The Mysterious Origins of Poker

While the exact origins of poker are unknown, most believe it evolved from older card games in the early 1800s in North America. Some theories suggest it originated from the Persian game of As Nas, the French game of poque, or the German game of pochen – all games involving bluffing and betting.

One of the earliest documented mentions of poker appeared in 1834, when Jonathan H. Green chronicled the rules for the “cheating game” frequently played by swindlers traveling on Mississippi riverboats. This version involved 20 cards instead of the standard 52-card deck we use today. By the 1850s, poker spread via steamboats to New Orleans and throughout the South.

The Growth of Draw Poker Variations

During the Civil War, poker continued to expand as soldiers from both the North and South played variations like stud and draw poker to pass the time. Five-card draw emerged as one of the most popular versions, and involved drawing new cards to improve one’s hand.

Later in 1875, the Joker was introduced as a wild card, adding a new element of chance and flexibility to poker hands. This paved the way for new variations like Lowball poker where the lowest hand wins. By the turn of the 20th century, community card games like Texas Hold’em entered the scene, utilizing shared cards that all players could use.

Poker’s Rise in Popularity

While poker was popular before, its appeal grew immensely during the 20th century for several reasons. One of the main reasons is that television and media coverage exposed poker to a wider audience.

The 20th century also saw the appearance of different poker organizations that brought high stakes poker games and bracelet events into the public eye. As poker legends like Doyle Brunson, Johnny Moss, and Amarillo Slim became recognized names worldwide, interest in the game skyrocketed. Books teaching poker strategy also proliferated, improving the overall level of play.

The poker boom really took off in the early 2000s with the introduction of online poker. The accessibility and convenience of playing poker online led to an explosion in participation. Chris Moneymaker’s win in the Main Event after qualifying online further fueled the craze.

Poker in the Modern Era

Today, poker remains extremely popular worldwide both online and in casinos. While Texas Hold’em continues to dominate, mixed game variations like Omaha, Razz, and HORSE have also gained traction. The strategies and mathematics behind optimal poker play are constantly evolving thanks to computer simulation and analysis.

Poker has come far from its humble origins on riverboats. While the fundamentals remain the same, its prevalence across casinos and pop culture is a testament to poker’s lasting appeal. As poker continues to grow in the digital era with live-streamed games and mobile apps, it is clear this classic game has a promising future ahead.

The top 10 poker biographies that I enjoyed reading the most are:

“One of a Kind: The Rise and Fall of Stu Ungar” – Peter Alson & Nolan Dalla

It is without a doubt the best poker biography I have read about one of the best players in history. Ungar is the only player to have won the WSOP Main Event three times in its freezeout format. The authors describe Stu’s incredible life chronologically from his childhood, where he grew up among mobsters, until his death in the Oasis motel in Las Vegas.

“Life’s a Gamble” – Mike Sexton

The legendary commentator of the World Poker Tour passed away in September 2020 and in his biography you can read funny anecdotes with Doyle Brunson, Stu Ungar, Chip Reese, Billy Baxter and Jack Straus, among other legends. He also details the creation of partypoker and the birth of the World Poker Tour.

“Poker Brat” – Phil Hellmuth

Phil is the king of the WSOP with 178 cashes, 13 second place finishes and 16 bracelets. His biography has 49 chapters in which he recounts his difficult adolescence, his first trips to Las Vegas, his relationship with his wife, his life goals and all his triumphs in the World Series of Poker.

“Pulling The Trigger” – Eli Elezra

The Poker Hall of Famer has been playing for 30 years in Las Vegas and has 72 cashes and 5 WSOP bracelets. In his biography — translated from Hebrew into English by Cardplayer Lifestyle founder Robbie Strazynski — you can learn about little-known aspects of his life: his experience in the Israeli army, his first business in Las Vegas and anecdotes of the High Stakes Poker games with Doyle Brunson and other legends.

“Check-raising the Devil” – Mike Matusow

The temperamental Matusow, nicknamed “The Mouth”, has 92 cashes and 4 bracelets at the World Series of Poker. His book features a foreword by Phil Hellmuth and in 29 chapters we can read about his life, his addictions to drugs and his achievements at the tables.

“The Godfather of Poker” – Doyle Brunson

Doyle needs little introduction: two-time WSOP Main Event champion, winner of 10 bracelets, Hall of Fame inductee and author of poker’s first best-seller: “Super System”. His excellent biography has 52 chapters and is divided into parts: Texas, Las Vegas and More Adventures.

“Blood Aces: The Wild Ride of Benny Binion” – Doug J. Swanson

Benny Binion is one of the most interesting characters in the history of poker and Las Vegas. The gangster created an empire in Texas and moved to Las Vegas where he was the creator of the World Series of Poker in 1970. The excellent book is divided into three chronological parts: 1904-1946, 1947-1953 and 1954-1989.

“Moorman” – Chris Moorman

Chris is fourth in the ranking of players with the highest online earnings with $21.5 million as of this writing. On the live circuit he has earned $6.5 million with titles at the WPT and WSOP. In his biography we can read about his beginnings with bridge and pool, his experiences with staking and his trips to Las Vegas, including a night in jail.

“For Richer, For Poorer” – Victoria Coren

Vicky Coren was the first woman to win an main event on the European Poker Tour as well as the first player to win two European Poker Tour Main Events. Her memoir has 25 chapters and is divided into four parts. Though she’s out of poker now, it’s still a great, highly entertaining read. The digital edition costs only $1.99.

“Once a Gambler” – Miikka Anttonen

We close our top 10 list with a very entertaining biography that relatively few know about in the poker world; that of Finnish pro Miikka Anttonen, who has won $2 million online and over $286,000 live. There he tells about his beginnings in online poker where he won millions when he was very young. It is a trilogy that has the first two parts published, while we still await the third part.

Honorable mentions

If you have already read our top 10 poker biography recommendations, or if you are looking for more to check out, you might naturally consider using your leisure time for a different activity, such as playing at tax-free online casinos without registration. Alternatively, there are some “honorable mentions” of other poker biographies that you can read:

• “Geeking, Grifting and Gambling Through Las Vegas” – David Sklansky
• “Molly’s Game” – Molly Bloom
• “Amarillo Slim in a world of fat people” – Amarillo Slim
• “Devilfish” – Dave Ulliott
• “Johnny Moss: Champion of Champions” – Don Jenkins
• “4 Bullets” – Tyler Nals
• “The Hand I Played: A Poker Memoir” – David Spanier
• “Poker Tilt” – Dutch Boyd
• “Volatile” – Simkha Blank
• “4 Bullets” – Tyler Nals
• “All In” – Jerry Yang
• “Pizza, Pasta and Poker” – Vince Burgio
• “Confessions of a Winning Poker Player” – Jack King
• “Kingkrab: From Homeless to Poker Pro” – King Krab
• “From Feeding Tube to Final Table” – Jim Petzing
• “Cowboys, Gamblers & Hustlers” – Byron “Cowboy” Wolford
• “Hats & Eyeglasses: A Memoir” – Martha Frankel
• “Poker Face: A Girlhood Among Gamblers” – Katy Lederer
• “The Game of Life and Poker” – Noah T. Watry
• “Forty Years a Gambler on the Mississippi” – George H. Devol (you can download it for free on Amazon)

Moreover, former poker journalist and now player Kristy Arnett Moreno is currently writing a book about her story that will talk about risk, love and poker.

