Poker Stories

Mori Eskandani spent the better part of three decades grinding out a living on the poker felt, even notching a handful of tournament wins along the way, but it's his contributions as the President of Poker PROductions that has earned him deserved praise as one of the more influential people in the game today. A natural story teller with a knack for spotting big poker personalities, Eskandani and h...

Freddy Deeb is one of the most accomplished poker players in history, with two World Series of Poker bracelets, two World Poker Tour titles, and more than $8.5 million in live earnings. The Beirut-born Deeb was well on his way to a degree in mechanical engineering at Utah State University before a civil war broke out back home in Lebanon, forcing him to turn to poker to get by. In addition to his...

Justin Young was working as a mechanical engineer on an Marine Corps base before his surging bankroll gave him the confidence to pursue a career in poker. His first major score came when he finished second at the 2008 WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic, earning $936,700. He continued to post good results, with many close calls along the way, before he broke through to win his first World Poker T...

David Peters is only 30, but is already one of the most accomplished tournament players in poker history. The Toledo, Ohio native currently has $19.5 million in live cashes, which is good enough for no. 15 on the all-time tournament earnings list. Peters' poker resume is filled with high-profile wins, including a WSOP bracelet, an EPT title, many high roller events and the 2016 Card Player Player...

Eric Baldwin burst onto the live tournament scene in 2009, making 17 final tables en route to a World Series of Poker bracelet and the Card Player Player of the Year award. He followed up that campaign with the largest score of his career, earning seven figures for finishing runner-up to David Williams in the 2010 World Poker Tour Championship. In the years since, Baldwin has remained remarkably c...

Linda Johnson, dubbed "The First Lady of Poker" by Mike Sexton, is a real living legend of the game. Johnson has been playing poker for more than four decades, and along the way she won a WSOP bracelet, helped start the WPT, owned and operated Card Player Magazine, saw the world with Card Player Cruises, and helped found the Tournament Director's Association, serving on the board. Linda...

Ankush Mandavia has been playing poker for the better part of the last decade, but it wasn't until a couple years after Black Friday that the online specialist made the successful transition to live tournaments. The 31-year-old has since become a regular in the high-stakes events, and has a third-place finish in the $100k buy-in PCA super high roller for almost $800k. The University of Georgia gra...

Matt Affleck might forever be known as the guy whose pocket aces were cracked by Jonathan Duhamel deep in the 2010 World Series of Poker main event, but in the years since, the Washington-native has established himself as a consistent force on the tournament circuit. Now 30, Affleck has racked up $3.8 million in combined live and online earnings. He has wins at the Borgata Winter Poker Open, Fall...

Nick Petrangelo is a poker pro from Massachusetts who broke out onto the high-stakes tournament scene back in 2015 with numerous final tables, including a second-place finish in the $100,000 buy-in Five Diamond World Poker Classic high roller for more than $1 million. Since then, the 31-year-old former hockey and golf standout has been a consistent force on the high roller circiuit, amassing $9.4...

Matt Berkey is a 35-year-old poker pro from Leechburg, Pennsylvania who has risen through the ranks to become a regular in both high-stakes tournaments and cash games. The former baseball standout has earned nearly $4 million in live tournaments, including a $1.1 million score for taking fifth in the 2016 Super High Roller Bowl. Berkey's most recent accomplishments include a third-place showing in...

Barry Greenstein is a three-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner and two-time World Poker Tour champion with more than $8.3 million in live tournament earnings, but the 62-year-old member of the Poker Hall of Fame is perhaps best known for his success in the high-stakes cash games during the poker boom. In fact, Greenstein was winning so much playing in the big games (he won $5 million durin...

Greg Mueller is a former professional hockey player turned high-stakes poker pro. Mueller, otherwise known as FBT or Full Blown Tilt in the poker world, picked up the game on a long road trip between games. After nine seasons, Mueller retired from hockey and took up poker professionally. In 2009, he made headlines at the World Series of Poker when he won his first two bracelets, taking down the $1...

Tom McEvoy is the 1983 World Series of Poker main event champion, and a member of the Poker Hall of Fame. The 72-year-old from Grand Rapids, Michigan considers himself to be semi-retired from the game these days, but managed to win a total of four WSOP bracelets over the course of his career. McEvoy was working as an accountant in Michigan when he lost his job and decided to play poker for a livin...

