Photo Credit: PocketFives
I came up smack in the middle of the "Poker Boom".
It was 2003, I was a junior in high school, and the man with the magic name made it all happen: Chris Moneymaker. We all believed we could be millionaires when Moneymaker - constantly referred to as "The Amateur" - took down the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event in a massive field, one televised on ESPN and announced by the legendary duo of Lon Mceachern and Norman Chad. It was television magic, and novice players all over the world began to think, if Moneymaker could do it, why can't I?
Here we are, nearly 20 years later, and I'm still following poker closely. Looking back on these past couple decades, I feel it's time to really take stock of things. Who are the best of the best? Who stands tall above the rest? Well hell, it's time to dive right in and find out.
THE TOP 10 POKER PLAYERS OF ALL TIME
HONORABLE MENTION
Tom Dwan (currently 36 years old)
Resume:
- $5.5 million in recorded earnings according to Card Player.
- 0 WSOP bracelets.
- Career highlight: Dominating High Stakes Poker at the height of viewer interest.
The Artist Formerly Known As "Durrrr" is an absolute legend in the world of No Limit Texas Hold 'Em (NLH). Though he doesn't have a single WSOP bracelet to his name, Dwan dominated highly-anticipated cash games on both High Stakes Poker and Poker After Dark when those were the coolest poker shows on TV.
Further increasing his allure, at the time Dwan was merely in his early 20s. He represented a youth movement in the world of high stakes poker - one that also included Phil Galfond, Viktor Blom, Patrik Antonius and "Jungleman" Dan Cates - that signified the end of the old guard. Once an experienced player's game, NLH quickly became a young man's game controlled by forward-thinking strategists. Dwan represented the best of that particular period in time.
Where is he now? You can actually find Tom playing the nosebleed games on the outstanding Triton Poker tour, founded by Paul Phua and Richard Yong. Dwan plays Short-Deck Hold 'Em as well as regular Hold 'Em.
Johnny Chan (currently 65 years old)
Resume:
- $7.5 million in recorded earnings.
- 10 WSOP bracelets.
- Career highlight: Stunning Erik Seidel to win the 1988 WSOP Main Event.
Forever immortalized in the greatest poker film of all time, Rounders, Chan was reportedly a joy to work with for both Matt Damon and Ed Norton. In addition to being a good guy and poker coach, Chan has one of the most decorated WSOP resumes of all time.
Unfortunately, in my opinion, he hasn't aged well with the game. As veterans like Seidel, Phil Hellmuth and Daniel Negreanu continue to study and evolve with the times, Chan sits back and plays tighter and tighter. There's been no versatility to his game in recent years, making him predictable and a boring TV player.
Jason Koon (currently 37 years old)
Resume:
- $41 million in recorded earnings.
- 1 WSOP bracelet.
- Career highlight: Named Ambassador for both GG Poker and Triton Poker.
"The Ambassador" is the epitome of a good guy. He plays the game straight up, seemingly gets along with everyone and crushes with big-time results. He's seventh all-time in earnings, but doesn't quite have the WSOP balance to crack my top 10... yet.
THE TOP 10 POKER PLAYERS OF ALL TIME
10. Justin Bonomo (currently 37 years old)
Resume:
- $60 million in recorded earnings - No. 1 of all time.
- 3 WSOP bracelets.
- Career highlight: Dominating the entire poker world in 2018.
Purely on paper, Justin Bonomo might be the greatest poker player of all time. At just 37 years of age, he's already the winningest player in recorded history. But... well... there's always a but.
Daniel Negreanu has openly blasted Bonomo as a cheater. This running board talks about the times Bonomo has actually been caught cheating. I even watched a recent telecast where legendary announcers Ali Nejad and Nick Schulman recounted a time they "thought" Bonomo was caught cheating during their broadcast. There are just too many breadcrumbs, for me. I think No. 10 of all time is a fair enough compromise, all aspects considered.
9. David Peters (currently 35 years old)
Resume:
- $44 million in recorded earnings - No. 6 of all time.
- 4 WSOP bracelets.
- Career highlight: Over a $1 million score from his 4th WSOP win and bracelet.
Out of this entire list - including Tom Dwan, Johnny Chan and Jason Koon in honorable mention - David Peters is undoubtedly the "quiet assassin" of the group. When you watch Peters play, it's nothing too flashy. He's not splashing around like an "Aussie" Matt Kirk or Rui Cao in the Triton circuit; no, Peters is just there - quiet, steady and winning. He's not hugely marketable as an explosive personality, but he is very clearly one of the best - and fastest rising - poker players in the history of the game.
8. Fedor Holz (currently 29 years old)
Resume:
- $38 million in recorded earnings - No. 11 all time.
- 2 WSOP bracelets.
- Career highlight: Dominating 2016 the way Bonomo dominated 2018.
Thirty-eight million in earnings... and this wunderkind isn't even 30 years old yet! Fedor is already one of the most naturally intelligent poker players of all time, and I'm giving him this No. 8 spot because he has a better reputation than Bonomo, despite the latter's impressive resume. When Fedor is on, he steamrolls everybody and simply can't lose.
He did retire once, though, so I docked him one spot. An argument could have been made for him to be No. 7 or 6 on this list.
7. Johnny Moss (passed away at 88)
Resume:
- 9 WSOP bracelets.
