10 Of The Best Male Poker Players In The World 2024

Number 1

Justin Bonomo, Virginia $61m+

Known as: ZeeJustin Twitter: @JustinBonomo

One of the biggest winners in the history of poker, Justin Bonomo’s career as a card player started at 16 when he impressively transformed a $500 deposit at Paradise Poker into a huge $10,000 bankroll. Having established himself as one of the best poker players in the world, Bonomo went on a record-breaking run in 2018, cashing for an unbelievable $25m+ that year alone.

Since then, he has continued to dominate multiple high roller events, including several online events in the Super High Roller Bowl Online. It goes to show that, whether online or live, Bonomo has the skills to go toe-to-toe with anyone in the world.

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Number 2

Bryn Kenney, New York $57m+

Known as: Mega Crusher Twitter: @BrynKenney

Previously a Magic: The Gathering player, Kenney transitioned to poker in 2007 and by 2014 had won his first WSOP bracelet. Kenney has claimed many major wins over the years, and 2019 saw the Mega Crusher go on a great run of wins, picking up three $1m+ prizes in just a few months.

Amazing as it sounds, those were just warm-ups for Kenney’s huge score at the 2019 Triton Million, where a heads-up deal saw the New York native bank over $20.5m, at the time the biggest poker prize ever won. Not bad, considering he eventually finished second!

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Number 3

Daniel Negreanu, Toronto $50m+

Known as: Kid Poker Twitter: @RealKidPoker

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.

Having won multiple World Series of Poker bracelets and World Poker Tour titles, one of Negreanu’s biggest scores actually came for a runner-up finish when he lost a heads-up duel with Antonio Esfandiari at the 2014 Big One for One Drop. He may not be way ahead on the all-time money list anymore, but with a series of million-dollar tournament wins to his name, plus World Series bracelets won in Las Vegas, Europe, and Australia, fans of Kid Poker shouldn’t worry too much about Daniel Negreanu’s net worth these days!

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Number 4

Stephen Chidwick, Deal $47m+

Known as: stevie444

British player Stephen Chidwick has been sat at or near the top of the global poker player rankings for a while now, racking up a number of great performances in tournaments across the world. The WSOP, European Poker Tour, Super High Roller Bowl and Triton Poker Super High Roller Series have provided the stage for some of Chidwick’s greatest victories, but this British player is also no stranger to online play.

One story from Chidwick’s youth – which may just be too good to be true – tells of the young player winning multiple packages online to play the WSOP Main Event, at a time when he was too young to legally enter the tournament (yet at 18, old enough to have already turned pro in the UK). The story goes that he won an incredible 100+ WSOP packages in online satellites, accepting a $1m prize as a cash alternative due to his underage status in the US!

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Number 5

Jason Koon, West Virginia $44m+

Known as: JAKoon1985 Twitter: @JasonKoon

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.

It would be hard to argue with his logic. The majority of Koon’s biggest wins have come since 2016, including significant wins on different continents. Montenegro, South Korea, London and the Bahamas have all provided the stage for Koon’s own brand of high rolling victory over the years, while his mastery of Short Deck means Koon is a feared player far beyond the traditional boundaries of No Limit Hold’em.

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Number 6

Erik Seidel, New York $42m +

Known as: Sly Twitter: @Erik_Seidel

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 multiple 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 $6.5 million, including two wins in less than a week – putting him number 1 on the all-time money list. His impressive record includes a number of large online wins, too, including almost a million dollars for taking down the Super MILLION$ High Roller event at the WSOP Online series in 2021.

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number 7

David Peters, Ohio $42m+

Known as: Silent Assassin Twitter: @dpeterspoker17

A self-confessed convert to online poker after watching Chris Moneymaker’s big win in 2003, David Peters has gone on to have his own impressive career (and far outstrip Chris Moneymaker’s net worth in the process). The Silent Assassin is one of the most prolific tournament poker players on the high roller circuit, achieving big results month after month and year after year, despite his relatively young age (he was born in 1987).

