The World Series of Poker and other big-name live poker tournaments have made many poker legends into household names. Anyone knows about players like Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu, and Phil Ivey. But what about the famous poker players playing online who built their reputations one mouse click at a time? These top online poker players range from mysterious grinders to flashy high roller cash game crushers. Our list of ten epic players below includes some of the best poker pros on earth. They managed to stay lethal without ever seeing their opponents – their grasp of the game was just that sharp.
This list is not done purely by player earnings. Lifetime earnings lists are out there and typically mix in results from big live tournaments. Instead, there are also players on this list who made an undeniable impact on online poker, even if they don’t top the live tourney profit charts. There also was an effort to include famous players from the beginning era of online poker all the way through today.
10. Randy “Nanonoko” Lew (approximate known profits: over $2.5 million)
Have you ever tried to play multiple poker tables at once? What about staying profitable while muti-tabling? Well, Randy Lew, who the Internet knew as “Nanonoko,” was the most prolific multi-tabler ever.
Fans watched in stunned amazement as he played 24 (!) tables at the same time while playing solid poker. He quickly reached the very highest levels of rewards at his chosen poker site, as you can imagine. He cleared a million hands of poker a year and holds the record for most hands of online poker played in an eight-hour stretch. He clocked out at 14,548 to earn that record.
He will forever define the soul of a grinder. Who needs a bracelet when that’s your claim to fame?
9. Ben “Sauce123” Sulsky ($5 Million)
Ben Sulsky plays under the name “Sauce123,” and his rise to the top is the stuff of legends. His knowledge of the game, strategy, theory, and poker odds are beyond reproach. He thrives in very high stakes cash games and can take on anyone without batting an eye. His domain is heads-up and six-max No-Limit Hold’em cash games, where he is truly a dominant force that you do NOT want to reckon with.
Fortunately, he’s also known for coaching and sharing insights with others. Among all the top online poker players, Sauce123 is one of the few that big-name pros themselves might actually study. Take him on at your peril.
8. Viktor “Isildur1” Blom ($6M) & Tom “durrrr” Dwan ($7M)
In the olden days of the early aughts, Isildur1 and durrrr were the true boogeymen of high stakes cash games on Full Tilt poker. Their plays were absurdly hard to deal with. Daring bluffs and overbets would have opponents sweating bullets behind their screens. Before streaming was even a thing, players were logged in to tables hosting these players just to watch the masters at work. They made millions, but also lost large sums and made them again.
It’s hard to describe now, but these guys were truly rock stars of the poker scene. When famous poker players like WSOP-level names commanded respect, these guys put fear into the hearts of anyone who had to sit opposite them at an online poker table. It was chaotic, creative, and crushed the scene for a good while. They really did change the game. When their little avatars loaded in, the crowd came running and opponents ran for cover.
7. Linus “LLinusLLove” Loeliger ($7.5M)
Linus Loeliger, an online poker player from Switzerland, is an absolute menace when it comes to No Limit Hold’em cash games. He is a true online player, staying away from the spotlight and interviews. His results speak for themselves, though. Stacking up millions in poker winnings, he makes one of the world’s most effective arguments for studying game theory optimal (GTO) poker. When we develop a poker AI that is able to hang with the big boys and girls, it will probably play a lot like LLinusLLove. Online poker champions who beat tournies are one thing, but it’s another to simply accumulate cash by being better than everyone else. If poker is chess, Loeliger is undoubtedly one of the global grandmasters.
6. Niklas “Lena900” Astedt ($8M)
Something is in that fresh mountain air in Sweden because the nation has created more than a few terrors of the tables when it comes to poker. One of the best poker pros in the world, never mind the country, is Niklas “Lena900” Astedt stands out even among them. If he’s in an online tournament field, you can count on seeing him at the final table more often than not. No online rankings list is complete without him, at this point. In addition to glitzy wins (like winning two WCOOP titles in a single hour?), he also is a player who can produce huge profits with high volume play. He’s one of the top online poker players in the world, and he makes it look easy.
If you want to learn how to crack big-prize online poker tournaments, devour as much content as you can from Mr. Astedt.
5. Chris Moorman ($10M)
Moorman crushes tournaments. That’s what he does. That’s what he is. If you show any weakness, he will devour you and your stack.
Oh yeah, he also has a WSOP bracelet, so his game translates to a live setting quite well.
Among poker legends, he is one you simply must tip your hat to. Moorman has eight figure winnings and is still counting chips. All we can say is: get out of his way or he will run you over.
4. Doug Polk ($10M)
Now we’re getting into some of the most famous poker players to ever boot up a PC. Doug Polk is quite simply one of the smartest card players in the world. He first terrorized online cash games under the name “WCGRider.” This was a reference to his participation at the World Cyber Games as a Warcraft 3 player. Laugh at this nerdiness at your peril, because he has time and time again defeated elite opposition in cash games and scored hundreds of thousands of dollars for his stack.
He’s also an outspoken content creator, and you can check him out on YouTube to learn about his influence on the industry. Whatever you do, don’t play cards with him.
3. Dan “Jungleman” Cates ($18M)
Dan Cates, who the world knows as “Jungleman,” is a high-stakes legend. He has a big personality, an unorthodox playstyle, and over $18 million in online earnings. Heads up, Cates is one of the scariest players you could face. In a tournament, he’s a favorite to take the top spot. It doesn’t matter if it’s NLHE, Omaha, or something else. This man is a chip magnet. He’s one of the top online poker players ever in large part because he’s flexible. He figures out how to win in the moment. Cates is quotable, crazy, and a true poker genius in his own strange way.
2. Michael Addamo ($24M)
In terms of modern poker killers, Addamo is among the very best. He is aggressive at all the right times and in all the right ways. He plays in some of the highest stakes available and has accumulated $24M over his career. This puts him in the top spot as Australia’s winningest player ever. Period.
He demolishes the live circuit and makes no mistake, but his online game is second to none. The pressure you feel playing this guy is indescribable. It’s like running out of air underwater while being crushed by a two-ton weight. Say goodbye and goodnight. Addamo is everyone’s daddy at the poker tables.
1. Fedor Holz ($50M)
Put simply, Fedor Holz is a poker prodigy. He is the Mozart of online poker. How do you win over $50M playing online poker? Most players get excited to take down a few hundred in a tourney, and this guy is halfway to nine-digit winnings. How is that even possible?
Well, he wins one tournament after another online and has been doing so for ages. If you ever see the real “CrownUpGuy” in a card game, it’s time to lock in. He might as well have an engraved seat at the final table. He has “retired” before, but the game always pulls him back in. Holz is a Mount Rushmore player when it comes to online poker.
