The Poker Rich List to Inspire Online Players
As one of the most popular card games in the U.S., poker welcomes an estimated 60 million players every year. With online facilities making it easier for players to enjoy games with friends, enter tournaments, and play during their spare time, this number is set to rise.
Betting expert Graziella Calleja reviews the best real money online casinos and puts the game’s popularity down to its high RTP (return to player) percentage of up to 99% for poker and 99.5% for video poker.
While most players will do well to win a few hands and earn a few dollars, some will set their sights higher and have the highest-earning poker players in history on their radar.
The Top 5 Live Poker Tournament Earners in History
There have been many great poker players, and many will hold their opinion of the best. However, one of the easiest ways to list them is by how much they have won over the years.
Here are the current rankings based on live tournament earnings:
- Bryn Kenney
- Justin Bonomo
- Stephen Chidwick
- Jason Koon
- Mikita Bodyakovsky
Bryn Kenney
The top five poker earner list is dominated by Americans, with Bryn Kenney currently at the top with earnings of $66,527,930.
Kenney started earning money on the poker scene in 2007 after playing Magic: The Gathering competitively. His decision to translate his gaming skills to pro-poker tournaments proved to be financially astute.
Justin Bonomo
Just behind Kenney, with earnings exceeding $64 million, is another American, Justin Bonomo. Bonomo made his name as ZeeJustin in the online poker world and won most of the major titles available.
He has since moved on to live tournaments and has made a significant impact at the World Series of Poker, Triton, and European Poker Tour events, with his biggest single victory earning him more than $10 million.
Stephen Chidwick
The first non-American to grace this list is Englishman Stephen Chidwick, whose earnings to date are just under $60 million. The 35-year-old from the UK has enjoyed 345 money finishes and 39 wins in his career, starting out as an online player.
Chidwick’s transition to live tournaments has been impressive. He earned a World Series of Poker bracelet in the 2019 $25,000 Pot Limit Omaha High Roller event, where he also earned $1,618,417.
Jason Koon
The final American on the list is Jason Koon, who comes in fourth place. The 38-year-old West Virginian began life as an athlete and focused his competitive nature on poker through online tournaments.
His online poker career began during college, and three years later, he won $300,000 playing the Spring Championship of Online Poker.
He has competed in live tournaments since 2008, enjoyed 227 money finishes, and ranks 1st in most $500,000+ cashes. His earnings of just over $58 million earn him a place on this leaderboard, and there is plenty of time in his career for this amount to grow.
Mikita Bodyakovsky
Mikita Bodyakovsky is a Belarusian competitor who has just edged out American Dan Smith to take the fifth spot in this list. The 32-year-old has over $55 million in career earnings and has been playing online and live poker tournaments since his teens.
He earned his only WSOP bracelet by winning the $50,000 High Roller Event #85 in 2021 with winnings of $1,462,043. He has also won $1.9 million at the WSOP European €100,000 Super High Roller event.
Conclusion
It goes without saying that earnings of this magnitude are only possible for the world’s top poker players, but they definitely inspire online players hoping to make an impact. Many players on the list began by playing online, and aspiring players can make the most of poker facilities to improve their abilities. Who knows, if you have the skill and determination to put in the hours, your name could one day be creeping up this list.
