Most Successful Gamblers In The World

Although we don’t claim that the game inspires criminal behavior, these figures unquestionably sit on the wrong side of the bargain. These gamblers have made gambling history and have attracted the attention of the entire globe. Many of the most well-known poker players’ tales have been made into books and movies because they are so captivating and thrilling. While not all of them depict the astounding heights to which these individuals have ascended, many of them discuss the profound despair that some of them experience. They dropped.

The following professionals in that field have in some way served as an inspiration to athletes around the globe. Many people were inspired to begin their professions, while others spent years studying their methods.

Ivey, who holds ten World Series of Poker bracelets with pride, is regarded as one of the best poker players in the entire globe. One of the most well-known players of all time is undoubtedly Doyle Brunson, a member of the Poker Hall of Fame and ten-time champion of the World Series of Poker bracelet. Texas Dolly, also known as Doyle Brunson, is a renowned poker expert with more than 50 years of experience.

He was a very talented professional poker player before his exaggerated and inventive exploits garnered worldwide notice. Additionally, he used his winnings to launch his own business, MoneyMaker Gaming, and spent several years traveling the globe as a professional gambler before abruptly beginning a streak that would have been unsustainable in his early 30s.

The Archie Karas, a gambler born in Greece who claims to have performed more times in casinos than any other player in history, is frequently contrasted with Nick the Greek. Sam Bonnfield of Rickards Square and Louis Goldie Golden, who once earned $72,000 at the Bonnifields Casino in Sam’s Square during the Klondike Gold Rush, were two notable participants.

Archie has played poker with stakes that have never been seen before in front of many expert players. At the Binions Horseshoes poker table, Karas is seated with five of his seven million dollars in front of him and is waiting for any player who wants to place such wagers.

Lyle Berman, a professional poker player and business executive who co-founded Grand Casinos, offers assistance to Stu. Texas Hold’em poker was Amarillo Slim’s first love. Doyle Brunson and Puggy Pearson, two other competitors, were his collaborators. Woods began dabbling in poker, slots, and horse racing during his college years, but it wasn’t until his wife abandoned him in 1979 that he gave his entire attention to the gaming industry.

He began by using his mathematical prowess to tally cards at blackjack tables in Las Vegas. Thorpe left the risky world of the blackjack tables for the volatile world of the financial markets, where he employs his cunning to increase his wealth.

According to the most recent standardized standings, he is also the highest-scoring Finnish professional player ever, but his pedigree is strong given his four World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets and the 2005 WSOP Championship victory. Nevertheless, these two triumphs solidified not only his standing as one of the greatest poker players in history but also as one of the most well-known players ever.

His infamous “running” phase in his career, during which he amassed up to $ 40 million in three years, started that evening in Las Vegas. Bukowski liked to bet on horses, in contrast to the other players on this list, and Packer was the horse racing player who made the largest bets outside of Las Vegas-style gambling and wagering elsewhere in the world.

While many of these men ended up leading lavish lives, many of them did not at first, proving that all it takes to be a successful gambler is a little bit of talent, a little bit of willpower, and, of course, a willingness to take risks. Founder of MIT Blackjack team Bill Kaplan and his team are some of the best players in the United States, sharing their tale in Kevin Spacey’s film 21. Jagger earned £ 80,000 that day by paying attention to detail, making him one of the

1. EDWARD O. THORP

Although you might not be acquainted with the term, you should be aware of the idea of “card counting” when playing blackjack. Professor of mathematics Edward Thorp holds a PhD in mathematics and a master’s in physics. He created a method for calculating the likelihood that a card will emerge based on the cards that were dealt thanks to his talent and skill.

Players who want to replicate his approach can read about it in a book he wrote. Thorp left the hazardous world of the blackjack tables for the volatile world of the stock markets, where he employs his cunning to increase his wealth.

2. BILL BENTER

Bill Benter is another math prodigy who has used his wits to make a wealth through gambling.

Benter began his job counting cards in Las Vegas, as did many other young gamblers, before focusing on horse racing in Hong Kong. Benter started developing an algorithm that could forecast a horse’s likelihood of winning with incredibly high accuracy in collaboration with another gambler named Alan Woods.

After several trying years and some adjustments, his model finally started to bring in tens of millions of dollars annually. The Triple Trio is a well-known wager in Hong Kong in which you must guess the first three horses to cross the finish line in three different races. This was Benter’s most well-known victory.

