
On the WPT, Hellmuth has five final table appearances. He hasn’t yet added his name to the Champions Cup but came close in 2017 when he finished runner-up at the Legends of Poker at the Bicycle Casino. In recent years, a WPT title has become one of his goals.
Along with his titles and winnings, Hellmuth is an author of several bestselling books and a regular in televised cash games. Table antics aside, the “Poker Brat” remains not only one of the biggest names in poker, but also one of the toughest players with a brilliant insight into the game.
5. Phil Ivey – The Tiger Woods of Poker
Growing up on the Atlantic City poker scene, Ivey regularly playing up to 15 hours a day in games at the Taj Mahal and Tropicana with a fake ID. Inspired by players who made a living at the game, Ivey took the game seriously and kept a journal on players, hands, and situations to fine-tune his game.
At age 21, his first major win came at the first Jack Binion World Poker Open for $53,297. In May 2000, he went on to win his first WSOP bracelet at age 23 for $195,000. More final tables and wins followed over the next few years. In 2002, he had a monster summer at the WSOP, winning three bracelets – sealing his reputation as the hottest young player in the game.
When the World Poker Tour debuted in 2003, Ivey found success there as well. He finished runner-up to poker legend Dave “Devilfish” Ulliot in the first WPT Championship for $290,130. From 2002-2007, he had eight final table appearances capped by a win at the L.A. Poker Classic for $1.6 million.
After dominating the game for years, Ivey now has more than $26 million in live tournament winnings, is a regular in high-stakes cash games, and has 10 WSOP bracelets.
He’s a fierce competitor and has plenty of respect and admiration among his peers.
6. Stu Ungar – The Comeback Kid
One of the sadder stories in poker, Ungar was immensely talented at the table but struggled with demons in the game of life. One of only two players to have won the WSOP Main Event three times, along with Moss, he was also one of only four players to win the title back to back, along with Moss, Brunson, and Johnny Chan.
A stellar gin rummy player, he later transitioned to poker and was a natural on the poker felt. In 1980, he became the youngest player ever to win the Main Event at the time.
Ungar won the Main Event again in 1981 and also in 1997. In November 1998 he was found dead in a cheap hotel in Las Vegas. The cause of death was a heart condition attributed to continued drug use. He virtually had no money and friends pitched in to fund his funeral.
After ending his career with $3.7 million in tournament winnings and five WSOP bracelets, Ungar was posthumously inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2001. Friends and contemporaries remember a player who had a sixth sense for cards, who made use of ruthless aggression to run over his opponents.
7. Daniel Negreanu – Kid Poker
Second, only to Bonomo, on the career money list, Negreanu is the biggest name in poker and one of the winningest players in poker history. In more than two decades on the felt, “Kid Poker” has amassed almost $40 million in live tournament winnings. That includes wins on some of the game’s biggest stages – the WSOP, WPT, and major televised cash games.
With a unique ability to deduce the cards of his opponents, Negreanu has become a fan favourite not only for his skills at the table but also his gregarious personality. Negreanu has numerous career highlights, and that includes winning five WSOP bracelets and two WPT titles. He has the distinction of winning the 2004 WSOP Player of the Year honour and the same title in the WPT in 2004-05 (Season III).
Always quick with an opinion, Negreanu has been one of the most prominent voices in the game. That includes a substantial multimedia presence through vlogs, podcasts, social media, writing, and more.
He may be seen a lot in the media, but Negreanu’s more than just a personality. His skills at the table and skins on the wall make him one of the best.
8. Erik Seidel – Sly
After dominating poker for years even before the poker boom, this New Yorker then went on to play at the biggest stakes imaginable in the game’s new era. Seidel always had a keen mind for games and grew up playing backgammon. While working as a stock trader, Seidel began seeking out action as a player at the Mayfair Club in New York. The famous club was the inspiration for the film Rounders and also hosted famous players like Howard Lederer, Stu Ungar, Dan Harrington, and others.
In fact Seidel was even featured in Rounders, the final hand he played in the 1988 WSOP Main Event in which he finished runner-up. That was his first major tournament – not bad for a newcomer and possibly a sign of the success to come. In 1992, he won his first bracelet in a $2,500 NLHE event for $168,000. His most recent bracelet came in 2007, when he won the $5,000 No Limit 2-7 Lowball championship for $538,835. In 2008, Seidel added a WPT title by winning the Foxwoods Poker Classic for $992,890.
Seidel continues to score on some of poker’s biggest stages and can regularly be found in high roller events. In 2020, Seidel again gained some media attention for being featured in best-selling author Maria Konnikova’s book The Biggest Bluff. The best-selling author knew nothing about poker before taking on the challenge of learning the game. Seidel served as her coach and Konnikova soon scored a major win at the PCA. She described Seidel as a bit of a renaissance man.
“He may be the only poker pro to boast a membership to the Brooklyn Academy of Music, a willingness to fly across the country to see Dave Chappelle do stand-up, or a near encyclopedic knowledge of the latest in the culinary scene from Los Angeles to Manila,” Konnikova writes of her mentor. “His curiosity is genuine and boundless, his enthusiasm for life entirely contagious.”
9. Bryn Kenney – Mega Crusher
By the spring of 2020, this player from New York had not only made the list but topped the all-time money list with more than $56 million. Born in 1986, Kenney grew up playing the Magic: The Gathering card game like several other top pros. He transitioned to poker and played in his first tournament in 2007. His first six-figure score came in the 2010 WSOP Main Event, where he took 28th for $255,242. Many more massive scores would follow with wins on the EPT, Masters Classics of Poker, WPT high rollers, and more.
In 2014, Kenney grabbed his first WSOP bracelet in a $1,500 10-game event for $153,220 and came close to another a year later with a runner-up finish in Las Vegas. His first seven figure score came the PCA in 2016, winning a $100,000 Super High Roller for $1.7 million. Kenney is among the new breed of players happy to play at some of the biggest events around. He’s a regular on the Aria high roller scene with a good track record of scoring big.
