Poker is one of the few casino games people have made a career playing. The game is big, especially in certain regions where high-stakes poker tournaments are very frequent. These events are well-funded and are only accessible with huge bankrolls. 

In essence, there is no surprise as to how the gambling game has made a lot of millionaires. Some of the wealthiest gambling professionals are also iconic poker players. Moving on, we’re revealing the identities of gurus who made millions playing the game.

Who is the Richest Poker Player In The World: 10 Richest Players

As hinted, this game of chance identifies with the most millionaires in professional gambling. Without further ado, let’s roll out ten of the biggest people in the poker world.

Paul Phua – Estimated Net Worth: $400 Million to $1 Billion

Paul Phua is a massive figure behind the poker scene. The Malaysian-born mogul is considered one of the richest poker player in the game, having amassed a net worth exceeding $400 million. Many sources have described Phua as the kingpin of Asia’s high-roller community. That is because he’s been seen in too many exclusive poker games with billionaires in Las Vegas. 

In 2016, Phua founded the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series, a bout for the brave. This competition reportedly requires at least $15,000 for a single buy-in.

Tony G – Net Worth $300 Million

Antanas Guoga, popular as Tony G is a man of many ventures. Perhaps his most successful one yet is his exploits in the game. He is also a businessman and a politician. Tony G’s persona features his bold plays, aggressive table talk, and a stunge poker face. In all, Antanas made a lot of his money from diverse investments, including portfolios in cryptocurrency and tech start-ups. 

Fun Fact: The first poker player to become a millionaire from tournaments was Stu Ungar, who won the WSOP Main Event three times.

Dan Bilzerian – $200 million

A self-styled ‘King of Instagram’, Dan Bilzerian is a pretty controversial name in this casino game. He has always been vocal about how he made his fortune playing high-stakes poker. Till today, there’s still some speculation concerning his exploits. Nevertheless, his portrayed image has brought a lot of attention to professional poker in recent times. 

Phil Ivey – Net Worth: $110 Million

Phil Ivey – “Poker is a game of people. That’s the most important thing. You play the player, not the cards.”

A legendary poker player, Phil Ivey is the person to emulate in this casino game. Often nicknamed the ‘Tiger Woods of Poker’, Ivey has done a lot for the global scene. With a whopping 10 World Series of Poker bracelets, the American has earned riches and respect. 

From the game of chance as well as his business ventures, Ivey net worth is estimated at $110 million. His well-honed ability to read opponents had placed him as one of the richest and feared players around. 

Sam Farha – Net Worth: $100 Million

You may recognise Sam Farha from the 2003 WSOP main event where he finished runner-up to Moneymaker. Notwithstanding, Sam immediately became a TV favourite because of his chill appearance and social demeanour. A good portion of his portfolio has come from high-stakes cash games and strategic investments. 

Fun Fact: Antonio Esfandiari holds the record for one of the biggest single payouts in poker history: $18.3 million from the 2012 Big One for One Drop.

Chris Ferguson – $80 million

Chris Ferguson may not be the most pious poker figure but his contributions to the game are very clear. Including a main event victory in 2000, Chris boasts six total WSOP bracelets, a not-so-common feat. He also co-founded the Irish Poker room, Full Tilt Poker in 2004. 

However, Ferguson ran into some fraud charges with his position at Full Tilt Poker in 2011. Lasting almost two years, the case would put a lasting dent in his poker legacy. 

Bryn Kenney – Net Worth: $72 Million

Bryn Kenny is one poker player with many career highlight moments. In 2019, the American earned over $20.5 million from the Triton Million live tournament. He has come to be renowned for his tournament earnings in high-roller events.  

According to PokerNews, Kenny occupies the top spot for tournament earnings, having raked $73 million from live events alone. Considering his fearless strategy, his success in these events is not entirely marvellous.

Daniel Negreanu – $70 million

Daniel Negreanu – “In the long run, there’s no luck in poker, only statistics.”

Being a beloved figure in this gambling game, Negreanu is adored by many. The Canadian has done exploits in the WSOP, totalling six bracelets and two WPT titles. He is also widely recognised for the books on this game he authored and his media presence. 

In addition, Negreanu is a big casino figure with ties and sponsorship deals with the likes of PokerStars. This comes as no surprise as casino gaming is big in the Canadian market. 

In this context, it may be helpful to review the Instadebit casinos for players from Canada, which considers features like payment, security, license and convenience of gambling platforms. This review allows players to make more informed decisions before registration.

Furthermore, below are some other legendary Canadian poker players you should know:

• Kristen Bicknell
• Jonathan Duhamel
• Mike McDonald
• Gavin Smith 

Justin Bonomo – $65 million

Bonomo was briefly the all-time tournament money leader in 2018. The 2018 Big One for One Drop event was also the highlight of his career as he raked in $10 million in prize money. Subsequently, Bonomo has accumulated over $63 million in tournament winnings, more or less cementing his career and history in the game.

Stephen Chidwick $64+ Million

Being one of the calmest pros in this game ever, Stephen Chidwick is a pretty respected mind in the game. And with over $50 million in tournament earnings, he’s also the UK’s top earner in the game. Technically gifted with strategic acumen, Chidwick’s persona in the game is something many try to emulate. 

