Poker was once just a game between friends, where you could enjoy a few beers and earn a few bucks. Now, poker has become more than just a fun game. For many people around the world, poker has become their meal ticket and a pretty fabulous one at that.
Professional online poker players make a living through their skill, hard work and expertise at the trickiest card game out there. These players have elevated the status of poker from just a game to a sport that can pay big. Here are the lavish lives of top poker players around the world.
Daniel Negreanu
Nationality: Canadian
Age: 43
Net Worth: $34, 333, 814
Negreanu discovered his affinity to gambling at the age of 16 when he won several poker games at local casinos. At 21, he moved to Las Vegas to play with the high rollers. In 1998, he won $169,460 at the $2,000 Pot Limit Hold ‘Em event at the World Series of Poker, becoming the youngest man to win the title. Since then, he has won 6 World Series of Poker (WSOP) tournaments and 2 World Poker Tour (WPT) titles. He was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2014. He has appeared in films including X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Grand and Lucky You. He has also appeared in TV series Tilt, which is based on Poker. He has written 4 books including Power Hold’em Strategy, Hold’em Wisdom for All Players, More Hold’Em Wisdom For All Players and Superstar Hold’Em Strategy. He is also featured in his own video game, Stacked with Daniel Negreanu.
Phil Helmuth
Nationality: American
Age: 54
Net Worth: $21,980,128
Helmuth lives in Palo Alto, California with his wife and two kids. His first professional poker win was at the 1998 WSOP where he came in the 33rd place. He has since won 14 WSOP Bracelets which is a world record. Most recently, he won the 14th World Series of Poker bracelet in the $10,000 Seven-Card Razz event, earning $271,105. Helmuth has appeared in several seasons of High Stakes Poker. He created the software for High Limited Bet, a Poker Based mobile game. He is a poker coach on TV show Best Damn Poker Show. Helmuth’s family also owns a publishing house, Phil’s House Publishing, which has published popular book Deal Me In: 20 Of The World’s Top Poker Players Share The Heartbreaking and Inspiring Stories of How They Turned Pro. He has won more than most pro-players but is still known to have a temperamental reaction to losing, earning him the nickname Poker Brat. His autobiography, Poker Brat, came out in 2017. As of now, he has his own clothing line, publishing company, poker game company and even a Real Estate Company.
Phil Ivey
Nationality: American
Age: 40
Net Worth: 23,856,033
Phil Ivey first started playing pro in Atlantic City using a fake ID. He has now won ten World Series of Poker bracelets, one WPT title, and appeared at nine WPT final tables. Most recently, he won the $1,500 Eight-Game Mix at the 2014 WSOP. He has played on televised poker events including Poker After Dark and National Heads-Up Poker Championship. Apart from a poker player, Ivey is also an established entrepreneur. He launched ‘Ivey Poker’, a free poker app, in 2012. In 2014, he also launched ‘Ivey League’ which is a poker coaching app. Famous poker champions including Chris Kruk, Patrik Antonius and Cole South are coaches on the app. Currently, Ivey lives in Las Vegas where he owns luxurious 2 storey mansion, luxury cars like Ferrari and Rolls Royce, a private jet and a dog.
Antonio Esfandiary
Nationality: Iranian
Age: 38
Net Worth: $27,614,381
Antonio is Number 14 on the Global Poker Index and has won two WPT championships and three WSOP bracelets. He won $1.4 million at his first WPT championship in 2004. Most recently, he won €126,207 at the €1,100 No Limit Hold’em of the 2014 WSOP. He has appeared in multiple TV shows including I Bet You, Poker After Dark and Entourage. He appeared on the Discovery Channel show ‘Underground Poker’ with fellow player Phil Laak. He currently resides in California with his wife and son. He attends tournaments, does endorsements and Tv shows. In 2017, he and his wife bought a home in Venice listed for $3.425 million.
Stephen Chidwick
Nationality: English
Age: 27 years
Net Worth: $11, 000,000
Stephen Chidwick plays under the name stevie444 since he was a 16-year-old rookie. Today, he is at the number 2 spot on the Global Poker Index. He has been a part of prestigious tournaments including the PokerStars Championship, US Poker Open and Triton Open High Roller Series. His most recent win was at the 2018 Aria 10k-O5 No-Limit Hold’em championship where he bagged 2nd place and $78,400. He won the inaugural US Poker Open to cash in on $1,256,600. He is from Kent, England but currently resides in Mexico with fiancée Marine Jouaillec who is also a pro-poker player.
Each of these Pro-Players started by playing as a hobby with their friends or at the casino. None of them knew that they would be swimming in cash years later. Online poker is legal in India and easy to learn. If you think you are lucky and skilled at the game, take a chance on yourself and dive in. No one knows who the next Phil Ivey or Daniel Negreanu will be. It could easily be you.
Some Tips To Start Your Poker Career
You are probably really excited about playing poker by now. You should be. But how can you start playing poker and earn some money? Well, just follow these simple tips
- Learn the poker game – Make sure you are familiar with all the rules of the different kind of variations of poker
- Practice – Practice is the key to perfection. This rule applies to poker as well
- Do the math – Poker is a game of probabilities. Learning the math behind poker will give you an advantage
- Play with virtual money – Before you risk real money, it is best to play with virtual money. There are number of sites where you can start by playing with virtual money and then risk real cash.
To start playing online, you should go to CashKaro and look at offers from some of the most popular gaming sites in India. If you register through them, you will get great discounts and be able to save some money as well.