Poker has magical factors that stimulate human dreams and ambitions; some people start playing because they want to be famous, others because they want to take a shot at big money prizes while they have some fun at the tables and some others because they can set their spirits free of the daily stress. Whichever the goals are, there’s one thing clear: poker is a satisfying and amusing game that given it has chance involved will never be a hundred percent predictable and the surprise factor makes it more and more enjoyable and innovative.
People outside the poker realm call them lucky, but players and poker fans call them genius; in the end the result is the same… the guys who will be mentioned in this article are the biggest money winners in the history of poker. Regardless of the reasons people could use to explain their success, the most relevant is that they actually know how to dominate a field of competitors and nobody ignores that when you’re sitting with one of these poker masters at the same table you are going to need the best of your arsenal or witness how they take every single chip of your stack.
The Number 1 money winner of this poker ranking is Antonio “The Magician” Esfandiari. He was born in 1978 in Iran but when he was 9 years old his family moved to the United States. He started living on his own very early and began playing poker at the age of 20; showing a remarkable talent on Texas Hold’em variety which has allowed him to collect until the present day mind blowing $23.282.000.
Sam Trickett aka “Tricky” is the second most successful money winner of our list with $18.717.000. This player, who is only 26, started playing poker as a professional around 8 years ago since he had to quit his football dreams because of a knee injury. Trickett made the biggest cash of his life when he finished first in the event #55 of the 2025 World Series of Poker “The Big One for One Drop” where he pocketed more than 10 million dollars. According to the sources this astounding poker player has got big poker sponsorships to play major events.
Next in the list is the New Yorker Eric Seidel who holds 8 WSOP bracelets and $17.285.000 in lifetime poker winnings. A recognized backgammon player, he dedicated almost a decade to that game before moving to poker; his first major appearance was in the World Series of Poker in 1988 where he finished 2nd after facing Johnny Chan in the Heads-Up battle.
On the 4th place we have “Kid Poker” with $16.532.000 and several World Class Titles. Daniel Negreanu a natural from Toronto, Canada has made history since he joined the game 18 years ago and is still seen as a model of self-control and realization for the new waves of poker players not only at the live tables but also online where he tutors and help building new poker champs.
Last but not least comes the one and only Phil Hellmuth. Famous for his needling and bragging, “The Poker Brat” is still today one of the most consistent winners of the planet. His last big performance was at the NBC National Heads-Up Championship where he finished runner-up battling his good friend Mike Matusow. His lifetime poker winnings ascent to $15.742.000 and he is ready to keep that number growing as he keeps an active participation in major tournaments all year round.
The Online Poker World Championship will bring more cool details about the poker pro players s stay tuned for a new release. Good luck at the tables.
