Poker is a curious pastime for so many online real-money poker players, largely because the “real money” on offer is never going to be anywhere close to the amounts banded about in the major tournaments. One of the reasons it’s become so popular is unlike most sports where you can watch the pros earn more money than you could ever dream of, there is a chance to actually win something for yourself and it means the stakes are even higher.
For those at home who want to up their game, there are two things you need to do. Firstly, check out this incredible list of the best ranked real money poker sites so you can figure out where to play real money poker. Secondly, you need to study top-ranked players so you can learn and emulate their strategies to increase your chances of winning in online poker.
These are the top five poker players in the world just now, and you can absolutely learn a thing or two from them
- Phil Ivey
Phil Ivey might just be the best real money poker player of all time. Commonly described as the Tiger Woods of poker, Ivey has banked over $38,000,000 in career winnings. This hasn’t gone unnoticed by any stretch as he was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2017. The 10-time WSOP recipient began his poker dreams by simply playing for fun with his colleagues. It’s even easier for folks to play now as you can do so online even if you can’t find friends to play with!
- Mr. Dan “Jungleman” Cates
Known by a few aliases including jungleman12 or w00ki3z, Dan Cates believes his infatuation with video games as a child led him to dabble in online poker. Soon, he was spending more time gambling than working hard while supposed to be studying on his economics major at the University of Maryland.
Yet, his economic understanding didn’t turn out too bad as he’s earned over $11,000,000 throughout his poker career so far.
- Bryn Kenney
One of the all-time leaders in the Global Poker Index for career earnings, Bryn Kenney is estimated to have earned more than a fair living with a crisp $55,000,000 already won across various tables, while he’s also very active on his social media pages offering out advice.
Kenney gradually transitioned from his trading card game ventures (Magic the Gathering being his favorite) to poker, as he utilized multiple skill sets to help him succeed. Of course, in 2023, budding gamers can play both Magic and Poker on their phones, which can work out cheaper than collecting all the rare holographic trading cards!
- Daniel “Kid Poker” Negreanu
The nickname of Kid Poker might not be an exact fit anymore, given that Daniel Negreanu is now aged 48. Rather a nod to his landmark win in 1998 when he became the youngest person (then 23) to win a WSOP event.
Yet in 2023, Daniel is as active as ever. Frequently seen on high-roller tables as well as working with WSOP and PokerGO on promotional activities to stimulate market interest in his native Canada.
- Jason Koon
Having just won the Triton Cyprus Main Event, Jason Koon can consider May 2023 a good month’s work, earning $2,400,000 at this competition alone. He might consider moving to Cyprus given the high finishes he’s achieved there!
Yet it wasn’t always about winning inordinate amounts of chips in the Mediterranean for Koon. Moreover, at college, he was placing micro-bets for fun while seeing trips to Las Vegas as more of a pastime than a lucrative venture. After several years of playing Full Tilt Poker online (just like anyone can), he began more interested in live cash events starting to participate in 2008. It didn’t take long for him to reach the highest level as he reached the WSOP standard in 2009 and continued winning relatively big sums of money ever since.