Benter, who is now a billionaire, spends his time speaking at universities and making donations to charities all over the globe.

3. BILL KAPLAN

Bill Kaplan and his group of card counters made millions of money at the Las Vegas casinos in the 1970s and 1980s. They were employing ace tracking, the shuffle tracking technique, and other strategies. They were able to defeat the house by 4%. Is it really that simple, though?

They weren’t the only ones, to begin with. There was another set of students at MIT who performed the same action in addition to the MIT Blackjack Team. They had the winnings to fit their name, the 21 Card Stud team.

4. DANIEL NEGREANU

Daniel Negreanu will probably come up when someone is asked to identify one of the famous gamblers from 2020 or even the decade. By capturing two WPT championships and six WSOP bracelets, Negreanu established a strong reputation. He has a good chance of making the final table in the majority of the poker events he plays in.

Even if you haven’t yet watched a WSOP match, you’re probably familiar with Negreanu from his appearances on various poker TV programs. Negreanu participates in the Hearthstone World Championship and plays the game on his Twitch feed as well as at BlizzCon 2015.

6. ZELJKO RANOGAJEC

Zeljko Ranogajec, also known as “The Joker,” is another extremely wealthy individual who has amassed wealth through what is known as benefit gambling. Ranogajec worked with Alan Woods before founding his own wagering group, the Bankroll, after turning a few hundred dollars into millions at the blackjack table.

Ranogajec’s syndicate is said to make wagers totaling more than $3 billion annually, primarily on horse racing. Even if many of these don’t win, Ranogajec still makes money thanks to bookmakers offering him discounts and rebates on his incredibly large bets.

Although Ranogajec prefers to keep to himself, his wealth cannot be as readily hidden. He reportedly possesses a unit at One Hyde Park, the priciest apartment complex on earth. Amazingly, Betfair Australia’s operations appear to be made up of one-third bets put by his syndicate.

7. PHIL IVEY

Anyone who is familiar with the gambling community has heard of Phil Ivey. He began playing professional poker at the age of just 20, and today he is a wealthy gambler in the United States. Ivey is the youngest player to do so, and he has earned 10 WSOP bracelets throughout his career. Ivey has a presence online in addition to being well-known at tables in physical casinos. He has $19 million in gambling site winnings. Ivey is regarded as one of the most successful gamblers of all time and has a distinctive playing technique that sets him apart from rivals.

8. JOSEPH JAGGER

One of the first people to discover and profit from the roulette table was a textile company owner called Joseph Jagger back in 1881. Jagger reasoned that the roulette wheel’s equilibrium was off and that certain numbers are frequently visited as a result of its surface.

Jagger won £80,000 that day thanks to his meticulous attention to detail, making him one of the most well-known British bettors to have defeated the house.

9. ARCHIE KARAS

Archie Karas’ career offers a crucial lesson, even though he is on our list of prosperous gamblers. From 1992 to 1995, Archie quickly turned a $50 wager into a winning run that netted him nearly $40 million. Although this is a fantastic accomplishment, he also lost all of that! Setting limits and knowing when to stop playing with real money today is a crucial skill for all players! Aras was ultimately barred from casinos and no longer engages in competitive poker. Amazing talent allowed this Grecian player to defeat well-known professional gamblers like Doyle Brunson. However, his brief career was cut short by numerous convictions for card marking and cheating.

10. ALAN WOODS

During his college years, Woods began playing slots and poker occasionally and wagering on horses, but it wasn’t until his wife abandoned him in 1979 that he decided to make gambling his full-time job. He then started using a card counting strategy he had acquired from his friend who played bridge, and he eventually turned into a professional blackjack player.

Woods’ primary source of wealth was horse racing, where he applied his mathematical prowess and invented a cutting-edge quantitative betting strategy. Woods rose to prominence as one of Australia’s most lucrative horse gamblers, amassing a total net worth of AU$670 million.

11. TONY BLOOM

Tony Bloom is a bit of a mystery, like many people who have earned their fortunes in the gambling industry. We do know that he began playing poker for amusement while attending The University of Manchester to study maths.

He has earned about $2.5 million from this pastime over the years and has participated in some major competitions, such as the World Poker Tour and Poker Million IX, where he placed second. Due to his cold-blooded playing technique, Bloom also acquired the moniker “The Lizard” at the poker table.

However, Bloom’s wealth has not primarily come from playing poker. Instead, he founded his own betting consulting business, Starlizard, and has earned millions from it. According to numerous reports, Starlizard is one of the best betting companies in the world and bets millions of dollars on soccer leagues all over the world.