Riches Players in The World of Poker : Last Words

In all, this table game is the elite of casino games. You wouldn’t even need to look far to find a poker millionaire. Because of the game’s high-stakes nature, those who win, win big. And just as we pitched, we presented the wealthiest in the game.

If you choose to put most of the volume of your play into tournaments instead of cash games be prepared that you’re going to have a lot more variables on your mind than at the cash tables.

Because of that, the way you should play your hand can vary drastically even within the same tournament – there may be a case where Q7 off-suit is a clear shove pre-flop, while pocket tens are an obvious fold.

This is based on a number of things – payout structure, your and your opponents’ stack sizes, and many other variables.

This a whole new set of calculations.

While cash game players only need to worry about EV (expected value), tournament players need to have ICM (independent chip model) constantly on their minds as well.

Therefore, tournament poker is an objectively more complex game than cash game poker since EV calculations are still at play for each decision but on top of that comes the ICM factor.

In this post, we’re going to look at how you can cash in more poker tournaments and the knock-on effect this can have with your overall profitability.

Poker is a very simple game. There are only 10 named poker hands. They are (in rank order)

1 – Royal Flush
2 – Straight Flush
3 – Four of a Kind
4 – Full House
5 – Flush
6 – Straight
7 – Three of a Kind
8 – Two Pair
9 – Pair
10 – High card

The player with the highest-ranked poker hand wins.

Although less well known than the more illustrious (and more expensive rivals) Holdem Manager and PokerTracker, DriveHUD has a loyal band of supporters and is an excellent entry point into the world of poker databases and HUDs.

As its name suggests Drive HUD is essentially a Heads-Up Display (HUD) driven by a database collected from the hands played by a poker player and their opponents.

For the uninitiated, a HUD has its origins in aviation. 

They were designed so a pilot would have access to critical information without having to deviate from looking forward. 

They are also becoming increasingly popular in motor vehicles.

A poker HUD relays all the on-screen information by accessing its constantly improving database of information. 

It can draw a multitude of data on your play and your opponent’s play in both cash games, Zoom (on Pokerstars), and tournament events.

Used correctly, a poker HUD can give vital information about your opponent’s style, bet frequency, tilt level and help you become a better online poker player.

A new year and a new collection of the best online poker sites for you to have a look at. If you’re sitting on a few hundred pounds, ready to deposit on a poker site and hit the tables, it seems like your choices are endless.

Luckily, the passing of the 2005 Gambling Act granted UK residents total freedom to choose to play online poker on whichever site they wish; and at the same time established a regulatory process to make sure player funds are safe.

In addition, later legislation allowed offshore companies to apply for UK licenses as well, further broadening the selection of rooms.

So everything is going well for UK gamblers – compare that to the US, where the vast majority of the states don’t even offer legal online poker. But with all the freedom comes the burden of choice.

Online poker has taken the game to the next level.

The sheer number of hands you can play has let people experience all the different situations available.

This experience has translated into big profits for some players and allowed them to excel and crush the games.

Everyone is improving more quickly and coaching/training sites have added to the trend. 

As the industry has expanded, the tools available to assist you have become more varied.

Whether you are an improving recreational, small stakes poker player or a committed online table ninja grinder, Holdem Manager 3 is arguably the most comprehensive and poker HUDs and tracking software currently on the market.

If you are a player who is familiar with the ins and outs of online poker software, you may want to skip ahead to find out the improvements introduced in this latest version of HEM. 

It will show you how the new features help you to improve your game and can maximise the number of tables you are able to play confidently.

For the rest of you, here is a brief introduction to HUDs and poker tracking software.

It will show how they are used and why no semi-serious cash game player should be risking money without one.

As you should have come to expect with Beating Betting, you will find zero bullsh** in this Holdem Manager 3 review.

We don’t beat around the bush, only providing honest facts in order to help you make an informed opinion on the best poker HUDS for you.

Bluffing – for the “layman”, it’s probably one of the first words that pop into their heads when they hear about poker. And in a certain way, they’re right to make that association.

See, bluffing is an essential tool to overrealise your equity in poker.

“Overrealising equity” is just a posh way of saying ‘win the pot more often with your hand than it would win if it went to showdown each hand’.

The Twitch Poker Twitter account recently shared this video of a player, “Cwien”, live on stream folding pocket Aces before the flop, when it is impossible that anyone has a better hand than you.

In the footage, Cwien comments that “we made the right fold” since after the board is dealt he learns that he would have lost to a King-high straight. But we all know poker doesn’t work like that.

A fold doesn’t become “right” or “wrong” based on whether you won or lost a single pot.

A sample size of one hand is not enough if you want to be profitable over the course of thousands and thousands of hands.

But is there any time when folding the best possible hand pre-flop is actually the right move?

Poker, after hundreds of years of being played around the globe, is still changing.

The game is constantly evolving, whether it be the advancement of strategy, new game types emerging – think of short-deck hold’em, the latest fad among high stakes pros – or changes to tournament structures.

The focus of this article is going to be the last of these categories, more specifically the button ante.