Poker Hall of Fame – Best Poker Players of All Time
Poker is one of the most popular card games in the world. The truth is that the industry developed exponentially in the last century, making professional gambling a sort of occupation. This is how the poker hall of fame was founded in 1979 when it began showing the best poker players from the past and current time.
We have prepared navigation with the main topics in this article for those who don’t have patience and want to pick the subject they read. Find out the names of the poker hall of fame members around the world and more about their achievements. We will start from the basics – how and when the hall of fame was founded, and then explore the poker hall of fame list of members on two continents.
Poker Hall of Fame Short History
Some say the origin of poker lies in Asia, while others claim it comes from the 19th-century French game Poque. However, we do like to highlight that poker has been popular for centuries. After the digitalisation and the development of online poker platforms, it became even more popular. The 19th and 20th centuries are the dawn of poker. It is true that way before the era of the best poker gambling sites, people were finding ways to play the game not only in the USA but around the world.
This is because the game requires luck and a significant number of skills if you want to be a winner. Additionally, most of the poker variations played over the centuries are player versus player, which was a way to make a living back in the western days. It slowly became an industry which many great players. Some of the most prominent players of the recent past decided to take everything into their hands and show the world who the best poker players of all time are.
At the end of the 20th century, the American poker hall of fame was founded, while at the beginning of the 21st century, the Australian poker hall of fame. You will find more about them, their foundations, and the poker hall of fame members in the following paragraphs.
Poker Hall of Fame List in America
Legitimate poker operations became a reality in the middle of the 20th century when the expansion and modernisation of Las Vegas began. Of course, there were other privately organised poker tournaments during the centuries, but nothing so transparent and legit.
The end of the Las Vegas mobster era brought the need for more legitimacy and public awareness. This is how one of the most prominent at the time, poker player Benny Binion and others founded the World Series of Poker tournament in 1970, which is one of the most significant poker events up to today.
This helped further develop the industry and the popularisation of the game not only in the US but also around the globe. Almost a decade later, in 1979, Benny founded the American poker hall of fame to help establish and store the game’s legacy, and the best players ever played it. Most of the gold old-timers and the most recent poker hall of fame’s Phil Ivey and Phil Hellmuth you will find in the long list of famous players:
| Name | Admission | Short Info |
|---|---|---|
| Nick Dandolos | 1979 | He was a professional gambler with excellent poker skills known for his nickname “The Greek”. He became an inspiration for the creation of the WSOP. |
| James Butler Hickok | 1979 | James Hickok, better known as Wild Billy Hickok, is not only a poker legend but also an actor, soldier, lawman, showman and sharpshooter. Unfortunately, he was shot over a game of poker in 1876. |
| Edmond Hoyle | 1979 | Edmond Hoyle is actually a British writer born in 1672 who spent years of his life working on card games and their rules. |
| Felton McCorquodale | 1979 | Known for its nickname Corky, Felton was a professional poker player and one of the people who introduced Texas Hold em to Las Vegas in the late 60s. |
| Johnny Moss | 1979 | We can call him the founder of WSOP because he was the winner of the first tournament back in 1970. But even before that, in the 50s, he was already a famous poker player. |
| Red Winn | 1979 | J.H. Winn, known as Red Winn, was a professional poker player in the game’s early days. He was born in 1896, but no one knows the date of his death because he disappeared. |
| Sid Wyman | 1979 | Sid Wyman was not only a prominent poker player in Las Vegas but also a co-owner of several famous casino venues in the city. |
| Blondie Forbes | 1980 | He was a road gambler and known poker player who is also credited for creating Texas Hold ’em Poker. |
| Bill Boyd | 1981 | Bill Boyd is one of the three poker players in WSOP history who won bracelets four following years. |