After the PCA score, he added a $1.4 million score the same year in a Triton Super High Roller. In 2017, he scored a pair of wins in PVA high rollers for a total of $1.4 million and then took another title in a $100,000 super high roller in Monaco for $1.9 million.
That kind of consistency at massive stakes against some of the best in the game continued. In 2019, he won a pair of Triton high roller events for a total of $3.1 million. The same year he finished runner-up in an insane £1 million Triton event for a $20.5 million payday. With Kenney, it’s massive skills and massive paydays.
10. Stephen Chidwick – stevie444
This player comes from a fitting hometown in England – the town of Deal on the country’s southeast coast where the North Sea and English Channel meet. Chidwick has been one of the most successful card players over the last few years and among the top 10 on the all-time money list. Born in 1989, Chidwick began his career at the online tables and scored his first major score in 2009 after finishing runner-up in a an event for $142,000.
Chidwick also began playing live tournaments in 2008 with his first win coming at a $1,000 PCA event for $88,760. His first six-figure score came in 2011 at the WSOP, where he took fourth in a $10,000 Pot Limit Hold’em event for $198,927. More big scores would follow in the coming years. In 2013 Chidwick finished third in a €5,300 EPT event for $517,992.
Big scores and final table appearances continued and he has become a regular on the high roller scene. He took down a €25,500 event in Barcelona in 2017 for $813,144, and then added a runner-up and third-place finish for a total $2.6 million in the same event a year later. In 2019, he added a WSOP bracelet as well, fittingly winning another $25,000 high roller event for $1.6 million. Chidwick remains one of the best players in the world and works to improve his skills to stay on top of his game.
"You always want, as a poker player, to be devoid of emotion and just kind of calculate, think about hands, and play the best you can," he told PokerNews before his WSOP win. "But definitely the closer you get to the bracelet the harder it gets to kind of keep what you're going to say in the winner interview, and all those things, out of your mind. I just try and focus on the cards and each hand as it comes until I've got all the chips."
11. Dan Smith – Cowboy Dan
This player originally from New Jersey has become one of the winningest players in history. Like many players, Smith dropped out of college in 2007 to pursue poker full time. His first major tournament win came in 2008 when he won a $1,650 Heartland Poker Tour title for $101,960. In 2012 he added an Aussie Millions title when he won the $100,000 Challenge for $1 million. That same year, he went on a massive tear at the EPT Monte Carlo, winning three events for $521,580.
In August 2012, Smith won another EPT event in Barcelona for $1.2 million. A year later he registered another massive bullet point by taking down the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic at the Bellagio for $1.2 million. Six- and seven-figure scores have become the norm for this player who now lives in Las Vegas. As of June 2020, Smith had $33 million in live tournament winnings. Beyond his skills and winnings, Smith also works in various charity efforts. He created the Double Up Drive as a means for poker players to give to those in need and other causes.
“It has really blown up,” Smith told WPT.com. “I think it is totally embraced by poker players, and I’ve gotten a lot of support. Stephen Chidwick is one of our big partners this year. It’s really special to me to motivate someone, and motivating people with their wallet is great.”
12. Fedor Holz – CrownUpGuy
Million-dollar scores have become a way of life for this German poker phenomenon. A dominating online player, Holz scored plenty of wins in the 2010s including a $1.3 million championship in an online tournament, and was considered one of the best online players in the world.
Holz has also found plenty of success at the live poker tables. That includes finishing 25th in the WSOP Main Event in 2015 for $262,574. Big buy-in events have also been good for Holz. He won a Triton Super High Roller for $3.1 million in 2016 and followed that up the same year with a runner-up finish in the Super High Roller Bowl for another $3.5 million. His WSOP bracelet came in a big way as well in 2016. After topping the field in the $111,111 Big One for One Drop, Holz took home $5 million.
“I played a lot of online poker, so I think I understand the variance pretty well,” Holz told Card Player magazine about his amazing run in 2016. “I think I’m on a heater that will only happen once, to me at least, and I just am trying to appreciate it and enjoy my time while it lasts.”
In 2019, Holz even topped that Big One haul when he finished runner-up in the $1 million version of the tournament – earning a gigantic payout of $6 million. A deeply analytical player with deep focus, Holz is another modern player who moved from success online to success at live events and had accumulated almost $33 million in winnings by 2020. CrownUpGuy has certainly become part of poker royalty.
Everyone has an opinion on who the best players in poker are, and no doubt there will always be plenty of disagreements.
But this list offers some of the game’s greats from past to present.
Who Are the Top 15 Online Poker Players in the World?
Sean Chaffin
Some of the world’s best online poker players usually have a few things in common:
- A lack of fear for playing at the highest stakes
- Unbelievable stamina to stare at a screen for hours
- The ability to multitask and play numerous tables at once
These players possess incredible skills at the poker table. With that in mind, here’s a look at some of the top online poker players in the world.
One essential note to consider, however, is that many online poker players toil away without ever making themselves known to the wider poker world. This list of players is relatively well-known because they’ve revealed themselves also in live games and media appearances.
As always, ranking them is purely subjective and up to interpretation.
Best 15 online poker players are:
- Viktor Blom
- Tom Dwan
- Dan “Jungleman12” Cates
- Phil Ivey
- Patrik Antonius
- Ben Tollerene
- Fedor Holz
- Phil Galfond
- Di Dang
- Ben Sulsky
- Bertrand Grospellier
- Chris Moorman
- Mike McDonald
- Martin Jacobson
- David Benefield
1 – Viktor Blom
“Isildur1” won millions of dollars playing online before his real identity was even known. This Swedish poker superstar played at the biggest stakes in the world beginning in the late 2000s – often against other names mentioned on this list.
That has included being part of some of the biggest hands in online poker history. A few ofBlom'sfrequent opponents in six-figure pots have included Tom Dwan, Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius, Brian Hastings, and numerous others.
