Meet famous poker players and how they rose to fame
With the poker boom in the 2000s, many poker players rose to prominence and became legends in the game. After all, who wouldn’t be famous if a person won millions in their poker career? Add the world-famous World Series of Poker (WSOP) tournament wins and televised tournaments, these poker players are considered legends. Here are some of the famous poker players you should know:
Doyle Brunson
Known as the Texas Dolly, Doyle Brunson was already considered a legend when poker became famous worldwide. He won 10 WSOP bracelets, the most coveted, non-monetary prize by any poker player. He is one of the three players to have won the WSOP in four consecutive years, and one of the four players to win the main WSOP main event multiple times.
Aside from winning 10 of these bracelets, he also authored two poker strategy books, Super System and Super System 2, that up till now are still two of the most famous poker strategy books. He was also voted by Bluff Magazine, an American magazine specializing in poker, to be the most influential force in the world of poker.
Vanessa Rousso
While Brunson started his poker journey before the boom, Vanessa Rousso started hers during the boom and rose to prominence in the poker world. She placed 7th place in the 2006 WPT Five-Star World Poker Classic winning $263,625. This event has pushed Rousso up in the game, making her one of the most recognizable figures in poker.
Phil Ivey
Like Vanessa, Phil Ivey entered the poker limelight in the rise of poker all over the world. He was one of the players that were seemingly invited to all of the televised poker games in the 2000s. He won a total of 10 WSOP bracelets and a whopping $20 million online winnings on Full Tilt Poker, an online poker card room and online casino.
With numerous TV appearances and a large sum of money, Phil Ivey is considered one of the most famous poker players there is.
Maria Ho
Maria Ho is known as the host on PokerGO, an online platform offering content centred on poker when she covered the Super High Roller Bowl, one of the high-profile poker tournaments.
However, she also holds a seat at the table, earning more than 4 million in her whole career. In 2011, she placed second in the WSOP of that year winning $540,020 in a $5,00 No Limit Hold’em poker tournament.
Liv Boree
Liv Boree is also one of the most well-known female poker players and even became one of the pro players in the PokerStars team. PokerStars is an online cardroom owned by The Stars Group.
Her career made an upturn when she won first place in the 2010 European Poker Tour Sanremo and bagged 1,250,000 Euros after her opponent made an all-in bet and won with a one-pair hand. This event then cemented her place as one of the most famous poker players.