To most people, poker is a casual game people play with friends when the internet is down, or a casino game of chances that could take away all your money. For a small group of people, poker is a game, an art, a career, a passion, and of course, money. People play poker games such as tournaments online for real money and when you climb the ladder high enough, you will find the top cream of world players betting thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars in a single game. Some lose money for others to win, but can you guess who the biggest online poker games of all time are and how much they have made in winnings?
No. 3: Daniel Negreanu ($21,250,973)
Daniel Negreanu grew up in the pool halls of Toronto and Poker was basically his bridge into the real world. Since he won his first $2,000 jackpot when he came first place in the 1998 WSOP Poker Hold’em, he has been a true definition of online gambling success. He has won a total of ($21,250,973 with the largest win being the $1,770,218 win in the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic in December 2004.
No. 2: Phil Ivey ($21,252,120)
Phil Ivey comes to the second spot with the same 21 million haul as Daniel Negreanu, but with just under $2,000 more. Phil was born Phillip Dennis in February 1976 and is considered the most formidable professional poker player in the world by contemporaries and observers with 9 world series poker bracelets, 28 final tables and 52 money finishes.
No. 1: Antonio Esfandiari ($26,219,676)
Also known as ‘The Magician’, Antonio was born Amir in Tehran in 1978 but moved to the US aged 9. His first major win was in the LA Poker Classic in Feb 2002 where he won $1,720 after coming 14th but his biggest win was in the 43rd World Series of Poker of 2012 where his first position earned him $18,346,673 in 2012.
And that’s another pot for “The Magician”