***Thanks for reading! Consider RT if you liked it

This story is part of my book which is a memoir about risk, love, and poker. Trying desperately to finish the first draft (it’s been years). I’m thinking about doing a prop bet of some sort. Contact me if interested

— Kristy Arnett Moreno (@KristyArnett) October 10, 2022

Of course, there are also plenty of people in the poker world whose life stories would make for great biographies. These haven’t yet been written, but if they were to be, we’re sure they’d be fantastic.

Players:

• Daniel Negreanu: The world’s most popular player with live earnings of $49.5 million
• Erik Seidel: Successfully playing and winning on the live circuit for 34 years
• Phil Ivey: Long considered to be the best player in the world
• Jennifer Harman: Winning player for 25 years and was part of the consortium that faced banker Andy Beal
• Huck Seeed: Winner of the Main Event 1996 and holder of 4 WSOP bracelets
• Antonio Esfandiari: The magician who won the inaugural $1 million buy in Big One For One Drop
• Scotty Nguyen: 1998 Main Event Champion and 5-time bracelet winner
• Billy Baxter: Stu Ungar’s backer who owns 7 WSOP bracelets
• “Miami” John Cernuto: Holds the all-time record with almost 600 live tournament cashes and counting!

Industry:

• Jack Binion: Benny’s son witnessed almost all of WSOP history
• Eric Drache: He was the creator of satellites and introduced great innovations in live tournaments
• Linda Johnson: Player, journalist, consultant, Card Player Cruises owner and one of the founders of the WPT
• Mori Eskandari: Producer for 20 years of the most popular poker TV shows
• Jack McClelland: Executive and tournament director for 40 years

If you made it this far you now have several book recommendations for your next read. I invite you to put social media and Netflix aside for a while and immerse yourself in the pages of a good poker biography, which is one of life’s little pleasures in my opinion.

These days, it’s far easier to learn how to play poker, Texas Hold’em in particular, at sites online like casinotipspro and other places around the internet. The fact is that far more knowledge is readily available in the modern world at people’s fingertips versus back in the old days when you had to find a poker book or have someone teach you the game.

In 1967, a group of Texas card players, including Crandell Addington, Doyle Brunson, and Amarillo Slim, were visiting in Las Vegas and enjoyed the game. Compared to draw poker, in which betting occurred twice during a hand, in Hold’em you bet four times. And strategy played a bigger role in Hold ‘em. This they liked.

The World Series of Poker

Poker pro Tom Moore established a “Gambling Fraternity Convention” in Las Vegas in the late 1960s. Originally, a San Antonio, Texas businessman, Moore was part owner of the Holiday Hotel and Casino in Reno. At the group’s second convention in 1969, a tournament was held with Hold’em as one of the games played. The following year, Benny and Jack Binion purchased the rights to the convention and renamed the tournament the World Series of Poker (WSOP), with no-limit Hold’em as the main event. The WSOP started with only a handful of players, but by 1982 there were over 100 entrants. The WSOP has obviously continued to grow from there.

Hold ‘Em in Books, TV and Movies

As the WSOP grew, featuring Hold’em as the main event, a number of poker books became available for players looking to learn more about the game. Doyle Brunson’s Super/System was published in 1978. In 1983, Al Alvarez’ The Biggest Game in Town focused on the WSOP and stimulated the publication of other poker books and widely read magazines, introducing Hold’em to a growing audience.

READ MORE: Five Books to Help You Learn TheHistory of Poker

U.S. interest in Texas Hold’ em beyond Texas and Nevada also began to grow in the 1980s. California card rooms offered draw games, but Hold ’em was prohibited under a statute that made illegal the poker game of “stud-horse” (no longer being played). In 1988, Hold ’em was declared legally distinct from stud-horse in Tibbetts vs. Van de Kamp. This decision regarded Hold ’em as a game of skill. Almost immediately, card rooms across the state began to offer Texas Hold ’em.

After a visit to Las Vegas, bookmakers Terry Rogers and Liam Flood introduced Texas Hold ‘em to European card players in the early 1980s. This nicely completed the cycle that started centuries earlier when poker was first introduced into the U.S. by European colonists.

A number of movies were produced prominently featuring Texas Hold ‘em, starting in 1998 with Rounders, starring Edward Norton and Matt Damon. Several other poker movies followed.

Hold’em tournaments were televised starting in the late 1970s, but became really popular starting in 1999 when hidden lipstick cameras were introduced to show players’ hole cards on the Late Night Poker TV show, and in 2003 when the World Poker Tour introduced lipstick cameras.

Chris Moneymaker and Greg “Fossilman” Raymer

Also in 2003, the WSOP experienced the unexpected victory of Chris Moneymaker, a recreational player who earned his buy-in to the tournament by winning an online tournament. This win by a non-professional player resulted in an outpouring of interest in the game of Hold ’em – and in online poker. Imagine, even a rank novice could become a world champion! And then, a year later, adding to the excitement, Greg “Fossilman” Raymer, another recreational player, took the 2004 WSOP Main Event.

Today, millions enjoy Texas Hold’em, and its future looks bright.

Robert, in the number two seat, asks “Who do you want to meet the most?”

I grin, happy to play along. “My ultimate dream is to meet Doyle Brunson. But Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, and Vince Van Patten would be amazing, too. It’s not very likely.”

“You never know,” Robert replies.

Building My Poker Career with Doyle Brunson

I’ve been watching poker’s stars on ESPN for more than 20 years now. They are my ultimate poker heroes. Doyle Brunson, who wrote Super System and Super System 2, is why I became a professional poker player in 2002. Poker was a hobby until I read those books. I started playing at age eight. In my early 20s, I was the ultimate recreational player, playing home games at other people’s houses for low stakes. While I had some natural skill, I hadn’t considered trying to make real money playing.

Poker in 2005 wasn’t glamorous or respected in Indiana, where I lived, and Doyle helped me see poker in a whole new way. The bar circuit is where I became a tournament player. I lost count of how many final tables I made, along with a few big wins. I cut my tournament teeth in some of the most grueling environments you can imagine. Most of them are places no female in her right mind should be. Doyle even prepared me for that.

I lost count of how many men told me I didn’t belong at a poker table. Thanks to Doyle, I knew better. Besides live tournaments, I was playing a lot of online poker. I won a seat to the 2007 WSOP Main Event via an Absolute Poker satellite tournament, beating thousands of players, but couldn’t go because I was pregnant.

Doyle changed my life. Phil, Daniel, and Vince all made it feel possible to be a winner. Thanks to them all, that’s what I became, time and time again. When other people told me I couldn’t, I looked at them and said, “Watch me.” That’s why I took my chance finally — 15 years after winning a seat to the WSOP Main Event — to play in the WPT World Championship series. Little did I know, I would have a one-of-a-kind experience.