12. ANDREW BLACK

Black is a businessman who is well-known for his knowledge of bridges and aptitude for horse racing wagering. In addition to earning millions, he founded Betfair, one of the biggest betting exchanges in the business. He held down jobs while playing until he had enough money to leave those positions and focus solely on being a professional gambler. Black now concentrates on his software business while also continuing to play bridge competitively. When it comes to professional wagering, bridge may not be the first game that comes to mind, but Black has made millions playing the game.

13. BILLY WALTERS

Billy Walters’s gaming tale was all about rising back up after falling down. His hard-earned savings were wasted on the 1955 World Series wager when he was just nine years old, and he continued to lose money well into his adolescence. When Walter went to Atlantic City, he and a gambling companion took advantage of a roulette table with a biased wheel, and their fortunes changed. That evening, they each took home $3.8 million, but for Walter, the good times were just getting started.

In the 1980s, Walters joined the Computer Group, which employs computer hardware to analyze sports results. This is when he started his 30-year winning streak. Walters asserts that he can earn between $50 and $60 million in a prosperous year.

14. CHRIS MONEYMAKER

Moneymaker began his career as an accountant before switching to poker as a means of income. He rapidly rose to the top of the gambling world for his era. He won $2.5 million in 2003 after paying a $39 entry fee to a WSOP online satellite tournament. He quit his accounting work and started playing poker full-time after winning the competition. After joining Poker Stars, he served as the company’s primary spokesperson and drew thousands of players to the website. Moneymaker has earned over $3.7 million from live competitions, with his largest victory coming in 2003 at $2.5 million. He has been participating in and winning competitions in Atlantic City for the past 15 years.

15. CHRIS FERGUSON

Christopher Philip Ferguson, one of the most well-liked WSOP characters, is recognized for his distinctive hats. He practiced his poker abilities through an IRC poker room during his time in college and took part in real-world events in California.

Ferguson avoids giving away any psychological signs by speaking and acting less. Ferguson won six WSOP bracelets by employing a mathematical strategy supported by game theory knowledge gained through creating computer models. By 2017, his live tournament earnings totaled $8.9 million.

16. PATRIK ANTONIUS

One of the wealthiest gamblers in the world is Patrik Antonius. His reported $30 million net worth. He has made a sizable sum of money playing poker online. He has also been successful in winning a number of live competitions.

He was created in Finland’s Helsinki. He used to play tennis, but after suffering a serious back injury, he chose to switch to playing poker. He later gave up playing tennis.

Following his recuperation, he started modeling and was able to play poker thanks to his earnings. He earned a small sum of money at a nearby casino when he was 18 years old. $200 became $20,000 thanks to him. As he kept playing cards, he started to amass increasing sums of money. He ultimately made over $11 million playing poker online.

17. DON JOHNSON

Don Johnson stands out from other expert blackjack players because of the way he wins big at the tables without using any card counting techniques. Instead, he requested to use a blackjack rule that will give the house a 0.26% edge while also working out a loss reimbursement arrangement with the casino.

Johnson managed a “positive expectation bet” that would give him a better edge because of the limited loss by getting the conditions he desires. Johnson earned $15 million as a result of that player’s advantage.

18. STANDFORD WONG

Standingford or John Ferguson Wong became well-known for writing books on expert gambling, such as Professional Blackjack. With 14 volumes covering blackjack, craps, video poker, and other games, Wong has assisted many new and seasoned players over the years.

Wong was the first to develop a blackjack probability computation program and quickly established himself as the go-to consultant for any writer on the game.

Conclusion

While it might seem easy to earn money through gaming, these expert players have invested a large portion of their lives creating distinctive strategies that would give them a necessary edge. Contrary to popular belief, expert gambling requires more time and effort. Even though anyone can enter a casino, have chance on their side, and win the jackpot, these wealthiest gamblers are among the best players in the world and have made it their profession.

As you can see, a lot of experts like to play poker and blackjack. It takes years of playing and competing against others to develop the ability and strategy necessary for success in either of these situations. Professionalism entails a great deal of danger. No matter what strategies are employed, there are no guarantees of success, so these players continue to take chances and frequently lose more money than they gain. However, after years of playing, participating in high-paying events, and placing bets online, they have amassed an incredible bankroll that has earned them a spot on our list of the world’s wealthiest bettors.