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When the site relaunched after PokerStars purchased the company, Antonius returned as FinddaGrind. Since returning, he has amassed over $5.7 million in earnings. This actually ranks him second and sixth all-time on the Full Tilt Poker All-Time Money List. Phil Ivey is no longer #2 all-time in career earnings. He’s not even #3 now. Jul 18, 2017 And why wouldn't he be having fun? This is his first time playing at the WSOP, as it was on his bucket list, and his wife gave him the go ahead to come this year. He chose the Main Event, and low and behold, here he is at the final table. With just $2,207 in known live poker tournament winnings, Hesp is sure making the most of his opportunity. The Heartland Poker Tour (HPT) was visiting the Hollywood Casino St. Louis for the first time, and the $1,650 Main Event drew 444 entries, which created a $646,020 prize pool. In the end, 47-year-old criminal defense attorney Bill Byrnes emerged victorious to claim a $148,587 first-place prize. Aug 27, 2019 After a long battle, Bob Ricciuti finally locked up his first World Series of Poker Circuit ring and first six-figure cash in Event #3: #600 No-Limit Hold’em. Ricciuti had a big rail behind him for the last few days, eventually watching him earn a massive $134,413, which put his lifetime earnings over $500,000. 13 General poker tips for the First Time Poker Player. The general poker tips below are meant avoid the most common mistakes in poker made by first time poker players. These poker tips make you as a beginning poker player aware of some things you might otherwise easily forget when at the poker table.
Sep 29, 2014 For his 'Casino Poker for Beginners' series, Robert Woolley asked poker dealers to share advice to new players sitting down to play for the first time. After scrolling through this list of the top five poker players on the all-time money list, you might be shaking your head in amazement that legends like Phil Ivey, Antonio Esfandiari, and Phil Hellmuth (who sits atop the career WSOP bracelet list) didn’t make the cut. Well, to be fair, both Phils and the Magician ARE still in the top 20.
The Heartland Poker Tour (HPT) was visiting the Hollywood Casino St. Louis for the first time, and the $1,650 Main Event drew 444 entries, which created a $646,020 prize pool.
In the end, 47-year-old criminal defense attorney Bill Byrnes emerged victorious to claim a $148,587 first-place prize.
“It was awesome,” Byrnes said after the win. “I was pretty comfortable the whole time. I came in third in chips today, which I felt good about. The guy that came in second, I’d been playing with the past couple of days, he was a hell of a player. I was definitely worried about him. There was a number of good players at the table but I felt comfortable going in. I’m going to take my wife to Europe, not sure what else to do with the rest.”
Byrnes pledged to donate some of his winnings to the charity First Descents, which offers young adults living with and surviving cancer a free outdoor adventure experience designed to empower them.
Interestingly, Byrnes almost didn’t get the chance to compete at the final table as he had a court meeting Monday morning that had the potential to keep him preoccupied.
“I had a case set for jury trial this morning. If it was going to go I would’ve had to be blinded down,” he admitted. “I wouldn’t have made it back here. I was pretty far down the list so didn’t think they’d get to me but I was holding my breath.
Prior to the win, Byrnes had $429,719 in career tournament earnings including a previous best of $55,968 for finishing 11th in the 2015 World Series of Poker Colossus.
The first final table elimination came about an hour into play when Greg Wood jammed ace-jack only to run it smack dab into Steve Green’s two black aces. Wood didn’t get so much as a sweat and was sent packing in ninth place.
Not long after, Joe Landazzi fell when his pocket aces were cracked by Kou Vang, who had flopped a set of fives, and Tim Burden followed him out the door in seventh place. Burden, the 2018 MSPT Indiana State Poker Champion, began the final table with a big chip lead but nothing seemed to go his way. Eventually, he was whittled down before four-betting all in with pocket four. Dave Simon, who had three-bet with nine-seven suited, called and turned a straight to eliminate Burden.
With six players remaining, Andy Echele had pocket aces and flopped two pair. Unfortunately for him, Keith Heine flopped trips and turned a boat, which is when the chips went in. The river wasn’t an ace and Echele headed for the payout desk to collect $24,872.
Minnesota poker pro Kou Vang bowed out in fifth place after shoving his short stack from the small blind with ace-deuce and getting called by Simon, who held six-three in the big. A six on the turn was the final nail in the coffin for the MSPT Hall of Famer, who took home $24,872 for his fifth-place finish.