- Mentored Doyle Brunson. "Dolly" said Moss was "head and shoulders above everybody else in talent."
- Career highlight: Won the first ever WSOP Main Event.
When I think of the "OG" legends of poker, I immediately think of Tom Preston (better known as "Amarillo Slim"), Brunson and the man I'm ranking at No. 7 all time, Mr. Johnny Moss. Some say Moss was the most fundamentally-sound player in the history of the game. The stories about Johnny go on for days, weeks and years - as well they should. If you want to read like 15 of those anecdotes in one sitting, check out this awesome article from the Sports Illustrated vault.
6. Stu Ungar (passed away at 45)
Resume:
- 5 WSOP bracelets.
- Considered by many to be the greatest card player that ever lived.
- Career highlight: Winning the 1980 WSOP Main Event in dramatic fashion.
Every sport has the player who could have accomplished so much more. Every person has the one who got away. Stu Ungar is the one who got away from the poker world, passing away at just 45 years old before he could solidify his position as the GOAT. "Unfinished business" doesn't even cut it.
On pure, natural talent, many say Stuey was the greatest to ever play. An opinion like that is always subjective, but so many believe it to be true. Who are we to doubt it?
5. Erik Seidel (currently 63 years old)
Resume:
- $43 million in recorded earnings - No. 5 all time.
- 9 WSOP bracelets.
- Career highlight: Won more than $6.5 million... in just 1 year! (2011)
As I mentioned earlier, the game has pretty much passed Johnny Chan by. And what happened to guys like Scotty Nguyen, Joe Hachem, Allen Cunningham, Men Nguyen and Mike Matusow? As the ruthless, hardworking internet players made their collective rise, many of the seasoned veterans faded out of top-tier competition... but not Erik Seidel.
Seidel's the versatile, flexible one - the one who can play all different games, against all different ages and still come out on top no matter what the circumstances. You could argue that Seidel is the most adaptable player in the history of the game. I have the utmost respect for this underrated poker legend.
4. Doyle Brunson (currently 89 years old)
Resume:
- $6 million in recorded earnings.
- 10 WSOP bracelets.
- Career highlight: Consistently teaching the youngsters a lesson on High Stakes Poker
For most who have been around long enough, the name "Doyle Brunson" is immediately synonymous with poker. Over time, I think it's fair to think of him as the permanent poster boy (man) for the game. In his respective field, he's like Michael Jordan or Wayne Gretzky.
And while "Texas Dolly" has a strong resume accumulated over many decades, what's most astounding about him is the way he's been able to hang with the young guns over the past 20 years. As poker has risen to prominence in the internet/social media/streaming age, Dolly has continued to play well against the likes of Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan and more of the like.
A true legend never fades. Doyle Brunson stays sharp as a tack.
3. Daniel Negreanu (currently 48 years old)
Resume:
- $49 million in recorded earnings - No. 3 all time.
- 6 WSOP bracelets.
- Career highlight: Became the youngest WSOP bracelet winner of all time in 1998.
Danny and I once had a legit Twitter war - see the full article here - but it was all in good fun. I happen to like Daniel Negreanu a lot - he's always been entertaining during televised games and he may have truly inspired me when he soul read during the WSOP. I patterned my early cash game play after him, opening wider than many would at the time - 5-6 suited, J-10 unsuited, etc. There's no question "Kid Poker" is a pioneer and all-time great.
He was very close to grabbing the top spot on my list, but the resumes of the next two megastars are simply out of this world. Still, I respect Danny for studying and always evolving with the times in poker.
2. Phil Hellmuth (currently 58 years old)
Resume: $25 million in recorded earnings.
- 16 WSOP bracelets - by far the most of all time.
- Career highlight: Winning his 16th WSOP bracelet in 2021. With each victory, the gap widens.
Because of his very impressive lead over the field - 16 bracelets while no one else has reached 11 - I nearly gave the No. 1 overall spot to Mr. Hellmuth. On a personal level, he happens to be one of my favorite players of all time. Others used to poke fun at him on High Stakes Poker and Poker After Dark, but all this legend does is win, win, win.
He's also a surprisingly great guy, too. You could argue he holds two key distinctions: The greatest WSOP player of all time AND the greatest heads-up player. One of the top two players in the history of the game; no doubt.
1. Phil Ivey (currently 45 years old)
Resume:
- $37 million in recorded earnings - 9th all time.
- 10 WSOP bracelets - tied for 2nd all time.
- Career highlight: Beating Borgata for $10 million in a short period of time. (Even if they did settle to get some of it back.)
Wooooooooo.... this was a close one! Ivey's age is what ultimately gets him the crown. Three years younger than Negreanu, he has four more bracelets. Thirteen years younger than Hellmuth, he has time to catch up if he really wants to try.
Then, looking at combinations, Ivey, Negreanu and Seidel are the only three in the top 10 in both career earnings and bracelets. So, Ivey covers all the bases - not to mention the fact that he was considered the most feared player in poker for many years - and he has plenty of prime years left to play.
It was most certainly a tight one... but all things considered, I believe Phil Ivey is the greatest poker player of all time.
John Frascella is a published sports author and sports writer for Razzball. He's currently in his 19th year as a cash game specialist. Follow him on Twitter @LegendSports7 and @LegendPoker7 for all things poker and sports.
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