Famous Poker Players
Professional poker players are more and more turning into famous poker players. And not just famous among other poker players: these professionals are turning into something like real celebrities. These becoming-famous poker players are turning Texas Hold'em into a spectator sport.
Thanks to the World Series of Poker (WSOP), the Internet, and ESPN coverage, there are many professional poker players who are no longer obscurities--they are heroes (and, yes, heroines).
Stu Ungar...Scotty Nguyen...Noel Furlong...Chris Ferguson...Carlos Mortensen...Robert Varkonyi...Chris Moneymaker...Greg Raymer...Joseph Hachem...Jamie Gold...Jerry Yang...
Do any of those names sound familiar to you? Even if you've never held or folded one of the Texas Hold em starting hands, those names may strike a bell somewhere in your mind. They are the last 10 winners (in order, starting with Ungar in 1997) of the WSOP. The WSOP began all the way back in 1970. Just like with pro football and baseball in those days, there were dynasties, albeit one-man dynasties. Johnny Moss, Doyle Brunson, and, at the beginning of the 1980s, that guy Stu Ungar were the men to beat. Those guys are still the guys to beat (one of the good things about Texas Hold'em is that your skills get better, not more diminished, as you "get old"); but as those professional poker players have become famous poker players, their techniques have spread like wildfire, making for more competition and increasingly putting the WSOP final pot up for grabs.
Now, there are more guys, and some lovely ladies, to beat.
You've got names like "Amarillo Slim", "Moneymaker", and "Jesus" in this great game of Texas Hold'em, too. Ah, poetry in motion!
As I said before, the Internet has been one of the reasons for Texas Hold'em's meteoric rise in the last 10 years. Many people love playing online now, and it's a great virtual place to start learning and mastering the game. There are even professional poker players like Niki "KaiBuxxe" Jedlicka who have built the foundations of their careers online, while the likes of Chris Ferguson, Doyle Brunson, and Annie Duke, just to name but a few, are famous poker players whom you can play against online.
Robert Varkonyi says there are advantages to playing online poker. "Playing in your underwear...Playing without offending anyone after eating too much garlic. Jumping up and down and swearing (not in chat) after a mistake or bad beat. Your spouse jumping up and down and telling you that you’re making a mistake as you hit the wrong button." (Varkonyi's wife Olga also went far in the 2005 WSOP along with Robert.)
| Rank | Logo | Poker Room | US? | Bonus | Visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Bodog Review |  |
$500 | VISIT |
| 2 |  |
Full Tilt Review | |
$600 | VISIT |
| 3 |  |
Absolute Poker Review | |
$500 | VISIT |
| 4 |  |
Ultimate Bet Review | |
$650 | VISIT |
| 5 |  |
Doyles Room Review | |
$550 | VISIT |
| 6 |  |
Poker Stars Review | |
$50 | VISIT |
| 7 |  |
Titan Poker Review |  |
$500 | VISIT |
| 8 |  |
Cake Poker Review | |
$500 | VISIT |
| 9 |  |
Carbon Poker Review | |
$500 | VISIT |
| 10 |  |
Players Only Review | |
$1,000 | VISIT |