Simon was the next to go after running a bluff against Heine, who had flopped a full house, and then Green took his leave in third place after losing a flip with deuces to Bill Byrnes’ ace-queen.
Byrne entered heads-up play with 6.33 million to Heine’s 6.975 million and immediately set about chipping up.
Byrne entered heads-up play with 6.33 million to Heine’s 6.975 million and immediately set about chipping up.
Eventually, he had Heine on the ropes when the final hand developed. Byrnes slow played pocket aces and flopped a set while Heine flopped a flush draw. The chips went in on the turn and Heine failed to find a fifth heart to fall in second place for $91,735. It was one spot better than last year when he finished third in the HPT St. Louis for $48,042.
Ed. Note: Updated August 11, 2019!
The all-time money list is one of the more common ways that poker players and fans determine who is the best. While this certainly isn’t the only way to gauge how good a poker player is, lifetime tournament earnings certainly can tell us a lot about a poker player’s skill. Sure, some poker players in the top 100 of the all-time earnings list have only had one huge score (see also: Gold, Jamie), and many players in the top 50 have earned the bulk of their winnings in super high roller tournaments with limited field sizes and astronomically high buy-ins, but when we look at the top names on the all-time money list, it’s very much a who’s who of poker.
If you fantasize about some day perhaps making it on to the all-time poker money list and are looking to start your journey towards the top, it might be best to first test the waters online and build yourself a bankroll online, so you should look for a good poker bonus code and grab a sign-up bonus as well if one’s available at a reputable site.
In the meantime, we’ll take a snapshot at the top five players on the all-time money list and a brief look at how they got there. Of course, we’ve got to add the caveat that with so many high buy-in events taking place throughout the calendar year, amounts won and place/spot on the list are constantly in flux.
Bryn Kenney – Lifetime Earnings: $55,505,634
Active in the poker tournament scene since 2007, Bryn Kenney recorded his first million dollar year in 2011. After a couple “off” years (by his standards), Kenney hasn’t looked back, posting annual results since 2014 of over 1, 2, 5, 8.5, and 5 million. In 2019 alone, prior to the WSOP, he amassed an astonishing $9.1 million in earnings.
? Big Congratulations!! @BrynKenney ?? wins ANOTHER title at #TritonMontenegro2019, claiming the HKD 1m NLH Main Event trophy ? and the first place prize of ? HKD 21.3m (USD $2.77m)
✒ Full Recap: https://t.co/yE2aPTXJdy
▶ The Live Stream continues: https://t.co/YD58raNsrvpic.twitter.com/EJpJmIsAOO
▶ The Live Stream continues: https://t.co/YD58raNsrvpic.twitter.com/EJpJmIsAOO
— Triton Poker (@tritonpoker) May 10, 2019
Kenney’s crowning moment, however, was notching the largest-ever poker tournament score, $20.5 million for a second place finish (after he agreed to a chop with the event’s eventual winner while holding the chip lead) at the £1,050,000 No-Limit Hold-Em – Triton Million for Charity event in London.
He’s number one in the all-time money listings. He’s Bryn @BrynKenney Kenney, the $55 million dollar man. https://t.co/peOhnBAdhf
All Time Poker Earnings
— PokerNews (@PokerNews) August 11, 2019
While Kenney’s #1 spot might arguably be “tainted” by the fact that he has almost exclusively played on the super high roller circuit — in events with buy-ins of $25K or more — over the last few years, so have dozens of others, and they don’t have the results he can boast. There’s no reason to believe Kenney will slow down anytime soon, so look for him to hold on to the top spot on this list for a while.
Justin Bonomo– Lifetime Earnings: $48,508,780
In 2018 Justin had the best poker tournament run in history, having won upwards of $25 million! He had incredible string of final table finishes and wins all over the world, from the Bahamas to Malta to Hong Kong and Las Vegas. He won every major high roller poker tournament in 2018, including the Super High Roller Bowls in China and Las Vegas, as well as a second WSOP bracelet, in the $10K Heads Up Championship.
? Breaking – Justin Bonomo Wins 2018 Super High Roller Bowl ($5,000,000) https://t.co/1y3A1n44HCpic.twitter.com/WZrSmlGx4A
— The Poker Wire ♦️ (@thePokerWire) May 31, 2018
Already having accomplished the unthinkable, Bonomo went on to do the impossible, winning a third bracelet (second one in 2018) in the $1 million buy-in Big One for One Drop for a $10 million score.
There is big and then there is @JustinBonomo.