A WPT Meetup Game (MUG) to Remember

A few minutes later, a voice comes over the speakers, telling us that the WPT ambassadors have arrived and Matt Savage — THE Matt Savage — begins announcing. He explains that during the meet-up, every time you go all in, win or lose, you’ll receive a ticket to the drawing for a seat to the $15 million guaranteed Main Event. They’re giving four away. The room erupts in cheers and clapping so loud you can’t even hear Matt. My heart is like a kangaroo in my chest, jumping hard and fast.

We see Tony Dunst, in his trademark gray suit, head to the table in front of us. A tall blonde man in a white t-shirt heads toward us and I freeze. Is that Vince Van Patten? It can’t be! He greets the table, and I’d know that voice anywhere. It’s him!

Playing Against Vince Van Patten

Vince sits down, buys in for the maximum, which I can cover with my stack, and I’m so star-struck, I’m tongue-tied. I have to be dreaming! I’m in the number nine seat and I can almost reach out to touch him. He’s really tan and even more handsome in person. We start playing and Vince asks everyone where we’re from. I volunteer first that I’m from San Antonio, Texas, and we go around the table. There are players from the UK, Asia, and the US.

Our play relaxes as everyone settles down and into a comfortable, chatty vibe. Vince is a nice guy and I’m watching him through my sunglasses intently. The rest of the players have disappeared — Vince is who I’m here to play and I’m determined to get involved in hands with him. There are a few light skirmishes, but Vince folds most of the time. No one is giving him any easy wins, least of all me, that’s for sure!

Then, Vince raises to $25. I look down at pocket queens. Seats six, seven, and eight all call, so I raise to $150. I watch Vince as he eyes me, looking for clues, but I’m giving nothing away. His eyes drop to my chip stack and I see him calculating. The action folds to him. He smiles at me and flicks his cards away. Damn it, I think; I wanted some Vince dollars and smile at the Brad Owen-ism. I didn’t expect everyone to fold. It had been a high action table all morning.

The game moves on and the conversation flows. But I’m watching Vince and he seems to be card dead. He’s not getting involved in very many hands he wants to fight it out with. Seems he’s waiting for a good hand, so I put pressure on him, raising often, especially if he’s in a hand. I keep waiting for some aggression, but it seems I’m the most aggressive person at the table. I work up my courage and ask Vince if he’ll let me take his picture. He agrees, and it’s the perfect photo of him with a Wynn poker room chip.

Vince Van Patten is the coolest guy! So much better in person! <3 Can’t believe he sat at my table during the 2022 #MUG at the Wynn! #pokerlife #pokerdreams #bestpokerdayever pic.twitter.com/FKd6Iegllo

— Charity Marie | #Author | Colorist (@Charity_Marie_) December 8, 2022

His easygoing nature makes him so easy to like. We are laughing and joking like old friends when they announce that it’s time for ambassadors to change tables. Vince is kind enough to sign a chip for me and away he moves along to his next table. We’re all sad, but the table enthusiastically thanks him as he leaves. What an amazing session, and it was over in a blink! I could have hung out with him all day.

The Greatest of All Time Comes to Our Table

A few moments later, a crowd descends on our table and we’re all distracted again. There are cameras, boom mics, cell phone cameras everywhere, and people all talking at once. Brad Owen sits in the five seat at a nearby table and Robbi Jade Lew sits at the table right behind us. Then, as if royalty has appeared, the crowd parts and Phil Ivey swaggers over to sit at our table. I am holding two hundred dollar stacks of $5 chips and they explode from my hands to scatter across the table. I’m embarrassed and flustered, but laughing at myself. All I can think is, “Damn, Phil is taller than I realized.”

It seems like an eternity later, I look at Phil, pull my sunglasses down and say rather stupidly, “I am sorry, I just have to say, I fricking love you!” I’m so star-struck I almost can’t speak, a first for me. But it breaks the ice. Everyone laughs, Phil gives me a megawatt grin that melts my knees, and I can’t believe Phil Ivey is at my table! He buys in for $500 and goes all in first hand. The player next to him calls and they flip their cards over. Ivey has pocket fours, and the caller has AhKh. The overcards win the hand. Phil rebuys for the maximum.

Phil is quieter than Vince and seems busy with his phone. A little time goes by. I look down at KdQd. I think, “Bingo. Let’s go.” I look across the table at Phil. The action folds to me and Phil’s on the button. It’s not a great position for me, but I don’t care. I may not get another chance. Phil looks at me, grins again, and says, “Are you ready?”

I can’t contain my glee. “Hell yeah, let’s go!” I say and together we push all our chips in. We flip our cards and he has pocket 10s. My stomach is doing somersaults as I groan. There’s two diamonds in the flop. “Oooh, I’ve got a ton of outs now Phil, you better watch out.” Any king, any queen, any diamond, plus there are some backdoor straight draws, too. He’s still a strong favorite on the blank turn.

Sadly, the river is a brick. Phil scoops the pot, but not before saying, “That was a poker sweat, huh?” I laugh and feel it’s worth it to have lost $1,600 but gain the priceless story of a lifetime. I get my consolation raffle ticket and rebuy for $200. We play a few more hands and I’m having the time of my life. I’ve never been on such a poker high and I never want it to end. Eventually, it does, but I still get a great photo with Phil. He heads to the next table.

I played against @philivey! My KQ of diamonds didn’t hit against his pocket tens but I had a lot of outs! #Pokersweat Just getting to play a hand with him was the chance of a lifetime but then I got a photo and a signed chip! <3 #pokerlife #pokerdreams #GOAT #biggestfan pic.twitter.com/vXdd9lrlGL

— Charity Marie | #Author | Colorist (@Charity_Marie_) December 8, 2022

Matt Savage: All in, All the Time

Matt Savage walks up to our table, grinning, and puts down his very short stack of chips. He barely has time to greet people, and he’s all in for $32. Four of us call. The other players at the table, who didn’t remember that an all-in gets you a raffle ticket, are disappointed. Matt’s not happy to realize he’s outnumbered as we turn the hands up, but he somehow wins the hand. Matt now has around $137 and announces he’s all in again! Now we’re talking!

I have J10 offsuit and figure, why not? As the last to act, I see there are six players including me who all call. That sixth sense of mine indicates things are about to go down. “If anyone raises, I’ll go all in and protect Matt’s hand,” I think to myself. I don’t know why but I don’t want him to lose. My chip stack was around $800, so it would be enough to protect with. I’ve put Matt’s hand as AK or AQ, and in a six-way pot, that’s not good.

The flop comes out A49. I look at Matt and see his shoulders relax ever so slightly. The action checks around to the number 8 seat, a guy named Scott who owns a farm up north. Before he even moves, I know he’s going to raise it to $50 because he has a pair, and he does. I figure he’s got an ace with a weak kicker maybe, or middle pair. I turn toward the dealer and say, “All in,” which the dealer confirms. Matt groans and says, “I guess I know what that means.” I think, “No, you don’t Matt. But you will soon.”

