The virtual poker scene has garnered more and more attention, rising in prominence the more the digital set-up becomes commonplace. Poker has become not only entertaining to play, but to watch as well, with televised games beloved not only for the skill of their players but for drama, comedy, and thrill. The scene for playing card games online has become just as exciting.
Below are five of the best online poker players in history. You may want to check out a few of their plays to see how you can improve your own game the next time you hit the virtual tables.
Viktor Blom
Known online as “Isildu1,” Viktor Blom has won millions playing online poker even before his true identity was revealed. This Swedish poker star used to play at big stakes global tournaments from the lat 2000s onwards. Some of his best known and most frequent competitors in games that involve six-figure pots include superstars like Phil Ivey, Brian Hastings, TomDwan, and more. In 2009, Blom played in one of the ten biggest online poker pots at the time, playing high stakes games with some of the best in the business. One of his biggest wins in online poker is worth $1.7 million in two weeks; for these, he is considered an online poker legend.
Tom Dwan
Tom Dwan went by the username “durrr” in online games while winning some of the highest stakes imaginable. Dwan hails from Edison, New Jersey, and studied at Boston University before deciding to pursue professional poker. He quickly became one of the most infamous online players, his legendary exploits earning him an online poker pro feature in Jonathan Grotenstein and Storms Repacks book Ship It Holla Ballas!
Dwan would play four hours on end at the time of the poker boom, playing multiple high stakes tables with other big names in the industry, including Viktor Blom. Dwan has made $3.4 million in live poker tournament wins.
Dan Cates
“Jungleman12” of Maryland began a huge online and live poker career after moving on from online micro stakes. By 2014, he was reported to have won $11 million in online winnings alone. This includes a $5 million win for 2010. Cates began poker as a teenager, later studying economics at the University of Maryland. He has played in online and live poker rooms, winning two WPT high roller titles back to back in 2013 and 2014. He also won a Triton Super High Roller in 2016 worth $359,229. He currently has $7.4 million in live winnings.
Phil Ivey
Phil Ivey is straight up one of the biggest names in poker history, and this includes online platforms. Ivey was there at the height of the online poker boom, clearing out virtual tables and earning as high as $20 million. Ivey also has more than $30 million from his live tournament wins. His accolades include ten WSOP bracelets as well as one WPT title. In recent years, he has begun to play even more high roller tournaments, including a win and runner-up finish in Sochi, Russia in 2020. These were two $50,000 events, earning him a total of $1.4 million.
Ivey has become so well-respected for his prowess and success that he has become somewhat of a celebrity, being a regular in televised poker shows.
Fedor Holz
“CrownUpGuy,” a 26 year old German, first garnered attention in the mid-2010s with massive wins, including a $1.3 million haul from a single online poker tournament. He has also begun to carve a name for himself in live poker, finishing 25th place in the 2015 WSOP Main Event for $262,574. Holz won the 2018 Triton Super High Roller in 2018 for $3.5 million dollars, as well as a runner-up position in the Super High Roller Bowl for the same prize amount. Despite being less active in the poker scene in recent years, his achievements ensure that he remains the stuff of legends.