Wins Big One for @OneDrop for $10,000,000 and takes the top spot on poker’s all-time money list. ??1⃣
▶ https://t.co/wtwTU6NmGwpic.twitter.com/abfFDN0rz2
Wins Big One for @OneDrop for $10,000,000 and takes the top spot on poker’s all-time money list. ??1⃣
▶ https://t.co/wtwTU6NmGwpic.twitter.com/abfFDN0rz2
— PokerGO (@PokerGO) July 18, 2018
Bonomo was already a stellar poker player with over $18 million in career wins prior to 2018, so his performances over the past couple years have vaulted him from the top 20 into second place overall. Quite the achievement indeed!
Daniel Negreanu – Lifetime Earnings: $41,857,384
Prior to Bonomo’s ridiculous 2018 run, and Kenney’s insane $20+ million runner-up Triton Poker event score, Kid Poker had earned more money playing live poker than anyone else. The Canadian poker hero has been grinding the poker tables for years now and he has amassed a fortune in live poker tournament earnings. A first-ballot Poker Hall of Famer, he continues working on his game to ensure that he can stay atop this list, as the competition gets ever tougher. To point, his most recent score was a massive $3 million payday for finishing runner up in the 2018 Super High Roller Bowl.
Negreanu has also capitalized on his popularity in the poker world. A staple for years on all the top poker TV shows, Negreanu also pumps out plenty of content of his own for fans to enjoy on YouTube as well as his Full Contact Poker blog and podcast.
Exclusive new interview with @RealKidPoker. Grab the popcorn! https://t.co/OjKNjYlBLa#poker#LFG#TheWaitIsOverpic.twitter.com/hNl4ZF6Kmk
— Robbie Strazynski (@cardplayerlife) November 5, 2015
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Dan Smith – Lifetime Earnings: $36,742,718
Dan Smith is a killer poker player who has found success for a number of years at European Poker Tour stops and Aria High Roller events in particular. Specifically, having played mostly 5-, 6-, and 7-figure buy-in events over the last couple years and cashing for huge sums has quickly boosted him towards the top of the all-time leaderboard, his recent 3rd place finish at the £1,050,000 No-Limit Hold-Em – Triton Million for Charity event in London helping him pad his earnings with close to $9 million. Smith shows no signs of slowing down and will surely keep climbing as the high roller circuit events keep being held all over the world.
![Most poker earnings Most poker earnings](/uploads/1/2/5/2/125213043/755710745.jpg)
Luckiest card of my career yesterday ? https://t.co/eqpMT7tA4O
— Dan Smith (@DanSmithHolla) August 4, 2019
Erik Seidel – Lifetime Earnings: $35,726,969
Seidel has been playing live poker actively for decades now. A winner of eight WSOP bracelets, he’s also a Poker Hall of Famer. Seidel continues not only to be active, but also to thrive in poker tournaments of all buy-in levels. To point, two-thirds of his career tournament winning came AFTER he was elected to the Poker Hall of Fame! A force to be reckoned with Erik continues to play in all the big High Roller events around the world and remains a threat to climb the all-time WSOP bracelet leaderboard as well.
Erik continues to pad his numbers and add to his career totals with millions in cashes over the last couple years.
The great @DanielColman_& a slow moving dinosaur chase @RealKidPoker
— Erik Seidel (@Erik_Seidel) February 20, 2017
The Rest of the Best
After scrolling through this list of the top five poker players on the all-time money list, you might be shaking your head in amazement that legends like Phil Ivey, Antonio Esfandiari, and Phil Hellmuth (who sits atop the career WSOP bracelet list) didn’t make the cut. Well, to be fair, both Phils and the Magician ARE still in the top 20. How to explain it though?
Simple: with the proliferation of High Roller events all around the world over the last few years, cashing for six- and seven-figure scores has become increasingly common. Guys like Hellmuth, Ivey, and John Juanda earned their stripes and built their career tournament winnings stats playing in events with FAR lower buy-ins, usually a maximum of $10,000; plus, there weren’t nearly as many such high buy-in events running in any given year. These days, yearly wins of $2-3 million are relatively common among those who play the High Roller circuit; a far “easier” achievement when some events cost $25K, $50K, $100K (and more!) just to enter, and they run throughout the year…
Lastly, let’s not forget that “amount won” does NOT take into account amounts bought in for, chops, staking agreements, and the like. We’ll likely never know the true amounts of PROFIT that poker players will have earned over their careers, but nonetheless it’s fun to talk about and enjoy all-time money lists like these.
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