Poker is an intriguing high-stake cash game that makes many people try their luck. But there are some most popular poker players who garnered fame with a high success rate and net worth thanks to poker.
In this blog, we’ll list seven of the world’s best and most successful poker players:
Lee Nelson
Lee Nelson is one of the most successful poker legends from New Zealand. He is a popular choice for the best online pokies NZ. He has a net worth of over $2.5 million in live tournament earnings.
In 2005, Lee won the PartyPoker World Open in Kent, England, taking home $400,000 in the first prize. In 2005, the poker player triumphed at the Crown Australian Poker Championship, earning A$1,295,800. In 2012, Lee won the Victoria Championship Main Event, taking home another big prize.
Lee also co-authored many poker-related books, including Kill Phil: The Fast Track to Success in No-Limit Hold ’em Poker Tournaments and Let’s Play Poker.
Phil Ivey
The American professional poker player, Phil Ivey, developed his poker skills when he was working with a telemarketing firm in New Jersey. When he was a teenager, Ivey secured a fake ID card to play poker in Atlantic City, which brought him the nickname “No Home Jerome.”
He is also known as “The Phenom” since his victory in three World Series of Poker bracelets in 2002. Ivey is also known as “The Tiger Woods of Poker.”
Phil is a master at different poker playing styles. He owns ten World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets and was elected as one of the Poker Hall of Fame’s youngest members. He also secured a title on the World Poker Tour. The award-winning player won the title of “Poker Player of the Year” by the All In Magazine in 2005 and 2009.
Kathy Leibert
Born in July 1967, Kathy Leibert has an impressive record in the highest stakes poker tournaments. With a net worth of $6.89 million, Leibert began her career as a professional American poker player in Colorado. Then, she entered poker tournaments and won the first Party Poker Million event in 2002, taking home a $1 million prize.
Leibert remained the highest finishing woman on the World Poker Tour (WPT) till 2009. The female poker legend also made another record at the 2009 Shooting Stars tournament. During the tournament, she was placed second to Steve Brecher in the longest final table in WPT history. Van Nguyen broke this record in 2008.
As of 2022, Leibert has one World Series of Poker (WSOP) gold bracelet. Her total earnings from live tournaments exceed $6,650,000.
Bryn Kenney
His first big win was in 2016 at the $1,00,000 Super High Roller tournament at PCA, where he won $1,687,800. He also won millions of dollars from the Triton Super High Roller Series main event in 2016. In the 1028 Super High Roller Bowl event, Bryn finished fifth and won HK Dollars 2,000,000 and $1,484,000.
Born in November 1986, Bryn Kenney is an American professional poker player from New York. Kenney started playing poker in his school days. He made the first live cash in 2007 at the East Coast Poker Championships. In 2014, Kenney won his first WSOP bracelet, taking home $153,220. In 2016, Kenney won the Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure $100K Super High Roller, which got him $1,687,800.
Kenney is in the 4th position on the Global Poker Index and ranks at the top on the Hendon Mob All-Time Money List. As of 2020, his total earnings from the live tournament exceed $55,000,000. She now lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Downey, California.
Justin Bonomo
Known as ZeeJustin on the internet, Justin Bonomo boasts some biggest cash payouts. This is because of his involvement in both live and online poker tournaments. Born in September 1985, the poker player belongs to the Panorama Towers in Las Vegas, home to 70+ professional gamblers. So, he was exposed to the game at an early age.
Bonomo became the youngest poker player to make an appearance on a televised final table in February 2005. He has three Super High Roller Bowl wins and three WSOP bracelets. In 2018, Bonomo added $10 million to his total earnings after bagging a WSOP live championship.
Annette Obrestad
Born in September 1988, Annette Obrestad is a Norwegian YouTuber and poker player. She is the youngest player to win a World Series of Poker bracelet. Obrestad also runs a YouTube channel, “Annette’s Makeup Corner,” for makeup tutorials and reviews.
Obrestad started her poker career online when she was just 15. She claims that she never deposited money on any online poker website. Instead, she made her initial bankroll with victories in freeroll poker tournaments.
As of 2020, Obrestad’s total earnings via live tournament earnings exceeded $3.9 million.
Some other notable names in the world of poker include Joanne ‘JJ’ Liu, Stephen Chidwick, Johnny Moss, and Erik Seidel, to name a few.