Chris Moorman is the no. 1 online tournament player in poker history, and it's not even close. The 32-year-old U.K. poker pro has managed to rack up $14.2 million in online tournament earnings over the years, which is $3.3 million more than his nearest competitor. Now based in the United States, Moorman has proven that he is quite the live player as well, with $5.1 million in earnings. After a few...

Upeshka De Silva, known as Pesh, didn't really start concentrating on the live tournament circuit until 2013, but in the few years since he's still managed to win two World Series of Poker bracelets while banking nearly $2 million in earnings. De Silva's first bracelet came in a 2015 $1,500 no-limit hold'em event for $424,577. His second bracelet win happened just last summer, when he took down th...

Ari Engel is one of the hardest working grinders on the tournament circuit today. The former no. 1 online poker player in the world has been practically living out of a suitcase as he chases big cashes all over the globe. The 33-year-old has done quite well for himself, with nearly $5 million in live tournament cashes. He's currently tied for fourth place with eight WSOP Circuit titles and in 2016...

Frank Kassela is a three-time WSOP bracelet winner and the 2010 World Series of Poker Player of the Year. In addition to $3 million in live tournaments earnings, Kassela is also a regular in the nosebleed-stakes mixed games that run in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. When he's not tearing up the felt, Kassela owns and manages several business throughout the United States. He's also passionate about pol...

Tony Dunst knew he wanted to be a poker player even before he could legally enter a casino. His dream became a reality and the Milwaukee, Wisconsin-native has put together a solid poker resume with $2.9 million in live tournament earnings and another $1.9 million online. He won his WSOP bracelet in 2016 and even has a WPT title from 2013. These days, Dunst considers himself to be more of a broadca...

Jonathan Little is a two-time World Poker Tour champion who was also named WPT Season VI Player of the Year. The Pensacola, Florida native has more than $6.5 million in live tournament earnings in addition to the millions he won online. Little has established himself over the last decade as one of the hardest working players int the game. When he's not on the road playing the circuit or doing comm...

Joe Cada became a household name in the poker world in 2009 when he won the World Series of Poker main event for more than $8.5 million. By doing so, he surpassed Peter Eastgate as the youngest champion ever, at the age of 21, and scored a $1 million contract with PokerStars. Already a feared cash game grinder, Cada continued to put in time in high-stakes online games after his main event win, pre...

Maria Ho is not only a feared, high-stakes cash game grinder, but also quite the tournament player, having cashed for nearly $2.2 million. The 34-year-old is perhaps best known for being the last woman standing in the WSOP main event, having done so twice, in 2007 and 2014. But the L.A.-based poker pro doesn't just have her mind on the tables. She's also done work as a commentator and sideline rep...

Greg Raymer became a household name in the poker world back in 2004 when he won the World Series of Poker main event and the $5 million first-place prize. With his signature reptilian sunglasses and his fossilized card protectors, Raymer nearly went back-to-back before bowing out in 25th place back in 2005. The former patent lawyer has seven other WSOP final tables on his resume, and in 2012 he wo...

Noah Schwartz has put together quite the poker resume since he first made his debut back in 2007. The 33-year-old has racked up more than $5.5 million in tournament earnings and has made seven final tables on the World Poker Tour. In addition to claiming a WPT title, Schwartz also won a World Series of Poker Europe event back in 2013 to claim his first bracelet. His biggest score came in 2015 when...

Justin Bonomo is on quite the hot streak, coming off of his best year on the tournament circuit where he cashed for $4.2 million. He is currently no. 21 on the all-time tournament earnings list with $15.1 million. Bonomo's biggest score came in 2012 when he took down the EPT Grand Final super high roller for just over $2.1 million. Not only has the 31-year-old Virginia native done exceptionally we...

Bryn Kenney is currently no. 1 in the Card Player Player of the Year race and has been one of the most consistent performers on the tournament circuit for the last four years. The 30-year-old, Long Beach, New York native has racked up more than $15 million in career live tournament earnings, which is good enough for no. 20 on the all-time list. Although he does own one World Series of Poker bracel...