Peters’ long list of tournament wins includes events in various no limit pro series including the WSOP, the Heartland Poker Tour, the European Poker Tour, Asia Championship of Poker and the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series. A modern, globe-trotting high roller, Peters has also amassed online winnings in excess of $6.5m.

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number 8

Dan Smith, New Jersey $41m+

Known as: Cowboy Dan Twitter: @DanSmithHolla

This New Jersey native has made quite the name for himself – and we aren’t just referring to his nickname of ‘Cowboy Dan’. He made a big splash when he picked up over $2 million at the Bellagio Super High Roller in 2014, and won over $8.7m for his third-place finish at the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series in London in 2019.

A regular at super high roller tournaments from Las Vegas to London, Australia and Macau, Smith seems most comfortable when playing for truly eye-watering stakes. In fact, most of his best results come from events with buy-ins so high that few players have the means to regularly take part. But Dan’s great results mean he’s more likely to be found rubbing shoulders with the high rollers than anyone else, making him a card player to ignore at your peril.

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Number 9

Fedor Holz, Saarbrücken $38m+

Known as: CrownUpGuy Twitter: @CrownUpGuy

German high roller Fedor Holz enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame, with 2016 in particular being a huge year for the young player despite being aged just 23. For a few months in the summer of 2016 it seemed Holz couldn’t lose, and the young German racked up five significant tournament victories between June and August. This included his first WSOP bracelet, a European Poker Tour high roller title and three victories in Aria Super/High Roller tourneys.

While Holz has many interests outside poker, his winnings continue to grow thanks to a brilliant 2nd place cash win in the 2018 Big One for One Drop that saw him take home $6 million. Whether he continues to focus on poker or not, he has blazed an unforgettable trail for young players everywhere.

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Number 10

Phil Ivey, California $38m+

Known as: The Phenom Twitter: @philivey

Known as the Tiger Woods of poker, Phil Ivey won his first WSOP bracelet in 2000 and has gone on to win enough more to seriously weigh his wrists down. But jewelry doesn’t pay the bills, so when working out Phil Ivey’s net worth it’s probably worth looking at the many, many high value prizes he’s won outside the USA.

Ivey not only won 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, bagging over $3.5 million in prize money before winning it again in 2015. Other big scores have followed in Montenegro, London, Monte Carlo and Sochi, proving that not only does Ivey seemingly have fans right across the world, he also has great results!

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More of the World’s Most Famous Poker Players

In addition to those names listed above, certain poker players tend to crop up regularly at final tables, in televised tournaments and in conversations between poker fans across the globe. Keep an eye out for these famous faces:

Phil Hellmuth

The ‘Poker Brat’ has been winning big tournaments and making headlines since the late 1980s, when he won the WSOP Main Event aged just 24. He’s since dominated the WSOP, breaking and setting records seemingly every year. Of his live tournament earnings of $25m+, more than half are thought to have come in WSOP events.

Doug Polk

Born in 1988 – the same year Phil Hellmuth made his WSOP debut – Polk has earned a fearsome reputation as one of the best heads-up No Limit Hold’em players in the world. Probably better known for his online exploits, Polk nevertheless has accrued over $9m in live tournament winnings.

Doyle Brunson

This legendary figure started playing long before the term ‘poker boom’ was coined, eventually becoming a fixture at the high rolling cash game tables of Las Vegas. Brunson famously won the WSOP Main Event back-to-back, in 1976 and 1977, and despite being known more as a cash game player won over $6m in live tournaments. He passed away in 2023, leaving a legacy unmatched in the poker world.

Mike Sexton

Hall-of-Famer Mike Sexton became known to many poker fans thanks to his work as a commentator on televised World Poker Tour events, but proved himself a more-than-capable player too by winning several prestigious tournaments – including a WPT title, a WSOP bracelet and the 2006 WSOP Tournament of Champions. He passed away in 2020, with a total of over $6m in live winnings.

Dan Bilzerian

One of the most visible poker players on the planet, thanks to his large social media following, the man they call ‘Blitz’ cannot boast of any significant tournament results. Yet – if you believe his claims – he could be one of the biggest winners in the game, with stories of winning over $10m in a single night in private high roller cash games.

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