After some grumbling, everyone, including Scott, folds and Matt flips up his hand: AQ. I look at him and say, “I told myself if anyone raised to go after you, I would protect your hand.” I turn up my cards and he grins at me. Everyone else at the table is ragging on me, especially Scott, but they’re good natured about it especially when I say, “Y’all didn’t have jack, you were just being bullies.” Scott says at least he had a pair, to which I shrug, laugh, and say, “Guess you should have called. Then you would have lost more than $50 because you couldn’t beat his ace.” Scott tells me he had a weak ace.

The rest of the hand plays out and Matt’s hand wins. But then he’s gathering chips and says he has to leave for another table. Just like that, our time with poker legends is over. The seat stays empty the rest of the meetup, but we realize, thanks to Matt announcing, that Doyle Brunson has entered the room. The cheering and clapping when the room realizes Doyle is among us is so deafening, people outside in the casino turn to watch. Doyle sits at a table close to the entrance, a straight line across the room between us.

The room at the @WPT @WynnPoker Meet Up Game broke into applause when @TexDolly arrived! pic.twitter.com/NglfxL7ZUb

— PokerNews (@PokerNews) December 1, 2022

Making Impossible Poker Dreams Come True

My table mates encourage me to go say hi to Doyle. I want nothing more than to thank him for changing my life. My throat is dry and I’m not sure I’ll be able to talk. I’m sure Doyle hears it all the time, but I can’t help myself.

My knees are wobbly as I make my way across the room to stand beside him. He’s in a hand and doesn’t notice me. He’s quiet and focused on the game, so I say nothing. I stand off to the side a bit, hands clasped behind me as I wait for him to acknowledge me. Except he doesn’t. Someone else at the table does and offers to take my photo with Doyle. More than I ever could have hoped for, I take him up on it. I try to thank Doyle, but I’m not sure he can even hear me over the noise.

The WPT After Party for the Meetup Game

When it’s over, there’s an after party where I meet even more of the poker elite: Phil Hellmuth, WPT President Adam Pliska, Brad Owen, and Andrew Neeme. I meet the only female to win the raffle, Katrina, and we have a delightful conversation. Everyone’s having a great time — free drinks are flowing, the energy is high, and it’s over way too soon.

The World Poker Tour Inspires a New Dream

I head back to my hotel room, giddy and exhausted. I will never forget this day. Best poker day ever. I have lots of other adventures, including meeting Doyle a second time and getting a free autographed copy of his autobiography. I realize a few days later it’s not my last Vegas adventure when hubby encourages me we should move to Vegas. We plan to be there in May 2023. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll be someone’s Phil Ivey or Doyle Brunson.

After writing my third book, that thought garnered more than an occasional ponder. Maybe someday. . . Even though our poker world has grown from a handful of backrooms and riverboats, and the number of players has multiplied into the millions since the Gold Rush days, an annual awards night remains but a dream. Can we follow in the footsteps of the movie industry that has offered its golden Oscars since 1929?

Let me offer my own selection of “Best Poker Books,” What Makes a Great Poker Book?
Foremost is the book’s content. Is it worth reading? Does it leave the reader with vital information that will make her better educated in the game – a consistent winner? Is it an easy read? Or, on the other hand, is it boring or confusing to read?

My Candidates for Best Poker Book

   ● Poker – A Guaranteed Income for Life by Using the Advanced Concepts of Poker by Frank R. Wallace (1968)

   ● The Mathematics of Gambling by Dr. Edward O. Thorp (1984)

   ● Doyle Brunson’s Super System (over 600 pages of poker wisdom in collaboration with other top players)

     ● Winning Women of Poker – Secret Strategies Revealed including “The Nuts and Bolts of No-Limit Texas Hold’em” by Maria Ho; “Around the Felt” by Marsha Waggoner; “Strategy Differences Between Cash Games and Tournaments” by Jan Fisher; “The Importance of Position” by Susie Isaacs; “Don’t Tell Me You’re Card Dead!” by Linda Johnson; “The Art of the Bluff” by Barbara Enright;  Poker Face and Tells” by Clonie Gowen; “Know Your Enemy” by J. J. Liu – and more

   ● Hold’em Poker for Advanced Players by David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth

   ● Harrington on Hold’em by Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie

   ● Poker for Dummies by Lou Krieger and Richard Harroch

● I include two of my own: Hold’em or Fold’em? – An Algorithm for Making the Key Decision (2012) and The Art of Bluffing (2015)

● Lou Krieger’s book, 52 great poker tips – one for each card in the deck – is tops in my mind

What makes Lou’s tips so great is the sound advice they offer, enhanced by his personality which spills over into his tips. As I read each of his tips, I found myself anxious to read on.

Highlighting Some of Krieger’s Tips:

Why it’s important to know and understand the odds; The odds and implied odds; Starting standards; Calling pre-flop depending on position; Hands you can play in any position; Calling a raise from the blind; Default programming; Folding before and after the flop; Finding the best game; The Front-Loaded effect; Classify and categorize your opponents; Playing with maniacs; Three ways to play winning hold’em; Counter-intuitive strategy; Record-keeping and note-taking; Playing multiple games online; Fit or fold; Playing and raising with a draw; Slow-playing; Don’t let your opponents read you; The gap between betting and calling; Raising – two ways to win; Raising can define your hand; Another reason to raise; Check-raising; Betting patterns; Looking for tells.

Unfortunately, we lost Lou when he died of cancer in December 2012 at the age of 67.

Could one of these be a candidate for the “Poker Book Oscar” – or should we give our statue a different moniker? Will the poker world one day have its own Oscar?

In this article, we’ll look at who has signed with Team WPT this year and who currently rules the roost on the World Poker Tour. We’ll also speculate as to which players might be the next addition to a roster that boasts more strength and depth than a long pass from Tom Brady at his peak.

A Party of Five

The current World Poker Tour roster is the envy of other poker brands, with a great mix of trending players, fresh faces, and Poker Hall of Famers. When the WPT named Steve Aoki as their Brand Ambassador early in 2022, it sent shockwaves through the industry. Aoki was an award-winning DJ, used to winning a Grammy or two, but what would he bring to the party? It turned out… the party itself! Aoki has been a great name to be linked with the WPT and has spent a fair amount of time at the tables, too, meeting hundreds of players of all levels at multiple WPT stops in 2022.

“The passion and energy in which Steve Aoki approaches every aspect of his life is both inspiring and very much in line with the new vision of the WPT,” Adam Pliska, the World Poker Tour CEO, said at the time of Aoki joining the brand.

When the WPT announced their next acquisitions, no-one was surprised when Brad Owen and Andrew Neeme were unveiled as new ambassadors. The pair of YouTube vloggers and MUG hosts have helped revolutionize the way we watch poker, and the World Poker Tour is embracing new technology and innovations like never before. Owen and Neeme’s exclusive NFT series and the growth of their online WPT Global brand are indicative of this, and having Neeme and Owen at the forefront of new WPT developments can only strengthen their global brand.

Owen and Neeme are guaranteed to bring in a new wave of poker players, but what about the old guard? The WPT would never abandon those who have been with them since the first card came off the – literal – deck back when the WPT cruise set sail.