| Tom Abdo | 1982 | Tom Abdo is another poker hall of fame and a legend of the first half of the 20th century. He also died while playing poker, but from a heart attack. |
| Joe Bernstein | 1983 | Another old-timer born in 1899 contributed a lot to poker history. He won the WSOP in 1973 and died two years later, in 1975. |
| Murph Harrold | 1984 | He was and still is known as one of the best deuce-to-seven lowball poker players of all time. |
| Red Hodges | 1985 | Detailed information about the person is missing. |
| Henry Green | 1986 | Famous road gambler and poker player from Alabama. |
| Walter Clyde Pearson | 1987 | Known for its nickname “Puggy”, Walter Pearson won the WSOP main event in 1973. He has four WSOP bracelets for his career. |
| Jack Straus | 1989 | Most people knew his nickname “Treetop” because he was 6.6ft long. He became quite a poker star in the 1970s but unfortunately died at 58 in 1988. He won the WSOP bracelets twice. |
| Doyle Brunson | 1990 | Doyle Brunson is one of the GOATS in the poker hall of fame. He is over 50 years in the game and still playing and winning. |
| Fred Ferris | 1990 | Fred Bernard “Sarge” Ferris is an American professional poker player who was named one of the top 12 players in the world in 1978. He won the WSOP, Super Bowl of Poker and other famous tournaments. |
| Benny Binion | 1991 | Benny Binion is many things, from a gambling icon to a con man, murderer, and casino owner. One of the many wild heads with massive potential in the hall of fame of poker. |
| David Reese | 1992 | This is a professional poker player from Ohio who won three WSOP bracelets and many other tournaments. David Edward Reese became famous with its nickname “Chip” – Chip Reese. |
| Thomas Preston | 1993 | Thomas “Amarillo Slim” Preston is a legend among the professional gamblers in the USA. He was great at poker and proportional bets. He won four WSOP bracelets before his death in 2012. |
| Jack Keller | 1994 | Jack Keller was an ex-US air-force pilot who became a professional poker player after military retirement. He won three WSOP bracelets with a total amount of almost a million dollars in rewards. |
| Julius Oral Popwell | 1995 | In the poker hall of fame, Julius is known as “Little Man”. He became one of the most famous poker players in the second half of the 20th century. |
| Roger Moore | 1997 | Roger Moore was a simple American from a farmer’s background who later became professional poker and golf course owner. He has one WSOP bracelet and overall winnings of over half a million dollars. |
| Stu Ungar | 2001 | Most people know him as Stu “the Kid” Ungar in the poker hall of fame. He was a gambler by heart who adored poker and blackjack. He also became a shining example of gambling addiction going wrong. |
| Lyle Berman | 2002 | Lyle Berman is a famous poker player and business owner who won three WSOP bracelets and managed businesses for millions. In the 90s, he was also a co-founder of several casino establishments around the country. |
| Johnny Chan | 2002 | One of the great legends of the hall of fame of poker. Johnny Chan, aka “Orient Express”, is a Chinese-American pro player who has been one of the few players in the WSOP history that won over ten bracelets. |
| Bobby Baldwin | 2003 | Bobby Baldwin is a gambling icon of the 70s and 80s. Apart from being a professional poker player, he was also a casino executive until 2018. He has four WSOP bracelets in his account. |
| Berry Johnston | 2004 | Berry became famous at the end of the 80s with the massive win of over half a million dollars on the WSOP 86`. In his career, he has won five bracelets. |
| Jack Binion | 2005 | Yes, this is the son of Benny Binion. He was never able to win any WSOP bracelets, but like his father, he contributed a lot to the poker and gambling industry in the USA. |
| Crandell Addington | 2005 | This is one of the founders of the WSOP tournaments and a prominent businessman and poker player. He made a lot for the poker industry in the second half of the 20th century. |
| T. J. Cloutier | 2006 | T. J. is one of the still-living poker hall of fame legends who were there in the 60s, 70s and 80s when the foundation of the world poker society happened. He has six WSOP bracelets with overall rewards of over 1 million dollars. |
| Billy Baxter | 2006 | Billy has a reputation as an excellent punter and professional poker player. He won seven WSOP bracelets. |