By 2009, Blom had been part of the ten largest online poker pots up to that time. Blom was playing at the highest stakes against some of the best players in the game.
Blom, 29, began playing poker as a teenager and by age 15 had built up a bankroll of more than $275,000. Eventually, all that was gone, and he worked to rebuild. At one point in his online poker career, he won $1.7 million in two weeks. His online resumé also includes some of the biggest tournaments in online poker.
After embracing live poker, Blom went on to some sweet success as well even though he doesn’t play as many events as other poker professionals. That run included the PCA High Roller in 2012 for $1.3 million, and his live poker winnings now sits at almost $3 million.
Blom remains a legend in online poker.
2 – Tom Dwan
After battling it out online at some of the highest stakes imaginable for years, the player known as “durrrr” online then went on to success at live cash games and tournaments. Dwan, 33, is originally from Edison, New Jersey, and attended Boston University before leaving to play poker professionally.
Durrrr became one of the most feared players online. His exploits at the table made him one of the online poker pros featured in the excellent book Ship It Holla Ballas! by Jonathan Grotenstein and Storms Reback.
During the poker boom, Dwan would play for hours, multi-tabling several high-stakes cash games. Some of his foes regularly included Phil Ivey, Guy Laliberte, Patrik Antonius, Viktor Blom, and numerous others.
Dwan, 33, now has $3.4 million in live tournament winnings but has made much more in cash games, both live and online. He remains active in poker and regularly plays in Southeast Asia, including Macau.
Dwan’s skills and massive wins have made him an online poker legend.
3 – Dan “Jungleman12” Cates
After graduating from micro stakes online, this 30-year-old player originally from Maryland went on to a massive career online and in live events. By 2014, Cates is reported to have topped $11 million in online winnings. That is believed to include an extraordinary $5 million alone in 2010, and some of his online high-stakes adversaries have included Viktor Blom and Tom Dwan.
He began playing poker as a teenager and later studied economics at the University of Maryland. However, like several players here, he left college to pursue poker full time.
That decision paid off and his skills at the online tables transferred to live poker rooms as well.
That included two WPT high roller titles in 2013 and 2014 with more high-stakes tournament scores followed those wins. In 2016 he won a Triton Super High Roller for $359,229 and notched a third-place finish in a Triton event a year later for $1 million. Cates added another Triton title for $500,682 and now has $7.4 million in live tournament winnings.
Cates has become one of the most successful players in the game.
4– Phil Ivey
There’s not much that hasn’t been said about this long-time poker pro. Originally from New Jersey, Ivey is one of the biggest names in the game, and that has included online. At the virtual tables, Ivey was a regular in high stakes cash games during the poker boom.
Some sources estimate his online winnings as high as $20 million. Even if that’s half right, it’s an impressive number. He has also been a regular in televised poker shows and played in some of the biggest cash games in the world in Asia.
Along with that online total, Ivey now has more than $30 million in live tournament winnings, ten WSOP bracelets, and one WPT title. He remains active in events around the world and, in recent years, has begun playing more high roller tournaments. In 2020, that success included a win and runner-up in two $50,000 events in Sochi, Russia, for a total of $1.4 million.
Ivey has proven he can win on any poker stage.
5 – Patrik Antonius
This Finnish pro has become one of the best-known players thanks to his frequent appearances on numerous televised poker shows such as Poker After Dark. Antonius has a long history of poker success online as well as at the live tables. A regular in nosebleed stakes online cash games, it’s believed he’s won more than $11 million playing online and has been involved in some of the biggest pots in history.
At one time, Antonius was a sponsored online pro, and he has massive finishes in some of the game’s biggest events. That has included some massive online tournaments as well. In 2008, he finished second in a $25,000 buy-in Heads-Up PLO tournament for $320,000.
His poker record includes three WPT final table appearances, one WPT title, and more than $12 million in live tournament winnings.
Antonius was a key figure throughout the poker boom and recognised by many in the game.
6 – Ben Tollerene
After a $500 online deposit, there seemed to be no looking back for this poker pro from Fort Worth, Texas. Tollerene continued advancing his game – eventually transitioning from $25/$50 No-Limit Hold’em and Pot-Limit Omaha to some of the biggest stakes online. He regularly mixed it up with Viktor Blom for millions of dollars in big cash PLO games. Estimates put his winnings during the early 2010s to more than $10 million.
Along with cash game scores, Tollerene has considerable winnings from major online tournaments – believed to be more than $3.5 million. After Black Friday, Tollerene spent much of his time travelling the globe so he could play more online poker and spends much of his time in Canada playing online.
He’s also a regular live cash game and tournament player. That live tournament career includes $9.5 million in winnings. A high roller faithful, he has numerous six and seven-figure scores.
The latest came in September 2019, when he took down a £103,000 event at the British Poker Open for just over $1 million.
7 – Fedor Holz
This 26-year-old German made plenty of waves at the online tables as “CrownUpGuy” in the mid-2010s including a massive score of $1.3 million by winning a single tournament. Holz’s skills at the tables have also translated to the live poker felt as well. In 2015, he finished 25th in the WSOP Main Event for $262,574.
High roller tournaments have also been good to Holz. He won the Triton Super High Roller in 2018 for $3.5 million in 2016 and followed that up the same year with a runner-up finish in the Super High Roller Bowl for another $3.5 million.
Numerous six- and seven-figure scores bullet point Holz’s resumé and he now has almost $33 million in live tournament winnings.
In recent years, Holz has moved on a bit from poker and entered the business world. He announced in 2017 that he was mostly retiring from poker. That same year he helped launch a mindset coaching, meditation, and training app called Primed Mind.
With his prowess at the tables, Holz knows plenty about having his own primed mind.
8 – Phil Galfond
The Galfond Challenge became one of the most significant events in poker during 2019 and 2020 as this high-stakes online player took on challengers in Pot Limit Omaha at some of the biggest stakes, heads up.