The WPT introduced Doyle Brunson as a new ambassador by featuring the 10-time WSOP bracelet winner and back-to-back WSOP Main Event champion (in 1976 & 1977) in a highly amusing advert for the WPT World Championship. Texas Dolly arrived a month early for the celebrations in the video as he rolled towards Vegas ahead of time in the hilarious take on early registration. Pliska commented about the poker legend: “Doyle has been a part of the World Poker Tour from the very beginning.”

Another WPT jewel pic.twitter.com/xPETljk3oh

— Doyle Brunson (@TexDolly) November 1, 2022

This advert was one of many towards the latter end of the year that have demonstrated just how on trend the WPT are. Hiring Phil Ivey to be their fifth new brand ambassador in 2022 was a masterstroke. Not only was Phil also a 10-time WSOP bracelet winner, but Ivey’s mystique is legendary. He promptly appeared in a self-deprecating video where he and Tony Dunst were answering calls in the WPT office. To bring Phil Ivey back in a big way on the tournament circuit is to WPT’s credit.

WPT Summer Festival now at @wpt_global including the $1 buy-in $1 million guaranteed event. See you there pic.twitter.com/OrL3cXOOJE

— Phil Ivey (@philivey) July 23, 2022

The Legends Behind the Mic

It’s not only the mix of Ivey and Dunst that reminds us just what a strong team all those new ambassadors are joining. Vince Van Patten and Tony Dunst have been the WPT’s co-anchors since the late, great Mike Sexton left us. Sexton’s many friends still miss his effortless grace and humor. Van Patten and Dunst deserve huge credit for filling the enormous loss of Mike, producing content that retains Sexton’s wit and wisdom.

Image Credit: WPT

Presenting coverage of all the big events where players have the chance of getting their name carved into the WPT Mike Sexton Champions Cup is the Australian broadcasting hero Lynn Gilmartin. A mainstay of the WPT for many years, Gilmartin’s easy charm and whip-smart personality make her someone WPT relies on. Fans love seeing her on the screen wherever she goes.

Tournament Director Matt Savage is another powerhouse personality in his own right, having won the Global Poker Award for Poker Industry Person of the Year this year. His relationship with players and fans is second to none. It’s impossible to think of someone in poker who has welcomed so many people to the game. It’s continued growth is in no small part a direct result of Savage’s skill and presence.

Who Could Be the Next WPT Ambassador?

There are so many players in poker who offer so much in terms of success, brand growth and an online presence. To pick only a handful inevitably misses hundreds of perfectly suitable candidates. That said, this is exactly what we’re going to do. So let’s start with tour favourite Dan Smith.

Image courtesy: PokerGO, HendonMob

Known as ‘The Cowboy’, Smith might be used to playing high roller events, but he’s happy to mix it up in $10,000 MTT fields too. Dan won his first WSOP bracelet in the summer of 2022, rubber stamping what everyone in the game knows; Smith is a winner both on and off the felt.  His Double Up Drive has raised millions for charity, too, and the World Poker Tour’s own efforts in this area would complement Smith’s charitable ethic.

Darren Elias is already a bona fide World Poker Tour legend, having won more Main Event titles on the WPT Tour (four) than any other player in history. What better way to promote the brand than by making the most successful player ever to sit at the WPT felt a top ambassador? Elias isn’t just a great poker player, he’s also a wholesome family man who has proven that you can become a ruthless winner while being a nice person.

With poker props running in the family, one player who we think would add huge value to the WPT is Natasha Mercier. With husband Jason taking more of a back seat in recent years, Natasha’s propensity for making it through tough fields and juggling motherhood alongside her poker success is inspiring. With the poker industry always looking for ways of bringing more women into a game still dominated by men, what better person to inspire others to take up the game than Natasha?

Image credit PokerNews, Drew Amato

Finally, with two friends for the price of one, we think that genius minds Erik Seidel and Maria Konnikova would be a great fit for the World Poker Tour. Both are hugely consistent players, and with the backgammon and chess respective passions of the pair, the duo could bring other mind sport players to poker. Seidel’s background in stocks and accounting, coupled with Konnikova’s literary and psychological background offers a true meeting of intelligence that could only benefit the changes any poker brand will go through.

The World Poker Tour has made giant leaps in 2022 – who knows what 2023 will bring for the biggest poker tour in the world?!

Who will win the seven-figure Main Event top prize is anyone’s guess — in fact, the top six finishers will become millionaires! — but there could not be a better place to find out.

Over the years, the Wynn in Las Vegas has been spoken about in glowing terms as one of the best places to play poker on the planet. Who has won the most money in poker tournaments at the Wynn? Seven Americans, one British citizen, a Canadian, and a South Korean are among the top 10. Can you guess the top dog?

10th – Jinho Hong (South Korea) $706,046

Image courtesy of PokerGO

South Korean player Jinho Hong is the first of just three non-Americans on the list. He just scrapes into the top 10 past American Joe Cheong by $6,000. Much of Hong’s winnings come from his standout career performance, the victory he enjoyed in this year’s Wynn Summer Classic.

The Wynn Summer Classic cost $3,500 to enter, and Hong’s win over Andrew Moreno was worth an outstanding $696,011. A deep run to 43^rd in a $1,100-entry NLHE tournament a week later cemented his place above the aforementioned Cheong.

9th – Zachary Hyman (U.S.A.) $729,033

Image Credit: PokerNews

Zach Hyman won his entire ‘Wynnings’ in one fell swoop, but unlike Hong, his signature tournament victory came a long time ago in poker years. Taking down the $10,200 buy-in Wynn Classic back in March of 2007, Hyman outlasted players such as Mike Matusow (5th for $76,824) and Johnny Chan (8th for $38,412) at an entertaining final table, with Ted Lawson taking second billing.

Hyman’s many cashes in a career worth almost $2 million in live events included his latest cash in 2017 when he made deep runs in a spate of high-roller events at ARIA.

8th – Jeremy Kottler (U.S.A.) $736,062

Image Credit: WPT

Winning over $2.3 million in a poker career that has included cashes in far flung destinations such as The Bahamas, England, and France, American player Jeremy Kottler’s biggest win remains the $643, 267 he banked at the Wynn Fall Classic in October of last year. At a truly continental final table, Kottler’s win against Canadian Albert Nguyen heads-up came after the exits of poker superstar Chris Moorman, and Australian Shachar Haran in third place.

Kottler also won money in last year’s Mystery Bounty event, and came second in July’s Wynn Summer Classic for just under $70,000.

7th – Alexander Livingston (Canada) $761,240

Image courtesy of PokerGO

The 2019 WSOP Main Event third-placed finisher Alex Livingston is Canada’s 13th most winningest player of all-time in live poker tournaments. But if you thought that his $4 million win three summers ago represented the long and short of his career, you’d be mistaken. He has won over $2.5 million in other events, and a third of that total came at the Wynn.

Livingston came third in the Wynn Million last March, getting the better of another Canadian at the final table when he finished in third place, just one place clear of popular past Sunday Millions winner, Vanessa Kade. The $10,000 buy-in event, which had 1,075 entries, tested the mettle of every player, proving once more that Livingston is a truly impressive player and one to watch for the all-time money list.