| Barbara Enright | 2007 | One of the few poker queens in the poker hall of fame is Barbara Enright. Apart from being a motivational speaker and magazine editor, she is also the first woman to win an event of the WSOP. Up to this date, she owns five bracelets. |
| Phil Hellmuth | 2007 | Undoubtedly, the poker hall of famer Phil Hellmuth could be considered the king of the poker because he was 16 WSOP bracelets and over 60 final tables for his career. One of the best players in the history of poker. |
| Henry Orenstein | 2008 | Henry Orenstein’s story is fascinating. He survived five concentration camps during the second world war and then moved to the USA, where he became a famous entrepreneur, toymaker and professional poker player. He even founded a tournament of his own – Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament. |
| Dewey Tomko | 2008 | Dewey Tomko, you will remember because he is the only kindergarten teacher in the hall of fame of poker. He won three WSOP for his whole career with overall prizes of almost $300,000. Apart from being a pro poker player, he became also a pro-golfer. |
| Mike Sexton | 2009 | His nickname is “The Ambassador of Poker” because apart from being a pro poker player he was also a promoter of the game and the different tournaments. He has one WSOP bracelet and one WPT title. |
| Dan Harrington | 2010 | Dan Harrington became famous with his WSOP 1995 win. Then he won another bracelet together with the WPT title. For his entire career, the rewards won exceeded six million dollars. |
| Erik Seidel | 2010 | Erik has been a player all his life, starting as a pro backgammon player and proceeding as one of the best poker players in the world. He has nine WSOP bracelets. |
| Linda Johnson | 2011 | This is the second lady in the poker hall of fame. Apart from being a pro poker player, she is a journalist and consultant in Las Vegas. She has only one WSOP bracelet. |
| Barry Greenstein | 2011 | Because Barry always donates part of his winnings, he got the nickname “the Robin Hood of poker”. He won three WSOP bracelets and two WPT titles. |
| Bryan “Sailor” Roberts | 2012 | The Sailor was added to the poker hall of fame relatively late. He is an old-timer who played with the finest poker players in the 70s. He has two WSOP bracelets, one in 1974 and the other one in 1975. |
| Eric Drache | 2012 | This is the ex-NBC manager who became a professional poker player, but he was never able to win a bracelet or any first place, but he took several second places in his career. |
| Tom McEvoy | 2013 | Tom is one of the more recently added poker legends. He has been a pro poker player since 1982. He has four WSOP bracelets and almost a million in prizes. |
| Scotty Nguyen | 2013 | Scotty is a Vietnamese-American professional poker player who started as a dealer at 21 and later became a pro player thanks to the bankroll he was able to collect as a croupier. As a pro, we won five WSOP bracelets and one WPT title. |
| Jack McClelland | 2014 | Jack is more of a legend than a super good poker player because he was the director of the WSOP tournament in the ’80s. He contributed a lot to the industry and the tournament itself. |
| Daniel Negreanu | 2014 | Daniel is one of the poker champions of the last decades. He has six WSOP bracelets and two WPT titles. He is considered one of the best players of our time. |
| Jennifer Harman | 2015 | Jennifer is the third woman taking part in the poker hall of fame. Her occupation has been pro poker player since 2000, when she won her first WSOP bracelet. Two years later, in 2002, she won another one. |
| John Juanda | 2015 | John Juanda is an Indonesian pro poker player living in Tokyo, Japan. He has five WSOP bracelets and one EPT title. |
| Todd Brunson | 2016 | This is the son of the legendary Doyle Brunson. Like his father, Todd became a professional poker player. He has one WSOP bracelet only. |
| Carlos Mortensen | 2016 | Carlos is the first South American who entered the poker hall of fame. He became famous for his bluffing strategies and chip stacking. He has three WPT titles and two WSOP bracelets. |
| David Ulliott | 2017 | Known as “Devilfish”, Devid was a complex personality. Started as a world war two paratrooper, then became a con man and a criminal, and then a professional poker player. His life was a hell of a journey. He has one WSOP bracelet and one WPT title. |
| Phil Ivey | 2017 | Poker hall of fame’s Phil Ivey could be considered the prince of poker because he is in the top 8 best poker players of all time. He has won ten WSOP bracelets and one WPT title. For a reason, his nickname is “Tiger Woods of poker”. |