Some of his adversaries included Bill Perkins, Brandon Adams, Chance Kornuth, Dan “Jungleman” Cates, and some online specialists. Not only does Galfond play big, but he’s also quite the poker entrepreneur. Along with a popular training site, he parlayed that into a real-money online poker site as well, where he is also a regular player.
Known online as “OMGClayAiken” and “MrSweets28,” Galfond has played online at some of the biggest stakes and is believed to have made more than $10 million playing at the virtual tables.
Originally from Canada, he now spends much of his time in Canada so he can legally play online. Beyond online poker, Galfond is also successful at the real poker felt with almost $3 million in winnings. That record also includes three WSOP gold bracelets.
Playing at high limits isn’t easy, and in April 2020, Galfond let poker fans in on the pressure of playing at such stakes against stiff competition. He had just come back from almost a €1 million deficit against a Galfond Challenge opponent to secure a win, and a €100,000 side bet win.
He noted on Twitter: “While it's fun to battle against a great opponent day in and day out, it can be truly exhausting. I like to push myself, but it's important to know your limits.”
9 – Di Dang
While he may not be as recognisable as some of the names on this list, Dang had more than $8 million in online winnings by the late 2010s. Dang is originally from Springfield, Virginia, and his username “Urindanger” epitomised the situation many faced when up against him online. He began playing online while studying engineering at the University of Virginia. After blowing through an initial $200 online deposit, he followed that up with another $200 and began rolling from there.
Dang was mostly a cash game player and has only three live tournament cashes for $618,320. After amassing such huge winnings online, he chose to take the money and run – retiring from poker in 2012 to open a small chain of restaurants in Virginia.
After Black Friday, the move seemed well-timed, and Dang said at the time he believed he was making the right move as the edge between good and poor or mediocre players was thinning.
10 – Ben Sulsky
While he may not have the name recognition of many on the list, Sulsky is considered one of the best online cash game players around. The 32-year-old from Durham, New Hampshire, had an interesting start early in his career. He made use of online freerolls to build his bankroll up to $3,000 then cashed out after a loss of more than $1,000.
After returning to the tables a couple of years later, he gradually progressed up the cash game ranks from $0.10/$0.25 to high stakes action playing under the name “Sauce123.”
Less than a year later, he’d topped $1 million in winnings. Beyond playing at the tables, Sulsky has also produced poker training videos for Run It Once. It’s believed he has more than $6 million in poker winnings and remains active.
Unlike some on this list, Sulsky hasn’t transitioned as much to live tournaments. He has $1.7 million in limited events, most of that coming at the WSOP.
11 – Bertrand Grospellier
This Frenchman is one of the most popular players in the game and successfully made the transition from online poker phenomenon to live event superstar. Along with millions of dollars won online, “ElkY” also has several major online tournament wins to his name with several six-figure scores. In 2009, he won two big online titles for more than $500,000. That same year in Monte Carlo, Grospellier set a record by playing 62 sit and go tournaments in only one hour for a profit of $23.90.
His live tournament career has also been pretty successful. With almost $15 million in live tournament winnings, Grospellier has several decent titles. In 2008 he won the PCA for $2 million and also took down the $15,000 WPT Festa al Lago for $1.4 million.
He added a WSOP title in 2011 and a WSOP Europe in 2019 for his second bracelet. One of the most successful players in poker, ElkY remains one active both on the live tournament scene and online.
12 – Chris Moorman
This 888poker ambassador is no stranger to success from simply clicking a mouse. Moorman is obviously one of the most successful online poker players in history with more than $14 million in winnings. Growing up in the UK, he excelled at maths and studied economics in college. Those skills carried over to the poker tables – both live and online.
Eventually, Moorman left college during his sophomore year. By 2008, he was crushing online poker by putting in 70 hours a week. His skills at the virtual tables also began to carry over to live tournaments including big scores at the Aussie Millions, World Series of Poker, WSOP, and WPT.
On the live tournament felt, Moorman now has $5.9 million in winnings and remains a force at the tables – both online and live.
“Online has always been my bread and butter,” he says. “So, to be able to adapt to the constantly changing playing styles and still come out on top is something I’m incredibly proud of.”
13 – Mike McDonald
Yet another young poker phenomenon, McDonald began playing online before he was even 18 (not advised) and had already racked up six-figure scores. Like many players, McDonald excelled in maths growing up and was also a highly competitive chess player. A native of Ontario, Canada, McDonald studied business at Wilfrid Laurier University.
His first major live win came in 2008 in the EPT German Open Main Event for $1.38 million. Numerous big finishes followed including at the WSOP, Epic Poker League, EPT, and others.
McDonald now has live tournament winnings of more than $13 million, and much of that success began by grinding it out online. In 2017, he turned his interest in poker into a business by founding PokerShares. The site allows the public to wager on poker players in events worldwide.
He remains one of the top online players in history and a regular at the tables.
14 – Martin Jacobson
While this Swede may be known more for winning the WSOP Main Event in 2014 for $10 million, Jacobson has also excelled at the online tables. A member of Team 888poker, he remains an active online player and student of the game. Jacobson’s love of poker came while he was studying to be a chef, and he began playing online.
By 2008, Jacobson found success winning online qualifiers to major tournaments around the world and several six-figure scores followed. When he became a member of the November Nine, Jacobson studied 500 hours before playing out the final table that November.
More success followed his big win in Vegas. Jacobson now has more than $17 million in live tournament winnings.
“Just the fact that I’ve been playing poker professionally for over ten years now still feels surreal whenever I think about it,” he says. “I realise how fortunate I am to not only have had the success I’ve accomplished but also be able to do what I love everyday for a living.”
15 – David Benefield
This player originally from Fort Worth, Texas, lived the poker boom first-hand – in front of an online poker screen. His life playing online poker around the world was documented in the excellent book Ship It Holla Ballas!
Benefield and a crew of college drops played, partied, and won millions throughout the 2000s. Playing under the name “Raptor,” that crew included fellow online crusher, Tom Dwan.
