Do You Know 5 Top Casino Poker Players?

It’s no secret that poker makes legends.

It’s part of the game’s appeal! The special combination of overall gambling excellence, math skills, and that intangible interpersonal quality make it an experience unlike any other game on offer. Success here requires a… particular set of skills.

This is probably the reason why greatest movies of all time. There’s a drama inherent to the game which lends it an appeal entirely its own.

This is also partially the reason why those who excel at poker tend to specialize in the game. They are the only casino regulars who are playing not to come out ahead against the house edge, but to get the best of it against fellow players!

Success in blackjack, roulette, or craps requires luck and an optimal mathematical strategy…. but in poker, more than just that is called for. It requires competitive skills, strategies, and a certain kind of killer instinct.

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So who are the ones who have done it the best?

Here are five names every poker player should have etched in their memory. Legends all, these humans have played the game as well as any the long history fo the game…

… and they have the accomplishments (and bankrolls) to show for it!

1) Bryn Kenney

With lifetime winnings north of $57 million, American Kenney more or less personifies the high roller approach to gambling. Since making his live cash game debut in 2007, he has gone on an absolute tear, winning a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet in 2014 (and making no fewer than seven WSOP final table apperances overall)!

From a purely mathematical perspective, Kenny is the most accomplished player of all time. One particularly notable win came in 2019, when he earned over $20m at the Triton Million alone! For those keeping score at home, that was (and remains at the time of writing) the single largest payout in live poker tournament history.

Oh, and did we mention that he is only 36 years old? It seems probably that his legend will only grow in coming years.

2) Justin Bonomo

Another big name with a fresh face, Justin Bonomo is also just 36 years old, with lifetime winnings at $57.5m and climbing.

The Americans young career began withs omewhat of a slow burn, making his first recorded cash tourney apopearance in 2005, but not taking home his first big win until 2011 – that would be the $25K High Roller at the Bellagio, good for a cool $870,000 prize. He won the 2018 WSOP $1m Big One for One Drop (with its $10m payday), and also took home a $5m payout at the May Aria Super High Roller Bowl in Macau that same year.

Poker fans can get used to hearing his name, as it sure seems that with all of his success to date, his star is only continuing to climb.

3) Daniel Negreanu

With ten years more experience in life and in poker than those named above, Cnadian Daniel Negreanu has become as close to a household name as the modern poker industry has. He began playing pro poker in 1997, and his resume is more or less beyond comparison.

We’re talking about more than just championships and big paydays, but you can bet he has plenty of both! The man has six WSOP bracelets, two World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship titles, and lifetime winnings well over $42m. He was inducted to the Poker Hall of Fame in 2014.

But his celebrity goes well beyond that, as does his impact on poker at large. He has made countless major media appearances, including movies such as The Grand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine; has written books and become a notable teacher (including of celebrity players Shannon Elizabeth and Tobey Maguire; and even appeared as a commentator on poker-related programming.

In many ways, he the game’s largest ambassador. And though his official lifetime winnings aren’t quite at the level of Kenney and Bonomo, he is still considered by many to be the superior player… perhaps the best in the world. And at only 48 years of age, he likely has many of best playing years in front of him…

… even if his classic nickname of ‘Kid Poker’ no longer fits quite the same way it used to.

4) Fedor Holz

There was a time when Poker was strictly the perview of Americans – if not Texans! (Where do you think Texas Hold’em got its name, if not from cowboy hat-toting players like Doyle Brunson?)

That era is over and gone, though… and the proof is easy to see in the meteoric success of two Germans. Enter Fedor Holz, aka crownupguy.

At 29 years of age, he’s the youngest player on this list, but that hasn’t stopped him from building up a jaw-dropping $41m in live tournament winnings. His first major wins came in 2015 and 2016, with seven-figure payouts at both WSOP tournaments (oh, and he also made the final table in 2017). He’s also been a major fixture on the European Poker Tour (EPT), with a 2016 Grand Final Super High Roller win.

At the time of writing, Holz has stepped away from full-time poker to focus on his entrepreneurial efforts. It seems clear that, wherever his energies go, success is likely to follow this Wunderkind.

5) Christoph Vogelsang

The other German on this list, Vogelgesang has been a force to be reckoned with on the poker scene for quite some time. His lifetime winnings come in at over $32m, with two WSOP final table appearances and another at the WPT.

He is also an accomplished cash player, having made his name in 2010 when he made a few $10 deposits into online poker lobbies. Within 4 weeks, he was playing $5000 cash games… and cleaning up.

Like Holz, Vogelsang is no longer playing full-time, but his poker skills seem undimished. It will be interesting to see what comes next for him.

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For gamblers interested in learning from top players of preveious eras, here are some other legendary names to know: