The biggest winnings in poker. The Biggest Wins in the World Series of Poker - Top Ten Millionaire Champions How Much Do the Luckiest Players Win in Poker?

People who win millions of dollars playing poker are talked about on TV, radio and all other media. Some people envy them, others are happy for the lucky ones, but there are people who, following the example of the winners, start playing poker.

Poker tournaments are regularly held around the world, and one or more millionaires are becoming more numerous. But who in the history of poker took home the biggest win? And what is it, the biggest win in poker. Let's look at the ten biggest poker wins.

10th place – Ryan Riess (USA) – WSOP Main Event 2013 – $8,361,570

In 2013, the dream of the young American Ryan Riss came true; he not only entered the largest poker tournament, but also won it with dignity.

For his winnings, the young man received $8,361,570. Incredibly, at the age of 23, Ryan became the owner of eight million dollars. Where do you think he spent his money? Did you buy an expensive car, a house, or spend most of your winnings on drinking and entertainment? No, the guy invested in major organizations and became a shareholder in brands such as Apple, Facebook and Disney. Ryan is also a co-owner of the Union Pacific railroad company.

9th place – Greg Merson (USA) – WSOP Main Event 2012 – $8,531,853

In 2012, a 24-year-old American named Greg Merson won $8,531,853. Luck smiled on the guy and he won the famous WSOP Main Event poker tournament. When the winner was awarded a cash prize and a gold bracelet, he could not hold back his tears and sobbed out loud.

Greg became a winner not only of the tournament, but also of himself. Shortly before participating in the competition, the guy gave up drug addiction and alcohol. The young man spent his winnings on his family and participation in closed cash games in Baltimore. By the way, Greg spent $500 on himself, buying clothes with this money.

8th place – Joe Cada (USA) – WSOP Main Event 2009 – $8,547,042

A completely ordinary guy from the Midwest, at the age of 21 he became a millionaire and won $8,547,042. Joe Cada started playing poker very early, because his mother worked as a dealer in a casino. Until the guy reached adulthood, he played poker online and earned almost half a million dollars. After Joe turned 21, he began taking part in live games. In a short time, the young man spent all his earned money, so he did not have enough money to participate in the WSOP Main Event tournament.

The entry fee for Kad was made by sponsors, who, after the guy won, received $2 million each. In addition to the winnings, Joe received one million dollars from the PokerStars company for the fact that, shortly before participating in the tournament, he signed a contract with the poker room and represented it at the tournament.

The guy spent his winnings on buying a house in Las Vegas and opening his own business.

7th place – Pius Heinz (Germany) – WSOP Main Event 2011 – $8,715,638

In 2011, a young German, Pius Heinz, won a poker tournament and received $8,715,638. Previously, the guy had never participated in such large tournaments. Often, he played poker with friends and online. After his triumphant victory, 22-year-old Pius said that he did not like playing “live” and at home on the computer - he felt much more confident.

It is unknown what the guy spent his winnings on; he chose not to disclose his future plans. After the victory, practically nothing is known about Heinz; he “went into the shadows.”

6th place – Jonathan Duhamel (Canada) – WSOP Main Event 2010 – $8,944,310

Another young millionaire who was lucky enough to win the WSOP Main Event is 23-year-old Jonathan Duhamel. In 2010, the guy won $8,944,310.

The guy is an ardent hockey fan; more than once, he missed major poker tournaments due to the fact that he flew to hockey matches. Following his victory, Jonathan donated $100,000 to the Children's Foundation Montreal Canadiens to help poor children. To this day, Duhamel is the largest sponsor of this organization.

However, in 2011, an unpleasant thing happened to the young man: when he came home, he discovered that the gold bracelet of the Poker Champion, the personalized watch donated by the tournament organizers and the remaining winnings were gone. Fortunately, everything stolen was quickly returned to the owner. The police figured out that the guide to the thieves for Jonathan's wealth was his girlfriend. She believed that the young man was giving her too “cheap” gifts.

5th place – Peter Eastgate (Denmark) – WSOP Main Event 2008 - $9,152,416

A native of a small Danish town, Peter Eastgate became interested in poker from an early age. In his youth, the guy wanted to build an economic career, but by the will of fate, he chose a career as a poker player.

In 2008, Peter won $46.3 thousand in poker, and thanks to this winning, he was able to pay a fee for participation in the WSOP Main Event. In the final of the tournament, Eastgate beat the Russian and received $9,152,416 for first place. After the victory, the Dane did not stop and continued to play poker.

For today, Peter Eastgate has taken a break from poker.

4th place – Martin Jacobson (Sweden) – WSOP Main Event 2014 - $10,000,000

In 2014, professional poker player Martin Jacobson won the famous poker tournament. For his victory in the WSOP Main Event, the 27-year-old Swede received $10,000,000.

In an interview, Martin admitted that he was 100% confident in his victory; during the tournament, he felt confident and calm.

At the moment, the man lives in London and continues to play poker.

The amazing thing is that since 2008, the Swede has managed to win more than $14.8 million in poker.

3rd place – Jamie Gold (USA) – WSOP Main Event 2006 - $12,000,000

Third place among the ten lucky winners is taken by an American named Jamie Gold. In 2006, he managed to win $12,000,000.

This winner was remembered by everyone for a long time, because during the tournament, his opponents simply hated him - at the poker table, Jamie behaved too defiantly. In addition, the participant was lucky like no other - during the game, over and over again he received exactly the cards that Gold needed to win.

After winning the tournament, numerous friends of Jamie Gold sued him, trying to win at least a small part of the twelve million. The scammers interpreted the lawsuits in their own way: they allegedly prepared the American for the game and entered into an agreement with Jamie for half of the winnings if the guy won.

2nd place – Daniel Coleman (USA) – The Big One for One Drop WSOP 2014 - $15,306,668

To participate in The Big One for One Drop WSOP tournament, each participant must pay an entry fee of $1 million. Therefore, it is not surprising that the 24-year-old American won $15,306,668.

The fight for the main prize lasted more than three days, with many tournament participants literally “gnawing” at the victory. But Fortune smiled on Daniel.

After the victory, the guy for some reason refused to communicate with journalists, saying only one phrase: “Poker is a dark and cruel game.” Apparently, the man’s victory was very difficult.

1st place – Antonio Esfandiari (USA) – The Big One for One Drop WSOP 2012 - $18,346,873

Looking at the amount of $18,346,873, it’s simply hard to believe that this is a cash prize for winning a poker tournament. However, this is true, and this is exactly the amount that American Antonio Esfandiari won in 2012 in The Big One for One Drop WSOP tournament.

To date, this is the largest poker win in the history of the world.

Before winning the tournament, Antonio made a living by performing card tricks and pulling a rabbit out of a hat. Maybe it was these skills that brought the man such a win.

Looking at the names of all these lucky ones, we can conclude that poker is indeed a very profitable and worthy game. So, don’t waste time, and perhaps in a few years, your name will top the top ten “Biggest Wins in Poker.”

From time to time, people have a question: who is the owner of the biggest poker winnings in the official history of the game? For several years now (since 2012), this person has been Antonio Esfandiari, an American with Iranian roots.

If we talk about the amount of the prize, it was definitely the largest one-time payment to one player or athlete: $18.34 million! Yes, that's the kind of money you can make by playing poker successfully in just a few hours.

And a significant event happened on July 3, 2012, as part of the largest tournament in the history of the WSOP. 47 of the strongest poker players on the planet took part in it, and the entry fee was simply an incredible amount: one million dollars!

Antonio Esfandiari managed to beat Sam Trickett in a protracted and exciting heads-up match, for which the champion was awarded the largest win in poker history and, of course, a platinum bracelet from the World Series of Poker.

What helped you win?

Probably, the American player was simply lucky, since no one counted him among the favorites to win. There were also obvious skeptics about him, who claimed before the start of the tournament that Antonio Esfandiari would be eliminated after the first few hands.

So underestimating the player’s abilities also helped him achieve his cherished goal and become a champion. He played cards mostly without straining, as if he felt that his finest hour had come!

After the first day of the tournament, Antonio had the fourth-largest stack at his disposal, and an all-in in the second round on the second day made him the chip leader of the final table. The final hand of the heads-up proved incredibly exciting as the American's set of fives held up against Sam Trickett's flush draw.

In an interview after the game, Esfandiari said that he dedicated the victory to his father, who always believed in him and supported him. Even the bracelet they won was given to the parent as a sign of gratitude for their trust.

Such big wins in poker show ordinary people, beginners and fans of the game that anything is possible! Anyone can win a big prize, because a lot here depends on the attitude to win and a little bit of luck!

The leading poker room recently launched a new promotion called Millioner Makers, in which at least ten site users will become one million dollars richer through various promotions and tournaments. In this regard, Starzy suggested remembering those lucky ones who managed to get the biggest winnings in history.

Top 5 PokerStars Live Event Winnings

5. Peter De Korver – $3,024,167 (EPT Grand Final Main Event, 2009)

The Dutch poker player made the right decision when he decided to go to Monte Carlo to compete for the title of Grand Final champion. As a result, he was able to leave behind 935 tournament participants and win the largest prize of his career. Thanks to this victory, Peter is one of the three most successful tournament players in the Netherlands.

4. Jeff Rossiter – $3,155,886 (GuangDong Asia Millions, 2013)

Currently, the PokerStars Championship tournament series is taking place in Macau, which is enjoying very good success. However, four years ago, a more grandiose event took place in the same place - the Asia Millions high roller tournament, where a multi-million dollar prize pool was played out.

Jeff Rossiter didn't even need to win the event to join the list of PokerStars' biggest winners, as the second-place payout was also impressive.

3. Glen Chorney – $3,196,354 (EPT Grand Final Main Event, 2008)

This poker player won the largest prize in EPT history. The €10,000 buy-in tournament attracted 842 players, bringing the first place prize to a grand scale.

2. Phil Ivey – $3,582,752 (Aussie Millions $250,000 Challenge, 2014)

The American professional, considered by many to be the number one player in poker, has won many victories during his successful career, but this prize was the most “monetary” for Phil. By the way, Ivey won this title with blood and sweat, because at the final table he was opposed only by the best of the best: Tom Dwan (6th place), Fabian Quoss (5th place), Daniel Negreanu (4th place), Mike McDonald (3rd place) and Isaac Haxton (2nd place).

1. Nicholas Heinecker – $4,456,884 (GuangDong Asia Millions, 2013)

The German representative won the largest prize in PokerStars history by winning the aforementioned GuangDong Asia Millions tournament.

This is the biggest day of my poker career,” Heinecker said after the victory.

Top 5 Wins in PokerStars Online Tournaments

5. Talal “raidalot” Shakerchi – $1,468,001 (SCOOP Main Event-High, 2016)

For the British billionaire, this SCOOP champion title was the third in his career and the most important. It is worth noting that the 2016 series turned out to be extremely successful for the poker player - he got into the prizes 36 times, reached the final tables 5 times

4. David “PlayinWasted” Kaufmann – $1,493,499 (WCOOP Main Event, 2013)

There were 2,113 players competing to win the 2013 WCOOP Main Event. Three Germans finished in the top 3 and made a cash deal before Kaufmann took home the title and one of the biggest prizes in PokerStars history.

3. Jonas “llJaYJaYll” Lauk – $1,517,541 (WCOOP Main Event, 2016)

The German online regular fought for three long days for his place in the sun against a large number of experienced players (2,091 participants), but still found the strength to win such a prestigious event.

2. Evgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko – $1,715,200 (WCOOP Main Event, 2009)

2,144 people registered for the main event with a contribution of $5,200, collecting a prize fund of an unprecedented size for online tournaments - $10,720,000. There were 306 players in the prize payout zone, and the winner was destined to take home $1,715,200. And this winner was a Ukrainian poker player.

1. Tyson “POTTERPOKER” Marks – $2,278,097 (WCOOP Main Event, 2010)

This poker player won the largest prize in the history of online poker. After winning the tournament, he said that he felt almost like a god in this tournament, because throughout the entire time the game was going just fine. By the way, third place in the WCOOP Main Event was taken by Russian Dmitry “Russian_Nuts” Stelmak, who earned more than one million dollars.

At the poker tables, players not only get a lot of emotions and drive, but also pursue their main goal - to win money. Some succeed with varying degrees of success, some stand still, others lose to smithereens. Players look with envy at those who managed to achieve the greatest success in the game and disrupt biggest win in poker history. This review is dedicated to these people. Their names are known to every player who is even slightly interested in poker.

3. Sam Trickett ($10,000,000)

The British are proud to have a poker star of his magnitude. Sam is only 27 years old, but at his age he has already become a millionaire. His total balance is $16.6 million. Most of this amount was won at the 2012 World Series of Poker in London. Trickett reached the finals, reached heads-up, but was unable to eliminate his opponent and finished in 2nd place. He was not upset, as 2nd place brought him as much as 10 million dollars and 3rd place in our ranking of the largest winnings in poker history.

2. Jamie Gold ($12,000,000)

Jamie Gold is an American professional poker player and producer. Many younger players haven't heard his name, as other than winning the World Series of Poker in 2006, Jamie hasn't had much success since then. Almost 9,000 people took part in the tournament and the prize money was quite large. The entry fee for the 2006 tournament was $10,000. Jamie Gold took 1st place and hit the jackpot of $12 million. For a long time he was in the lead, but...

1. Antonio Esfandiari ($18,346,673)

Jamie Gold's record was broken by a little-known Iranian, Antonio Esfandiari. Antonio's family moved to the States when he was 9 years old. Esfandiari's main achievement as a poker player is 1st place in the World Series of Poker in London in 2012. He went heads-up with Sam Trickett, who holds the 3rd position in our rankings, and won. In addition to the well-deserved WSOP bracelet, he grabbed a fabulous prize money - $18,346,673! Breaking such a record will not be easy.

Poker legend. Phil Hellmuth

Let's take a little break from material values ​​and talk about the sporting side of poker. Dry numbers will fade into oblivion, but Phil Hellmuth's achievements will remain forever. What does winning the WSOP give you, if you don't take into account the prize money? The winner gets the title and a WSOP bracelet. Phil Hellmuth managed to win the World Series of Poker tournaments 13 times and this is an absolute record. Only a professional in his field could achieve such a result. Luck plays a role, but you can't argue with Phil's skill. By the way, in 2014 at the WSOP, Phil Hellmuth failed to even get into the prize zone.

High rollers around the world with millions in their sights are already signing up to take part in €25,750 PokerStars Championship High Roller And €100,000 Super High Roller. Professionals from the room team are also preparing to compete for big prizes and remember what they felt like winning huge money.

Watch your favorite players win at PokerStars on Twitch

Jason Mercier(12th on the All Time Money List, $18,252,390 Total Live Earnings and $1,622,181 best live tournament result): “When I made it to EPT San Remo in 2008, my life changed dramatically. $1,372,893 - that's how much I won when I was 21 years old. Before that, my biggest win was about 15 thousand dollars online. Having become a millionaire, I was able to buy a house, apartments, a yacht, and good cars. I also started doing charity work.”

Bertrand Yolki Grospellier(41st place in the All Time Money List, $11,025,774 Total Live Earnings and $2,000,000 - the best result in live tournaments) said: “When I won a lot of money in poker, I was able to fulfill my dream of traveling around the world with mom. Before that, she never thought that she would be able to visit such places on Earth!”

Felipe Ramos(942nd place on the All Time Money List, $1,515,237 Total Live Earnings and $100,000 - the best result in live tournaments) said what he experienced: “I became a millionaire thanks to WCOOP. I will never forget this. There was one me before I won and a completely different one after. I was able to travel around the world freely, buy good things. This is the best thing I've experienced in my life."

Vanessa Selbst(32nd place in the All Time Money List, $11,843,153 Total Live Earnings and $1,823,430 - the best result in live tournaments) shared the small joys of having big money: “Of course, the life of a millionaire is very different from the life of an ordinary person. And it's not even about luxury. I just stopped being upset about little things - paying bills, car breakdowns, the need to buy something for life. I don't think about it and there is more joy in my life.

But I think not only about myself. I created a charity foundation that helps unjustly convicted people. And I believe that this is the best thing that my money brought. Now when I play, I want to win not only for myself, but also for others.”

Chris Moneymaker(274th place on the All Time Money List, $3,647,547 Total Live Earnings and $2,500,000 - best result in live tournaments) also loves to help: “As soon as I started winning poker, I contacted charities and began donate some of the money. As a family, we really want to create a shelter for homeless animals. This will bring us much more joy than owning expensive things. This is what happened, for example, with the convertible I had dreamed of all my life. I drove it spring and summer. And then I forgot about him. Now I want to sell it so that I can use this money to help poor animals.”

Top 10 winnings on PokerStars

Room PokerStars made so many millionaires - both professionals and amateurs of poker. It is often the amateurs who win the Spin & Go tournaments with the highest multiplier. And this game, which brings in millions, radically changes the lifestyle of the winners.

Recently, at the Sunday Million holiday, the champion became a millionaire. SCOOP, which will open very soon, will make the winners of the two tournaments richer by seven-figure sums. As you can see, there are many opportunities to win a million dollars at PokerStars.

Top 5 live wins:

5. Pieter De Korver - $3,024,167 at EPT Grand Final:
4. Jeff Rossiter - $3,155,886 at GuangDong Asia Millions:
3. Glen Chorney - $3,196,354 at EPT Grand Final:
2. Phil Ivey - $3,582,752 at Aussie Millions $250,000 Challenge:
1. Nicholas Heinecker - $4,456,884 at GuangDong Asia Millions.

Top 5 online winnings:

5. Talal “raidalot” Shakerchi - $1,468,001 at SCOOP Main Event-High:
4. David “PlayinWasted” Kaufmann - $1,493,499 at WCOOP Main Event:
3. Jonas "llJaYJaYll" Lauck - $1,517,541 at WCOOP Main Event:

2. Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko - $1,715,200 at WCOOP Main Event:
1. Tyson “POTTERPOKER” Marks - $2,278,097 at WCOOP Main Event.