Pro Poker Players

The popularity of poker today means that pro poker players are enjoying a celebrity status that many of them (as well as the most people, if we’re being honest) would have laughed at a few years ago. These proffessional poker players are not only looked up to because of their skilled game play, but because hundreds of amateur players rightly regard them as authority figures as far as how to play the game of poker. They are watched not only because of their appeal, but so fans can attempt to figure out their secrets in their own quests for poker glory. We thought it might be fun to outline some of the biggest names in poker today, and include some of the highlights of their careers.

Jennifer Tilly and Doyle Brunson

Jennifer Tilly:

Although many different celebrities, such as James Caan and Ben Affleck, enjoy a crossover in terms of silver screen and poker fame, no one really holds more claim to the title than Jennifer Tilly. While she has hardly distinguished herself in either field, Tilly is bound to draw attention wherever she plays. A former movie star, she made the decision to concentrate full time on poker in 2003. With one World Series of Poker bracelet to her name, she is not exactly the Anna Kournikova of the poker scene, but she is close. Her main achievements have come in ladies only Invitational tournaments.

Doyle Brunson:

Doyle Brunson

The oldest player on the professional poker playing circuit, Brunson is respected by players and fans alike as one of the ultimate authorities in the game. He sits an impressive second among world series of poker bracelet leaders with ten, one behind Phil Hellmuth. He is not only the first player to win over a million dollars in poker tournaments, but also one of only four players to win the Main Event at the World Series of Poker in consecutive years. To round out the list of achievements, the 74 year old is also one of the first professional poker players to take advantage of his skills and relate them to the public in his massive Super System book.

Chris Moneymaker and Phil Hellmuth

When it comes to one player’s impact in the sport or competition in which he or she plays, Chris Moneymaker is right up there with notable athletes such as Wayne Gretzky or Michael Jordan. Moneymaker’s championship run at the 2003 World Series of poker is regarded by many to be one of the catalysts that culminated in the incredible rise in the popularity of both the World Series and poker in general, as people saw an amateur beat out every pro he played against. It might be hard to believe, but Moneymaker is not a pseudonym!

Judging by his many appearances on the poker circuit, Hellmuth is one of the most skilled and most entertaining poker players to watch. As noted above, he currently holds the record in most World Series of Poker bracelets won, with one more than runners up Johnny Chan and Doyle Brunson, both of whom have been playing professionally for longer than Hellmuth. When he beat Johnny Chan for his first WSOP title in 1989, Hellmuth was the youngest player to take the Main Event title, earning him the name Poker Brat.

Playing Poker To Earn a Living

All of the players we talked about here earn their livings playing poker, and they, along with other poker pros, offer information about their game play to the public through a wide range of mediums, including instructional videos, books, and articles in magazines and on the Internet. With many of these pros offering up services that helped them become proffessionals, they also offer up some great entertainment on television. "Team Full Tilt" has a whack of players who are well known and include the following players;