Greatest Poker Players of All Time

It takes nerve for great athletes to win big when the stakes are high. That same nerve is even bigger with great poker players.

Some of the greats “on the felt” have backstories that seem pulled right from a Hollywood script.

And like the movies, the greatest poker players of all time include heroes and villains from all over the world.

Born: Nov. 24, 1960

Native country: Israel

Career highlights: 2004 World Poker Tour No Limit Hold ‘Em (champion), 2007 WSOP Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo (champion), 2013 WSOP 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball (champion) 

Earnings: $3.8 million

World Series of Poker bracelets: 4 (2007, 2013, 2015, 2019)

Eli Elezra fought in the Israeli Army before immigrating to the United States and finding fame and fortune in the gambling world.

Elezra learned to play the game in the 1980s and started to compete in World Series of Poker events in the 1990s. In the early 2000s, he came into the spotlight with his appearances on the television show “Poker Stars After Dark” and by winning approximately $1 million at the 2004 Mirage Poker Showdown.

Elezra bet Barry Goldstein $25,000 and got 10-to-1 odds he would win his first WSOP bracelet in 2007. Elezra cashed out for $250,000.

Born: Nov. 21, 1975

Native country: United States

Career highlights: 2003 WSOP Main Event (champion), 2004 WPT Shooting Stars (runner-up), 2011 National Heads Up Poker Tournament (runner-up)

Earnings: $3.7 million 

World Series of Poker bracelets: 1 (2003)

Few players, if any, have done as much for poker’s popularity in their lifetimes as Chris Moneymaker did in just one year.

“The Moneymaker Effect” was a term coined by the media after poker’s explosion in popularity beginning in 2003, when Moneymaker won the World Series of Poker Main Event and $2.5 million grand prize after qualifying via an $86 online satellite tournament.

Moneymaker has been a constant on the international poker scene since his improbable win and was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2019. He still participates in international online poker tournaments held by different online casinos such as Jackpot City, PokerStars, 888Poker, and GGPoker.

Born: Sept. 13, 1965

Native country: United States

Career highlights: 2004 WSOP Omaha High-Low 8/OB (champion), 2004 WSOP Tournament of Champions (champion), 2010 National Heads-Up Poker Championship (champion) 

Earnings: $2.2 million 

World Series of Poker bracelets: 1 (2004)

“The Duchess of Poker” Annie Duke might not be one of the winningest poker players in the world – she’s not even the highest-earning woman of all time — but she’s definitely one of the most well-known players ever.

Duke rose to fame in the early 2000s after working her way up from local games in Billings, Montana, to winning a bracelet at the 2004 WSOP, then becoming the first female winner of the National Heads-Up Poker Championship, where she brought home $500,000.

Duke became even more famous as the runner-up on a season of “Celebrity Apprentice” in 2009. 

Born: March 28, 1977 

Native country: United States

Career highlights: 2006 All In Magazine Player of the Year, 2005 WSOP No Limit Hold ‘Em (champion), 2006 No Limit Hold ‘Em/Rebuys (champion) 

Earnings: $11 million 

World Series of Poker bracelets: 5 (2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007)

Allen Cunningham’s wealth and fame can be directly traced to his stunningly consistent success at the World Series of Poker in the 2000s, when he won five WSOP bracelets in seven years.

The Riverside, California, native is part of an exclusive club of players that have won WSOP bracelets in three consecutive years alongside Johnny Moss, Doyle Brunson, Erik Seidel, Bill Boyd and Gary Berland.

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