| Mori Eskandani | 2018 | Mori has been a poker producer and manager of different programs and tournaments across the USA. He started the European version of the WSOP in 2011. |
| John Hennigan | 2018 | John started as a pro pool player but later switched to poker and became one of the top players on the global scene. He has six WSOP bracelets and one WPT title. |
| David Oppenheim | 2019 | Playing illegal poker since the age of 16, Devid was already a pro player at the age of 19. He has no titles or bracelets, but his winnings go above two million dollars. |
| Chris Moneymaker | 2019 | Chris became famous as the first poker pro player who qualified after an online poker match, which was revolutionary in 2003. He has only one WSOP bracelet. |
| Huck Seed | 2020 | Huck has a common person before he became poker pro player. He made a significant streak of wins between 1994 and 2003, winning four WSOP bracelets and over one million dollars. |
| Eli Elezra | 2021 | Eli Elezra is an Israeli professional poker player who moved to the US. His WSOP winnings exceed two and a half dollars. Since 2007, he has won four bracelets. |
Poker Hall of Fame List in Australia
Even in the 90s, Australian gamblers had a strong interest in playing poker in American casinos and tournaments. Many of the Australian poker halls of fame members below did exactly the same, but they also played locally. After 2000 and the rising era of online poker websites like PokerStars, the game became even more popular in Australia and around the world.
The idea to create a separate Australian branch of the hall of fame of poker came to Maurie Pears in 2009. He is the person who initiated the foundation of it and its further development. Here is the list of poker hall of fame members in Australia:
| Name | Admission | Short Info |
|---|---|---|
| Joe Hachem | 2009 | Joseph Hachem has a fantastic life story with many struggles on the road. Despite all, his journey led him to the Australian poker hall of fame. He won the WSOP in 2005 and the WPT in 2006. |
| Jeff Lisandro | 2009 | Jeff is one of the best poker players born in Australia. His pro poker career started in 1997, and for over 20 years, he has had six WSOP bracelets and over a million in winnings. |
| Billy Argyros | 2009 | Billy “the Croc” is an Australian poker player that you will remember with his extravagant outfit and strange glasses. He has no bracelets or titles, but he is still among the best poker players from Australia. |
| Lee Nelson | 2009 | By profession, Lee Nelson was a medical doctor, but after his retirement, he became a professional poker player. Between 2004 and 2012, he made most of his significant wins. |
| Gary Benson | 2009 | Gary Benson was attracted by card games when he was a teenager, but this didn’t stop him from pursuing a business bachelor’s degree. At the age of 30, he attended his first poker tournament. For over 40 years as a pro player, he has had one WSOP bracelet. |
| Mel Judah | 2009 | Known as “the Silver Fox”, Mel Judah is one of the finest Australian poker players. He has two WSOP bracelets and a WPT title. |
| Antanas Guoga | 2009 | Most people called him Tony Guoga. At the age of 11, he moved to Australia and started playing poker. At 18, he already got the skills needed to compete professionally. He has no titles or bracelets, but he did compete on many WPTs and WSOPs. |
| Maurie Pears | 2009 | Known as “the Master” Maurie Pears. He is one of the old-timers on the Australian poker scene. The person who founded the Australian poker hall of fame. |
| Marsha Waggoner | 2010 | Marsha is now the first lady in the Australian hall of fame of poker. She started as a casino dealer and then became a professional poker player. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have any bracelets or titles. |
| Leo Boxell | 2011 | Leo Boxell first joined the Australian poker society in the distant 1998. Ever since he has competed in global gambling events all around the world. |
| Danny McDonough | 2011 | We are sorry to inform you, but there was not enough information about Danny that we can show you here. |
| David Gorr | 2012 | David Gorr is another Australian old-timer that is playing poker professionally since the 1990s. He participated in many local and international events. His total lifesaving from poker went above two million dollars. |
| Jason Gray | 2012 | Jason Gray is one of the young poker players in Australia, but he is actually an Englishman who lives in Sidney. He has almost two million dollars in live earnings for his short pro poker career. |
