Picking the top poker players is not an easy task, with such an abundance of players not thinking twice to drop tens of thousands because they are confident of winning them back the next time when they sit at the table.
Since the rise of poker games, many celebrities have turned into professional poker players, and the reasons are manifold. Poker games can make (or break) your fortunes if you know the game’s rules and strategies, and you have the patience to learn from your mistakes.
Johnny Moss
Johnny Moss is an immensely popular name in the poker world who started gambling at a very tender age. Johnny Moss was born in 1907 in Marshall, Texas but grew up in Dallas, Texas. During his tenure, Moss played every WSOP from 1970 to 1995 and won 9 WSOP bracelets with three consecutive wins at the WSOP Main Events in 1970, 1971, and 1974.
Moss is also known to have played a 5-month long heads-up poker marathon game with Nick “the Greek,” where he won between $2 & 4$ million. There is a famous anecdote that at the end of the game, Nick uttered what has later become one of the most famous quotes ever: “Mr. Moss, I have to let you go.”. Moss left the poker world when he died on December 16, 1995.
Doyle Brunson
Doyle Brunson is yet another dominating name in the world of poker. Doyle was born in Longworth, Fisher County, Texas, in 1933. He was born a natural athlete and a vivid basketball player who bagged many scholarships. But an unfortunate accident shattered his dreams to become a basketball player. It was then that Brunson thought of trying his hands in poker, which is why he became a poker brand himself. Age could not lessen his poker playing potential, and if there is anyone who could stand the test of time, it is Doyle Brunson.
In 1962, he was diagnosed with cancer, but that too fell short of dimming his capabilities, and he came out victoriously. At the age of 85, he plays some of the biggest cash games in poker and wins victoriously. In 2018, Brunson made a record win at the WSOP final table. His long career in poker includes some of the times’ biggest wins, like the World Poker Tour event when he won the title ‘Legends of Poker’ at the Bicycle game in 2004 when he was 71.
Apart from being a top-notch poker player and a regular in most televised cash games, Brunson is also an acclaimed author. He penned popular books like Super/System: A Course in Power Poker, which is a book on poker strategies became the best seller.
Jennifer Harman
When it comes to playing poker games, female poker players are also not far behind. Jennifer Harman is one of the most celebrated female poker personalities during the poker boom era in the 2000s. Though Harman does not appear in too many televised pokers shows but she was a Star Stopper in popular programs like High Stakes Poker, Poker After Dark, and major WSOP episodes.
Jack Efaraimo
Jack Efaraimo is a 64-year old Kiwi poker player who is affectionately called the “Godfather” of New Zealand poker. Playing with Jack Efaraimo is considered a great deal by the Kiwis. He has been a vivid player in the Poker NZ Tournaments since 1996 and has also taken several benevolent steps to encourage future poker players. He helped 27 poker players to take the trip from Wellington to Christchurch to participate in the week-long poker series.
According to Efaraimo, it is a tribute to his first win in the NZ Poker Champs tournament in 1996 when the first prize was around 100K. His advice to young players is to learn the odds and to know when to fold. Attacking at the right spots by looking at the opponent’s chip stacks is the best strategy to win at the poker table, according to him.
Maria Ho
Maria Ho is yet another prominent female poker personality of the current era. Ho hosts popular poker game shows like PokerGO in the Super High Roller Bowl series, PokerMasters – another high-profile tournament series that helped Ho come into the poker limelight very quickly. Apart from being a gorgeous host, Ho also excelled at the 2011 WSOP, where she bagged $540,020 for a second-place finish in the $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em event.