6th – Chris Moore (U.S.A.) $894,623

Image Credit: WSOP

The American Chris Moore’s best career cash of over $850,000 did not come from play at the Wynn, rather that score was courtesy of his fifth-place finish in the High Roller for One Drop back in 2017. That was five years ago, but it was an even older victory that gave Moore his biggest score at the popular Las Vegas destination of the Wynn.

Taking down the 2008 Wynn Classic, Moore got the better of Ryan Young heads-up at a final table that featured players such as Ricky Chow and Larry Wright. Over his career, Moore has won over $3.5 million, with another cash in the November 2021 version of The Wynn Fall Classic earning him a 49th-place finish.

5th – Isaac Kempton (U.S.A.) $1,132,323

Image courtesy of PokerGO

There’s little that can be said that hasn’t already been mentioned about Isaac Kempton. The young player’s incredible rise to prominence has come from nowhere to outsiders, with those in the know seeing his rise coming. Moneying in high rollers is something already common to the Newark player despite only having cashed for the first time in a tournament in February 2020. Kempton might be the best ‘post-COVID’ elite player out there.

Finishing second in the same Wynn Millions that Alex Livingston won, Kempton has supplemented his biggest score of $1,093,314 with a 92nd-place finish in the Wynn Summer Classic of that year, winning over $32,000 in the process. Kempton is definitely one to watch in the very biggest games in the world.

4th – Toby Lewis (United Kingdom) $1,250,969

Image Credit: Card Player Magazine

Our highest-placed non-American on the list, Britain’s Toby Lewis has become one of the most consistent performers in both tournaments and cash games, live and online. A former Aussie Millions winner, Lewis is red hot in tournament play and earned the biggest single part of his $8.5 million tournament earnings not in Melbourne but in Las Vegas.

Lewis’ Aussie Millions victory was worth over $1.1 million, but the Hampshire player’s third place finish in the 2021 Wynn Summer Classic saw him outlast players such as Phil Shing and Maria Ho as the thrilling event reached its conclusion. Only his late fall in the Classic denies him a podium place. Speaking of…

3rd – Clayton Maguire (U.S.A.) $1,636,651

Image Credit: WSOP

Claiming third on our list is the runner-up from that very event, Clayton Maguire. On that day, Maguire’s climb past Lewis into second earned him over $1.44million. That’s not his only cash at the Wynn, with his fifth-place result in the 2022 Wynn Million Poker Series contributing another six-figure score of $118,408 to his coffers.

2nd – Tony Sinishtaj (U.S.A.) $1,862,283

Image Credit: IMPDI Worldwide LLC

Tony Sinistaj has the dubious honor of being the owner of perhaps the most discussed winner’s photo of all time, thanks to his victory in the Wynn Millions held earlier this year in March. Famously pictured looking exhausted at the end of an intense final table battle with Kempton and Livingtson, Sinishtaj’s win, which he dedicated to his family, was proof of his poker prowess and catapulted him to stardom for all the wrong reasons. Sinishtaj wasn’t miserable, but never have so many words been written about how a poker player looked rather than how he – quite brilliantly – played. His second place on this list is evidence that the latter is infinitely more important.

1st – Andrew Moreno (U.S.A.) $2,103,606

Image Credit: PokerNews

Our winner – or Wynner – is the redoubtable Andrew Moreno. Brother of Johnnie ‘Vibes’ Moreno, younger brother Andrew went on a tournament heater over the past couple of years. As well as his win in the 2021 Wynn Summer Classic for over $1,460,000, Moreno came second in 2022 for a score of $460,000.

Charming the crowd, bewitching the rail with his mesmeric skill and perfect personality for tournament poker, the affable and humble Moreno is a winner for the ages and truly represents poker at its best. Losing to Jinho Hong was no shame one year on as Moreno fell just short of going ‘back-to-back’ in tournament terms, something so rarely done in poker history.

With Andrew Moreno, you can never rule out victory, and he’s the only player to have won more than $2 million at the Wynn… possibly until this week.

Who’ll win the WPT World Championship? No-one would bet against Moreno if he decides to enter the field.

Here is the full list of top winners from the world-famous Wynn casino in Las Vegas in ranking poker tournaments, courtesy of The Hendon Mob.

The only books I could manage reading for the first year after my divorce were poker memoirs. I’m an avid reader, and a few poker memoirs might have popped into my reading list before that year, but during that year, that was all I read. I re-read my favorite, “The Professor, the Banker and the Suicide King” by Michael Craig multiple times. I read Doyle’s, Annie Duke’s, whatever memoir I could grab. I remember the first trip I took after the divorce. I had Craig’s book clutched in my hand like a favorite blanket, something to soothe me throughout the change and confusion, and reimagining of my life. Poker books were a constant, a lifeline to my new life, and what I wanted to stay connected to.

Poker players are definitely their own breed. They are interesting, different, not like “regular” society, but similar within their own society. When I moved to Maui, it was a breath of fresh air to find other people like me. People who were trying to evolve, maybe were considered “other” by picket fences that kept original ideas inside, along with dogs and 2.5 children. I appreciate other ways of life, of ideas, of the picket fences, and that the fences can give some a sense of stability and structure. To me, the fences feel like bars I need to escape, running to Reno, Maui, or Vegas at the first opportunity.

READ ALSO: What the Flop?: Poker Field of Dreams 

I like reading about the risk takers, the boundary breakers, people like Jennifer Harman. I hadn’t learned too much about Jennifer before Michael Craig’s book other than seeing her in a few poker TV specials. I grew to love her spirit and her moxie even more the more times I read the book. My admiration also grew for Ted Forrest and Doyle Brunson. (Although I’d already known much about Doyle before the book.)  I wasn’t trying to up my strategy, or become a better player. I was escaping into these players’ “otherness”, the excitement while wondering if it could ever be balanced by an ordinary life. That was the balance I realized that I was searching for.

Finding Michael Craig’s book led me to appreciate Andy Beal’s thirst for knowledge, even though with his bankroll he could’ve disappeared and never had to challenge himself again. I’ve found that the risk takers, the successful ones, almost never stop taking risks, learning different lessons or repeating the same ones that made them successful.

Before my year of poker memoir immersion, I loved books that had romance, and optimism, sprinkled with a sense of “this could happen to you”. I knew I would never be the poker player that Jennifer Harman is, but because it was so far out of my wheelhouse, I could dream with her, without dreaming it for myself. It’s like when I work the WSOP-I never expect to be at Feature Table A, as I know some of my coworkers dream. But I can dream with them while getting to know the people beneath the hoodies and the bravado, humanizing them.

Later I found the book “Molly’s Game” and it immediately overtook Craig’s book as my favorite poker memoir. Molly Bloom is a wonderfully engaging writer, and she made me ask “what’s next? I want more!” She took me right into her world, and made me want to be in a chair absorbing the energy of the room as she hosted her games. (Although you all know by now I’d be asleep before the night finished.)

Molly’s book is still one of my poker security blankets, but it’s joined by “Pulling The Trigger” (Eli Elezra’s autobiography), and by others that are still being created, and lived. The books that Michael and Molly wrote breathed new life into me, nurtured me. Even though I did not even know at the time that poker would be a new part of my life as my job, a passion, and a way to live outside the picket fences.