The 33-year-old former Columbia University student now has $4.5 million in live tournament winnings. In 2013, Benefield made a massive run in the WSOP Main Event and finished eighth in front of ESPN cameras for $944,650.
He has slowed down his poker schedule in recent years but remains an active player including regular appearances in high roller events. Online poker played a huge role in his success.
“Poker is incredibly stressful on an emotional level, which negatively impacts the physical,” Benefield told Columbia University magazine before the final table. “In my earlier years playing professionally, I was not good at dealing with large monetary losses. They hurt me a lot mentally, and I would tend to turn inward. I wouldn’t want to hang out with friends or hit the gym. Instead, I would sit at my computer and figure out how to avoid losses in the future. I have gotten much better about this over the years.”
Top 10 Poker Players by Winnings (2021)
Who are the world’s best professional poker players? This page lists the top 10 male poker players in the world based on how many millions they’ve pocketed. We’ve also had a look to see how they could spend their winnings - it’s staggering!
Check out our list of the Best Female Poker Players , too.
A HUGE 2019 sees Kenney jump from 8th place in 2018 to top of the list. Previously a Magic: The Gathering player, Kenney transitioned to poker in 2007 and by 2014 he had won his first WSOP bracelet. Kenney claimed several major wins over the years, but 2019 changed everything, bringing over a third of the Mega Crusher’s total wins in one night.
Kenney picked up the largest prize in poker tournament history, over $20 million, for taking second place at the Triton Million in 2019.
What his winnings could buy
Top 3 Biggest Tournament Wins
€1,050,000 No Limit Hold'em - Triton Million (Runner-Up)
€100,000 No Limit Hold'em - Super High Roller Eight MaxPoker Stars Championship
$100,000 No Limit Hold'em - Super High Roller 8-Handed PCA
Formerly 1st place on this list, Justin Bonomo's career in poker started at 16, when he impressively transformed a $500 deposit at Paradise Poker into a huge $10,000 pot. A few years later, he became the youngest player to feature at a televised final table event taking home $40,815.
Since then, Bonomo has won first place at over 20 events including the 2012 EPT Grand Final and the 2018 WSOP Big One for One Drop. 2018 saw ZeeJustin take $20 million in winnings across three tournaments.
What his winnings could buy
Top 3 Biggest Tournament Wins
$1,000,000 No Limit Hold'em - The Big One for One Drop WSOP
$300,000 No Limit Hold'em Super High Roller Bowl
HK$2,000,000 + 100,000 No Limit Hold'em Super High Roller Bowl China
Named by the Global Poker Index as the player of the decade from 2004-2013, and winning WSOP Player of the Year in the first and last years of that decade, Kid Poker was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2014.
The Canadian currently holds six World Series of Poker bracelets, two World Poker Tour titles and seven cashes for $1 million or more, none larger than the $8.28 million he took for 2nd place at the Big One for One Drop at the 2014 WSOP. He's also the only player to win World Series bracelets in Las Vegas, Europe, and Australia.
What his winnings could buy
Top 3 Biggest Tournament Wins
$1,000,000 No Limit Hold'em - The Big One for One Drop WSOP (Runner-Up)
$300,000 No Limit Hold'em Super High Roller Bowl
$15,000 + 300 No Limit Hold'em Five-Diamond World Poker Classic
Seidel began his career before the internet poker boom, first making a name for himself with a second-place finish at the 1988 WSOP Main Event. His knockout hand was even immortalized in the movie 'Rounders'.
The New Yorker has won 8 WSOP bracelets and was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2010. His career year came in 2011, when he took home more than $6.5 million, including two wins in less than a week – putting him number 1 on the all-time money list. He remains the only player to win over $5 million in multiple years (2011, 2016, 2017).
What his winnings could buy
Top 3 Biggest Tournament Wins
$250,000 Super High Roller No Limit Hold'em Aussie Millions Poke Championship
$300,000 No Limit Hold'em Super High Roller Bowl
€98,000 + 2,000 No Limit Hold'em EPT
The man they call Cowboy Dan has made quite the name for himself in a surprisingly short space of time. He made a splash as far back as 2014 when he picked up over $2 million at the Bellagio Super High Roller $100,000. Despite never picking up a WSOP bracelet, playing little and often is the way for Smith. He never breaches the $5 million mark but has accumulated over $36 million in prize money!
What his winnings could buy
Top 3 Biggest Tournament Wins
WSOP $1 million Big One for One Drop
WSOP $111,111 No Limit Hold'em High Roller for One Drop (Runner-Up)
Bellagio Super High Roller $100,000
British player Stephen Chidwick saw the run of his life between December 2018 and August 2019, with his biggest prizes to date being won during that period. In fact, despite winning tournaments as far back as 2013, it is from 2018 onwards that made Chidwick prolific.
It’s easy to see why ‘Stevie444’, as he is known online (with over 2,000 online cashes), is a new name on this list, but the way recent years have gone, it doesn’t look likely he’ll leave it any time soon.
What his winnings could buy
Top 3 Biggest Tournament Wins
£ 1,050,000 No Limit Hold'em - Triton Million for Charity
$ 25,000 Pot Limit Omaha - High Roller 8-Handed
Bellagio $300,000 No Limit Hold'em
Known as: Silent Assassin
A self-confessed convert to online poker after seeing Chris Moneymaker win big in 2003, David Peters has gone on to have his own impressive career. The Silent Assassin is one of the most prolific tournament players and numerous successes have seen his name placed among the greats, despite his relatively young age (he was born in 1987).
Despite only winning two bracelets (2016 and 2020), Peters has bagged himself over 50 cash finishes in the WSOP alone along with making it to eight final tables.