| Graeme Putt | 2013 | Mr Putt is a proud New Zealander who has competed on the Australian poker scene since its dawn in the 1990s. His live earnings as a pro player reach $800,000. |
| Van Marcus | 2015 | Van Marcus presents the younger generation of professional poker players in Australia. He has several significant wins, two WSOPs, one APPT Manila, one Full Tilt Cyprus Classic and more. We expect to see many more achievements in the future. |
| Joe Cabret | 2016 | Joe is one of the mid-aged professional poker players in the Australian poker hall of fame. His total live earnings come to one and a half million dollars. |
| Aristomenis Manny Stavropoulos | 2017 | Most people call him Manny Stavropoulos. He is a relatively new player with many achievements and great wins but no tournament ones. His live earnings go above one and a half million dollars |
| Grant Levy | 2018 | Grant Levy is an Australian pro poker player who has had an incredible winning streak in the last decade. He has won seven major tournaments and many other small games. His total live earnings from poker go to near two and a half million dollars. |
| Jonathan Karamalikis | 2019 | Jonathan is one of Australia’s latest and most successful pro poker players. He has no WSOP bracelets, but he reached the finals twice. His total earnings from poker go close to five million dollars. |
| Lynn Gilmartin | 2020 | Lynn became famous for her acting, and TV shows career. Then she became a pro poker player. She followed the WPT for several years, contributing a lot to the popularisation of the tournament in the last decade. |
| Kahle Burns | 2020 | Kahle Burns is considered the latest best pro poker player from Australia. He has won two WSOP bracelets, while his live poker earnings almost reach the stunning amount of 11 million dollars. |
Top 8 Poker Players of All Time
The are many poker hall of fame members, but not all are proved players, some are tournament and casino managers, people who contributed a lot to the poker industry itself. To make your life easier and to save you the research we have gathered the names of the top 8 poker players of all times:
- Doyle Brunson
- Phil Hellmuth
- Daniel Negreanu
- Stu Ungar
- Nick Dandolos
- James Butler Hickok
- Phil Ivey
- Kahle Burns
Of course, if you look online, you will find many other players with master skills and stunning overall scores. In fact, there are many new players on the global scene, like Charlie Carrel, who was first known only with his online nickname Epiphany77. Online poker, and gambling in general, is one of the fast-growing industries of the 21st century, so expect the unexpected from it.
Poker Hall of Fame Voting System
Some of you are probably wondering how a pro poker player can be nominated to the poker hall of fame. In general, the procedure is quite fair and straightforward. First, all fans submit their suggestions online, and then all the existing poker hall of fame members choose which of the nominees answer the following requirements:
- Minimum 40y old
- Be acknowledged by the competition
- Play for high stakes
- Being consistently good
- Gain respect from other players
- Have decades of experience
- If not a player, must have a contribution to the overall success or growth of poker
When the list of the players worthy enough to be considered a hall of fame is complete, all members of the hall vote to choose one or two players to join them. This is actually how each year the new inductees are approved nowadays.
Best Places to Play Poker Nowadays
Well, it is hard to say which are the best places to play poker, because nowadays, there are millions of options. Your skills and bankroll will point you in the right direction. Playing at the best online casinos in the UK is a nice start for the rookies because transitioning to online poker becomes easy once you get the hang of it.
There are many online tournaments with massive rewards, so the choice to play live or online is based on your preferences and capabilities. If you have the skills, the money and the motivation to participate in competitions like WSOP or WPT, do it. You might even become a famous superstar one day. If you want to stay incognito and still be able to play for large amounts – go online.
FAQ
This was a long and full of details article, so having additional questions is normal. For that purpose and convenience, we have gathered the most frequently asked questions about the poker hall of fame and its history and members. Use the provided jump links to explore one more extensive variation of the answers.