What makes an actor great at poker, and which traits hold them back from winning at the felt? We’ve delved into the archives and taken a look at some of the ways that Hollywood acting chops can help and hinder players in their poker game.

Three Reasons Actors Can Be Great At Poker

Charm

It goes without saying that if you can pull off a great bluff and charm the fold out of your opponent in one go, you’re onto a winner. It may not surprise you to learn, then, that perennially beguiling Hollywood actress Jennifer Tilly not only has an Oscar nomination (for playing Olive Neal in the 1994 black comedy Bullets Over Broadway), but a World Series of Poker bracelet, too, for having won the Ladies Event back in 2005.

The Child’s Play, Bound, and Liar, Liar actress is the partner of Phil Laak, so a supportive poker partner has gone far for both parts of that power couple. Tilly’s recent prowess has been evident on the popular cash game show High Stakes Poker, where she has held her own against players of the caliber of Daniel Negreanu, Doyle Brunson, and Patrik Antonius.

Verdict: No-one knows what is behind Tilly’s smile, on-screen or off, but she is a poker powerhouse to this day.

Entertainment

Entertaining the other players at the table is something that few poker players in history have truly mastered, but a number of professionals have pulled it off. Think players such as Sam Grafton, Eli Elezra or Scott Seiver. It takes a rare breed to be able to truly engage with other players on a variety of subjects and still play the game well.

That said, we’ve never seen a more impressive level of comfort at the felt than exhibited by film star Kevin Hart back at the tail-end of the last decade in Atlantis. He was playing the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. Sitting down at a $100,000-entry Super High Roller, Hart looked the part. He wore shades, a tight-fitting tee, and a pair of jeans that looked so expensive, they ought to come with a free plasma screen television embedded in the back pockets.

Over the course of 30 minutes watching him at the felt, I stood by reporting the action. Not only did Hart make me cry with laughter, but every player at the table responded exactly the same. No one could keep a straight face, even if they were involved in the hand with the pocket rocket himself.

At one point, Hart had a difficult call on the river for a huge chunk of his chips. After studying the board for some time, he looked frustrated. Leaning back in his chair, he removed his shades and said, in his best straight face, “I can’t see s**t in these glasses!” Cue a table full of laughter and several other players becoming completely disarmed.

I mean, take a look at Hart in action – who wouldn’t want to sit down at the felt with this guy?

Verdict: A laugh-a-minute entertainer who no player would want to bust for fear of suffering the wrath of their tablemates.

Ability to Educate

From starring on the small screen to commentating on televised poker stars, Gabe Kaplan is a TV legend. Starring in the popular sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter, Kaplan made millions laugh about the most trivial matters of day-to-day life. Transferring this light-hearted analysis to poker would have been tough for most, but Kaplan is a laconic natural at shining a light on the haphazard yet highly-skilled world of the poker table.

Image Credit: PokerNews.com

Being able to criticize play, praise poker, and separate the entertainment from the mundanity is all part of a commentator’s work. Being able to do so in a way that allows others to see how they could play as well is a real skill. Over many years Kaplan has not only helped millions enjoy the game of poker and laugh at his whip-smart jokes, but he’s educated fans on how to aspire to up their own poker game.

Verdict: Welcome back, Kaplan. At ease anywhere near a poker table, he’s made everyone he’s warmed with his words wiser about the game we all love.  

Three Reasons Actors Aren’t So Great at Poker

Greed

Back in the days of Molly’s Game, there was one actor who was notoriously part of the action. Step forward – or perhaps crawl ominously forward on eight legs — Tobey Maguire. The Spiderman star was apparently one of the best players in the infamous Molly Game poker meet-ups, but took advantage of other players, and in particular drew whales close to the shore.

While this behavior might have landed him a pretty penny — millions according to those who were there — it didn’t exactly endear him to other players or celebrities. It would be fair to say that since his appearance in these games was revealed, Maguire’s star has waned somewhat in both Hollywood and at the poker felt.

It’s a crying shame for anyone who remembers his appearance as Trip McConnell in the early 1990s teen-Twin Peaks type show, Eerie, Indiana. It’s too bad that his ruses became more important than doing things for the right reasons off-screen.

Verdict: Don’t take a seat in a game with Tobey. Or ask him whether he enjoys surfing the ‘web’.

Inexperience

When the World Series of Poker announced Vince Vaughn as the official Master of Ceremonies for the 2022 WSOP in Las Vegas, it was a match made in heaven. As he said upon his grand entrance into Bally’s as a pre-cursor to the start of the WSOP Main Event, “Vegas, baby, Vegas!”

That’s a famous line from Vaughn’s 1996 movie Swingers, of course, but was the Dodgeball, Wedding Crashers and Old School any good at the felt? It turns out, maybe not. Sitting down to play his first-ever event, Vaughn shared the stage with players such as Phil Ivey and Phil Hellmuth but was unable to make as strong an impression at the felt as he did on the Main Stage, or ‘Thunderdome’.

Image credit: PokerNews

Carried into the Event Center by Roman centurion guards, Vince Vaughn walked in like Phil Hellmuth, but unlike the man himself – who has 16 WSOP bracelets and counting – giving the traditional “shuffle up and deal” to players didn’t help him at the felt. Could Vaughn turn into a decent poker player? Given time and practice, possibly, but for now, the jury has to be out. Vaughn, 52, will undoubtedly be back in 2023.

Verdict: The original ‘Wedding Crasher’ might have a few more fancy moves to make before he loses his poker bridesmaid tag.

Lack of Skill

Being a great actor should make you a great poker player, right? Surely the transferable skills of convincing others that you are bluffing are the same as putting in an Oscar-worthy performance on film? We beg to differ on that opinion and present our case against in the shape of the acting legend that is… wait, Matt Damon?

Yep, we’re going there. Matt Damon is the biggest actor in the best poker film of all time, playing Mike McDermott in the legendary 1998 movie, Rounders. He’s also been the Talented Mr. Ripley, Jason Bourne in the Bourne trilogy, and won an Oscar for Good Will Hunting. So why isn’t he as good at poker? Want proof. Let’s take a look at some of Damon’s WSOP ‘highlights’ courtesy of PokerGO.

Verdict: Damon may be an amazing actor, and is quite clearly a fun guy to share the felt with, with a great personality… but he’s never turning poker pro.

Many interesting characters play in the poker world, and many of them are considered the best poker players ever on one metric or another. From the early days of professional poker, we have Stu Ungar, Sailor Roberts, Johnny Moss, and Amarillo Slim. For many fans, these players represent what a poker professional should be. Later, during the Moneymaker boom, players like Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey, and Tom Dwan were regarded as some of the best poker players of all time. Today, players like Fedor Holz, Stephen Chidwick, and Jason Koon stand out as some of the best poker players in the modern, GTO-heavy game.

While each era has its standout stars, many people ask a surprisingly hard question: who is the best poker player of all time?

This is such a hard question to answer because of the varying metrics by which we evaluate poker players. If you were comparing two NFL Quarterbacks, you could look at overall wins and losses, completion percentage, interceptions, touchdowns, yards, etc. While these are not foolproof, as football is very much a team sport, over long enough careers you can at least compare two quarterbacks and make an argument about which is the more successful.