What his winnings could buy
Top 3 Biggest Tournament Wins
$196,000 + 4,000 No Limit Hold'em WPT
€95,000 + 5,000 No Limit Hold'em - Super High Roller WSOPE
$500,000 No Limit Hold'em Super High Roller Bowl
German high roller Fedor Holz has seen a meteoric rise to fame with 2016 being a huge year for the young player. The 2016 season saw Holz pick up his first WSOP bracelet with his win in the $111,111 No Limit Hold'em for One Drop, just weeks after he secured 2nd place at the Super High Roller Bowl.
And his winnings continue to grow thanks to a brilliant 2nd place cash win in the 2018 WSOP that saw him take home $6 million.
What his winnings could buy
Top 3 Biggest Tournament Wins
$1,000,000 No Limit Hold'em - The Big One for One Drop WSOP
$111,111 No Limit Hold'em - High Roller for One Drop WSOP
$300,000 No Limit Hold'em Super High Roller Bowl
Known as the Tiger Woods of poker, Ivey won his first WSOP bracelet in 2000 and went on to win nine more. He's also bagged cash wins of $1 million or over on seven different occasions.
Ivey spent several months away from the poker limelight after Black Friday but returned in style by placing first in the Aussie Millions $250,000 Challenge in January 2012. He also went on to become the first two-time winner of the event in 2014, the $3.5 million prize being the biggest win of his career.
What his winnings could buy
Top 3 Biggest Tournament Wins
$250,000 No Limit Hold'em - $250,000 Challenge Aussie Millions Poker Championship
$250,000 No Limit Hold'em - $250,000 Challenge Aussie Millions Poker Championship
$245,000 + 5,000 - The LK Boutique Challenge Aussie Millions Poker Championship
After stumbling across online poker while studying and realizing he had the skill for cards in 2006, Koon is now one of the most successful live tournament players in poker. In 2009 he won a SCOOP tournament for $302,000 on PokerStars and then went on to win the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open for $1,000,000 in 2016. Since then, Koon’s focus has been on high roller tournaments as he regards them as more profitable.
He won $1,079,443 at the Triton series’ events in 2018, closely followed by his big win at the Short Deck Triton Super High Roller tournament in Montenegro, where he pocketed $3,579,836.
Famous Canadian Gamblers
Traditionally Canada has not been known for its gambling culture. Over recent years though with the poker craze going wild, together with a government adopting less rigorous regulation on gaming than its neighbor, it’s slowly become one. We’ve gathered a list of the top 20 Canada-based online and offline gamblers (who were either born or immigrated to Canada), and wrote a bit about their fascinating life stories.
Feel free to share the list, and send us additional suggestions via our contact form. Aspiring to become professional gamblers? Read this.
1) Guy Laliberté
Born in Quebec City, Quebec (1959).
Type of Gambler: Professional Poker Player
Why does he deserve a spot on this list: Guy is a late bloomer in the poker world because he ironically spent the majority of his life forming Cirque du Soleil. In April 2007, he won $696,220 at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. What makes his poker career legendary is that he also gives make winnings to charity.
That being said what really made Laliberté the respected philanthropic gentleman that he is, was his Big One charity outreach in which he bought in $1 million dollars for charity in the 2012 World Series of Poker. Part of these proceeds were donated to the One Drop Foundation. A total of 48 players played with a total donation of $5,333,328 for charity.
2) Evelyn Ng
Born in Toronto in 1975
Type of Gambler: Professional Poker Player both live and online.
Why She Deserves a Spot on This List: Since 2010, her total live tournament winnings has exceeded $375,000. She became famous in 2003 after beating several American poker players including: Annie Duke, Jennifer Harman, and Kathy Liebert. She also dated Daniel Negreanu for a time.
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3) Daniel Negreanu
Born in: Toronto, Ontario (1974).
Type of gambler: Professional poker player – online, and off-line in both tournaments and cash game.
Why does he deserve a spot on the list: The most accomplished Canadian poker player with 6 WSOP bracelets, 2 WPT wins, and Card Player Magazine player of the year for 2004.
Beyond his tremendous success on the live felt, he has also done remarkably online, which has won him a place of honor as the most recognizable representative in Team Poker Stars (https://www.pokerstars.uk/team-pokerstars/daniel-negreanu/).
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4) John Lefebvre
Born in: Calgary in 1951.
Type of Gambler: Primarily online sector.
Why Does He Deserve a Spot on This List: John Lefebvre deserves an “administrative spot” on this list in that he started his empire first in other business ventures. However, he founded NETeller – the premiere online money transfer facility for the online gambling sector. He is also perhaps the only person on this list who has been arrested.
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5) David Baazov
Born in Israel in 1980. He was raised in Montreal, Quebec.
Type of Gambler: Online Gambling
Why He Deserves a Spot on This List: Baazov is currently the CEO of the Amaya Gaming Group, which is the largest online gambling company in the world. He made Canada a powerhouse in the industry when when he purchased Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars the two largest online poker rooms. In 2014, Forbes published an article about Baazov calling him the young king of online gambling.
Short Bio: One of six children Baazov was born into an Orthodox Jewish family in Israel. He moved to Canada when he was one and excelled in mathematics in school. He became disinterested with Judaism at 16 and upon telling his parents was thrown out of the house. He received his big break when he received a large project to work with computers in Montreal’s public library for $20,000,000. At this point, he decided to get into software development and created an electronic poker table that allowed people to play poker without a human dealer. This is how Amaya was born and has continued to make Baazov enough capital to purchase his stake in the online gambling business.
6) Calvin Ayre
Born in: Lloydminster, Canada in 1961.
Type of Gambler: Mainly an online gambler.
Why He Deserves a Spot on This List: The founder of Bodog, he also purchased slots.com for a record $5,500,000 price.
Short Bio: Ayre is known for his outlandish public behavior and for being a bold businessman that adores making headlines. Some call Ayre the original king of Canadian online gambling as he started Bodog, now one of the top online gaming sites in the industry. Ever since Forbes published an article on his extravagant purchasing style in 2006, Ayre presence has soared.
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7) Michael McDonald
Born in Ontario in 1989.
Type of Gambler: Live Poker Player and online.
Short Bio:McDonald started playing poker in the 11th grade. He began making his money online and quickly earnt enough to buy a Lamborghini. He won his first tournament at 18 and now at 24 is a leading player at live poker tournaments.
8) Mike Watson
Born in St. John’s in 1984
Type of Gambler: Online Poker Player and Live Poker Player.
Why He Deserves a Spot on This List: Mike gained popularity in 2008 when he won $1,630,000 at the Bellagio Cup. He boasts $6,700,000 in lifetime table earnings.
Short Bio: Mike has made a great deal of money at both online and live tournaments. As of 2014, the total amount of money that he has won in live tournaments is $7,200,000. Additionally he finished 3rd in the European Poker Tour with a cash out of $422,750, and in 2016 he won the first event of the European Poker Tour.
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9) Gavin Smith
Born in Ontario in 1968.
Type of Gambler: Live Poker Player.
Why He Deserves a Spot on This List: Smith’s expertise is Texas Hold’em. He has won and ranked quite impressively in many poker championships around the world and has won several poker bracelets. His earnings overall exceed $5,300,000 without his TV appearances.
Short Bio: Smith began playing poker at the age of 26 with his parents. Shortly after, he became a poker dealer and began to compete in tournaments. He quickly built enough of a bankroll to put his career as a taxi driver and golf course caretaker aside to win several world poker tournaments.
In May 2005, he won first prize in the World Poker Tour of $1,128,278. He placed 471st in the 2005 World Series of Poker and 592nd in the 2007 World Series of Poker. Additionally, he earned his first WSOP bracelet in the Mixed Hold’Em $2,500 Event.
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10) Sorel Mizzi
Born in Toronto in 1986.
Type of Gambler: Online and Live Poker player.
Why He Deserves a Spot on This List: He boasts winnings greater than $2,600,000 in live poker winnings. He placed 15th at the World Poker Championship at the Bellagio in 2007.
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11) Robert Cheung
Born in Hong Kong in 1970. He then moved to Vancouver.
Type of Gambler: Online and Live Poker Player.
Why He Deserves a Spot on This List: He earned a WSOP bracelet by beating Richard Murnick in a legendary poker match and has since earnt roughly $1,500,000 in live winnings with his online winnings exceeding $2,000,000.
Short Bio: Robert Cheung made headlines when he beat Richard Murnick, whilst his real notoriety came when he created an infamous online screen name called “Runninggreat.” He is known for being the first player to beat an opponent in three consecutive hands in live tournaments. In recent years, Cheung has fostered his online presence more than his live poker winnings.
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12) Jonathan Duhamel
Born in Boucherville, Quebec, Canada in 1987.
Type of Gambler: Live Poker Player.
Why He Deserves a Spot on This List: Duhamel is best known for winning the $8,900,000 WSOP prize in 2010.
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13) Brian Molony
Born in Toronto.
Type of Gambler: Live Poker Player and Embezzler Extraordinaire.
Why He Deserves a Spot on This List: Even though many of the gamblers have been above board on this list, sadly there is still some crossover between poker and the criminal world – the reason why Molony is the poster child for the Canadian gambler gone rogue.
Short Bio: Brian Molony is infamous for embezzling millions from the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, the second largest bank in Canada to satisfy his gambling habit. On the outside Molony was a cheap man who barely tipped at restaurants; however, he was busy embezzling $10,200,000 to gamble on his weekends. He created a shell company to deposit money to Las Vegas Casinos to pay his debt at the gambling tables. Molony was finally caught at Caesars Atlantic City Hotel-Casino and pleaded guilty to embezzlement in 1983. Later a movie about his exploits was created called ”Owing Mahowny”.
14) Shawn Buchanan
Born in Vancouver, British Columbia
Type of Gambler: Online and Live Poker Player
Why He Deserves a Spot on This List: Buchanan won the World Poker Tour with a cash out of $768,775. In 2011, he was on the leader board among the world leaders of the poker players of the year point rankings.
Short Bio: Buchanan made a name for himself in the poker world when he won his first tournament in 2007 with a cash out of $768,775. Since then, he has made major waves in both the online and live poker world. Some of his more top stats are: acquiring live tournament winnings in excess of $4,450,000 and placing in the top 10 on both the 2010 and 2011 WSOP. Additionally, Buchanan has become an online poker guru online with his screen name of “buck21” on PokerStars. His highest cash out with that screen name has been $97,262 for the first place.
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15) Brad Booth
Born in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1976.
Type of Poker Player: Online and Live Poker Player.
Why He Deserves a Spot on This List: In 2009, his live poker tournament winnings exceeded $710,000. Additionally, he has appeared on Poker After Dark.
Short Bio: Booth made a name for himself by appearing in High Stakes Poker and Poker After Dark. Soon after, he went by the nickname of “Yukon Brad” in the poker world. Booth was involved in a scandal in which he was supposedly cheated out of $2,000,000. Since this transpired he has been on a losing streak that many poker observers believe is the end of his career. That being said Booth had a top career for fourteen years and was praised for being one of the best poker players in the world by Phil Hellmuth.
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16) Isabelle Mercier
Born in Victoriaville, Quebec in 1975
Type of Gambler: Live Poker Player
Why She Deserves a Spot on This List: Isabelle is a unique pick as first started out as a lawyer going to the Université de Montréal before getting a Master’s Degree in Paris. To fund her studies she worked as the Poker room manager at the Aviation Club de France and learned a few tricks of her own, mainly, how to win!
Short Bio: Isablle Mercier is one of my favorites on this list giving up a secure career as a lawyer and beating men at poker! She first turned heads when she won the 2004 World Poker Tour for the $25,000 cash prize and was given the nickname “No Mercy.” Since then, she won 10th place at the 2005 European Poker Tour in Monte Carlo and won the PokerStars Ante Up For Africa Charity Tournament in Monte Carlo in 2009. Mercier has made several documentaries and was recently hired by BetClic as a consultant for their online betting site.