Comparing poker players is not nearly as simple. How do we compare a cash game player to an MTT player? What about a player who favors big bet games vs. another who favors limit games? Or a player who ground out $10 million in earnings playing $10k and smaller tournaments vs. another who won two super high rollers for the same amount?

You can see the problem that exists when comparing poker players. Despite the difficulties, some metrics can be used to compare players and identify the best poker players of all time.

Five Different Ways to Identify the Best Poker Players of All Time

1. Career Earnings

One of the favorite methods for identifying the best poker players is by examining Hendon Mob profiles. The Hendon Mob tracks players’ live tournament earnings. All WSOP, WPT, and other major tournaments are tracked here, as well as many other live casino tournaments that report to Hendon Mob. The Hendon Mob can help determine a player’s success at live tournaments. There are other databases that report online players’ earnings as well.

How can we use career earnings to identify the best poker players?

This metric shouldn’t just be used to see how much money a player has earned. For example, someone could have been a winning tournament player for a decade in their 20s but hasn’t had any significant winnings in their 30s or 40s, despite still being in the tournament scene. Or, someone could have played only five years of high rollers, crushed them all for $10million+, then retired to do something else. Someone could play 10,000 online tournaments each year and have the same results as someone who plays 200 live tournaments. It’s not always easy to judge who has the best record using tournament earnings. But if you find players consistently winning over many years and in many games, it is safe to say they are great poker players.

2. Cash Game Prowess

Cash game poker players are much harder to rank than tournament players due to the anonymity involved. Cash games are not usually televised, although we have seen an increase in streamed and televised cash games over the last five years. In general, the biggest poker games being played are not streamed, they are in rooms such as Bobby’s Room in Vegas and similar rooms in L.A. Since a lot of the results from these nosebleed games are not public information, it may be hard to use cash game prowess as a metric, but it is not impossible.

How can we use cash games to identify the best poker players?

We can look at the types of games candidates are playing. If the player hasn’t played higher than $10/$20 or $10/$25 no limit, they probably aren’t the best. While many players at these stakes are tough opponents, there are bigger games available. Players who have remained in the nosebleed games for a long time are going to be great. Here we are specifying the players who are straight-up poker pros, not the recreational businessmen and women who play nosebleeds, but the guys like Eli Elezra who have been crushing games in Legend’s Room (Bobby’s Room) for decades. If a player has been playing in the biggest cash games for a long time, they are likely a very strong player.

WATCH: Interview with Poker Hall of Famer Eli Elezra

3. Career Length

Career length is a fairly straightforward metric. How long has the player been winning at poker? This is important because plenty of one-time crushers will fizzle out as the game surpasses their skill set. Finding players who have been winning in the biggest cash games or shipping tournaments for a long time is key to identifying the best poker players. As with any metric, career length has its limitations.

Fedor Holz is regarded by many as one of the best No Limit Hold’em tournament players. Fedor had an amazing run in the high roller scene during the mid-2010s. He won seemingly every big tournament that decade and quickly amassed millions in earnings, including over $16million in 2016 alone. Fedor was absolutely crushing the high roller scene for a few years and then “retired” from being a poker pro. Today, he still plays tournaments, but fewer than he was seven years ago.

While Fedor may not have the longest professional poker career, it was by choice, not because he couldn’t win anymore. For the most part, players need a long-term winning career to be in the “best poker player” conversation. But we shouldn’t automatically exclude someone if they choose to have a short career.

READ MORE: An in-depth interview with Fedor Holz

4. Accolades and Trophies

There are many accolades and trophies awarded in poker. There are WSOP bracelets and Circuit rings, the PokerGO Cup, the Global Poker Index Award, WPT Championship, and many others. While most of these are awarded for specific tournament results, others are not. These accolades can be used to identify some of the best poker players.

Which accolades and trophies should we consider?

There are a few standout accolades that can help identify the best poker players. However, note that many of these skew toward modern players, as they have only existed for a limited time.

GPI Player’s Choice for Toughest Opponent

This GPI award is decided by other poker professionals. It is poker’s version of the NFL Top 100, as it is chosen by the players this person has competed against. Unlike the NFL, however, this award goes to just one individual each year. This is a very high accolade, as the professional poker community picks their toughest opponent – something every poker player wants to be.

WSOP $50k Poker Players Championship

Every poker professional has circled this prestigious tournament on their calendar. The $50k Poker Players Championship is regarded among the professional community as one of the highest tournament achievements possible. It features nine games, H.O.R.S.E, 2-7 Triple Draw, No-Limit Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha, and No Limit 2-7 Single Draw. It is regarded as the best test of overall poker ability, containing a variety of mixed limit games and big bet no/pot-limit games. Winning this tournament is certainly a plus for a player to be considered as the best of all time.

PokerGO Cup

The PokerGO Tour, a more recent series, features many high roller tournaments in which players can earn points (and money). The tour is a set of standard tournaments, but at the end of the series, the player with the most points earns the PokerGO Cup. To win this trophy, players need to consistently win in some of the toughest fields in poker. Many of the high rollers are playing this series, so to have continued success, a player needs to be an absolute crusher.

While these awards are skewed towards current and recent players, coupling these accolades with other metrics previously mentioned can help identify the greatest poker players of all time.

5. Stories from Professionals

As the previous metric favored today’s players, this metric is for those who can’t win a GPI award or may not have been around to crush poker before result reporting became so popular

For more legendary players, we need to rely on stories from other professionals. I’m sure every poker player has heard tales of the great Stu Ungar, who reportedly won the 1980 WSOP Main Event having never played a No-Limit Holdem tournament. Doyle Brunson famously remarked that it was the first time he saw a player actively get better at the game during a tournament. Many other stories about players like Ungar, Brunson, and Slim showcase their ability to crush poker games over many years.

While stories from the past may not seem to hold up to the other metrics listed, I think they do. Results and accolades can only tell so much of the picture. Relying on poker professionals to tell us who are the toughest and best opponents is a great way to identify the best poker players of all time.

When you are comparing individuals to find the best poker players of all time, it is important to consider multiple metrics. The best poker players will be winning both tournaments and cash games over a long period, and usually across many different game types. They will be regarded as the best by other top professionals and have accolades to back that up. Simply looking at the all-time money list is not enough identify the best player of all time. As in other professional sports, it is hard to compare someone from today’s game to the 1980s, as poker theory has evolved so much. Many people find it easier to list a top five players than an overall best player ever.

Everyone’s top five will be slightly different depending on what they value in a poker player. GTO players will have a top five consisting of players playing close to perfect GTO, while exploitative players may favor more old-school players. Tournament players and cash game players may have very different opinions on guys like Phil Helmuth and Daniel Negreanu. If you love PLO, like me, you may have Phil Galfond in your top five, while NLH players wouldn’t even consider him. Mixed game players may place Eli Elezra in their top five. There so many skills and specializations in poker that it is hard to select a consistent top five players of all time.

Regardless of your priorities for an all-time great poker player, using as many metrics as possible is paramount. While we will likely never see an undisputed best poker player ever, we can at least formulate a list of top five to ten players based on the metrics identified above.