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17) Mark Radoja
Born in Guelph, Ontario, Canada in 1985.
Type of Gambler: Live Poker Player
Why He Deserves a Spot on This List: Radoja possesses live tournament winnings exceeding $1,500,000.
Short Bio: Radoja has won a great deal of his earnings at the WSOP. To date he has won two WSOP bracelets: $5,000 No Limit Hold’em – Shootout for $436,568 and $10,000 No Limit Hold’em – Heads-Up for $336,190. What makes Radoja a candidate for this list is that of his $1,500,000 in reported winnings, an impressive $1,469,638 has come from the WSOP.
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18) Monica Reeves
Born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada in 1972
Type of Gambler: Professional Blackjack Player
Why She Deserves a Spot on This List: Her live tournament Blackjack winnings exceed $40,000 and she is endorsed on a CBS Blackjack tournament show.
Short Bio: Monica is a former fashion model who began her poker career in 2005. She was tutored by the industry expert Jim Worth. What got her noticed was when she placed 114th in the Aruba Classic. Her fame further increased when she won a big Blackjack Tournament televised by CBS called the Ultimate Blackjack Tour. This landed her a number of TV endorsements.
19) Jamie Staples
Born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in 1991
Type of Gambler: Online and Live Poker Player
Why He Deserves a Spot on This List: Jamie Staples carved himself a niche in low-stakes poker, which maked him a major player for PokerStaples. Jamie Staples is a rising poker star to keep an eye on.
Short Bio: Jamie Staples got his fame by specializing on low stakes online poker for Twitch.tv. Jamie Staples is a young celebrity to watch with his career just beginning to blossom. He was voted the largest poker streamer in 2016. He is just beginning to dabble in the live poker tournaments and has won $9,000 to date. However, he also already won winnings to exceed $550,000 on his online poker tournaments. It is likely that we are going to see a lot of Jamie Staples in the future.
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20) Peter Jetten
Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1985.
Type of Gambler: Online and Live Poker Player.
Why He Deserves a Spot on This List: To date, he has over $2,000,000 in live poker tournament winnings and just received an endorsement deal from Full Tilt Poker.
Short Bio: Peter Jetten won his first online poker tournament while he was attending the University of Ontario. He decided to drop out of school early to pursue his poker career. This proved to be a great investment for Jetten as he finished 8th at the WSOP Tournament in 2006. In 2008, he placed 2nd to Marty Smyth in the $10,000 World Championship Pot Limit Omaha Event which had a cash out of $500,000. Shortly after, he earned 4th place in the High Roller Event of European Poker Championships in London for $300,000.
Peter Jetten’s impressive career was bolstered by his remarkable online success. In 2004, he placed two bets totaling $75 and turned that $75 into $100,000 in one year. To date, he has netted $650,000 in online tournaments. It is likely that we will see even more success from Jetten in the future.
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That concludes our selection of the 20 most famous Canadians gamblers. Be sure to check other popular pages on our website. If you’re looking to start playing online, check out our beginners guide and find the top Canadian casinos on our homepage.
So, let's define, what was the most valuable conclusion of this review: Top 10 Canadian Female Poker Players of All Time Poker has always been one of the most played games in brick-and-mortar casinos, but it boomed in popularity after several televised events, such at The 15 Best Poker Players of All Time in Canada
Contents of the article
- Top 10 Canadian Female Poker Players of...
- 1. Kristen Bicknell
- 2. Xuan Liu
- 3. Isabelle Mercier
- 4. Kara Scott
- 5. Carla Sabini
- 6. Louise Francoeur
- 7. Evelyn Ng
- 8. Darlene Lee
- 9. Thi Hoa Nguyen
- 10. Pam MacNaughton
- Best Poker Players of All Time
- Sean Chaffin
- 12 Top Poker Players...
- 1. Justin Bonomo -...
- 2. Doyle Brunson – Texas...
- 3. Johnny Moss – Grandfather of...
- 4. Phil Hellmuth – The Poker...
- 5. Phil Ivey – The Tiger Woods...
- 6. Stu Ungar – The Comeback...
- 7. Daniel Negreanu – Kid...
- 8. Erik Seidel – Sly
- 9. Bryn Kenney – Mega...
- 10. Stephen Chidwick –...
- 11. Dan Smith – Cowboy...
- 12. Fedor Holz –...
- Who Are the Top 15 Online Poker Players...
- Sean Chaffin
- Best 15 online poker players...
- 1 – Viktor Blom
- 2 – Tom Dwan
- 3 – Dan “Jungleman12”...
- 4– Phil Ivey
- 5 – Patrik Antonius
- 6 – Ben Tollerene
- 7 – Fedor Holz
- 8 – Phil Galfond
- 9 – Di Dang
- 10 – Ben Sulsky
- 11 – Bertrand...
- 12 – Chris Moorman
- 13 – Mike McDonald
- 14 – Martin Jacobson
- 15 – David Benefield
- Top 10 Poker Players by Winnings (2021)
- What his winnings could buy
- What his winnings could buy
- What his winnings could buy
- What his winnings could buy
- What his winnings could buy
- What his winnings could buy
- What his winnings could buy
- What his winnings could buy
- What his winnings could buy
- Famous Canadian Gamblers
- 1) Guy Laliberté
- 2) Evelyn Ng
- 3) Daniel Negreanu
- 4) John Lefebvre
- 5) David Baazov
- 6) Calvin Ayre
- 7) Michael McDonald
- 8) Mike Watson
- 9) Gavin Smith
- 10) Sorel Mizzi
- 11) Robert Cheung
- 12) Jonathan Duhamel
- 13) Brian Molony
- 14) Shawn Buchanan
- 15) Brad Booth
- 16) Isabelle Mercier
- 17) Mark Radoja
- 18) Monica Reeves
- 19) Jamie Staples
- 20) Peter Jetten
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