The Morning Brew Poker Hub
April 30, 2020 · 4 min read
We’re in a mini-boom of online poker. All this time stuck indoors has seen Google searches for “online poker” reach a five year high and activity on some poker sites spike 60% in April. It’s the perfect time to get your game in shape with Morning Brew’s Chipping in for COVID charity poker tournament this Saturday.
- We’re raising money for a great cause—helping feed COVID-19 front line workers—plus it gives you the chance to play alongside some of the biggest CEOs, tech leaders, and professional poker players in the U.S. Sign up here.
To get you in the poker spirit before the weekend, we’re going to:
- Take a trip through tournament poker history
- Recount the biggest hands ever played
- Explain the All-Time Tournament Winnings list
- Level up your game with some training resources
Hope you learn a thing or two, and maybe even win some money off your friends during your next Zoom happy hour.
Tournament Poker in America
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The beginning: In 1970 at the Binion’s Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas, Mr. Binion brought a ragtag group of professionals and amateurs together to play poker with the goal of crowning the best poker player in the world. After countless hours of play, Mr. Binion asked participants to vote for the best player––leading to a tie as everyone chose themselves. Only after the participants were asked to vote for the second best player was Johnny Moss declared the winner. One year later, a similar group sat down to play an organized tournament with a $10,000 buy-in, and the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event was born.
- 1971 WSOP Main Event entrants: 6 players
The rise: In the summer of 2003, a mild-mannered accountant from Tennessee won the World Series of Poker Main Event for $2.5 million. His name was Chris—and I swear I’m not making this up—Moneymaker. Moneymaker won his $10,000 seat for just $86 in a qualifying tournament, and when the last chip was pushed his way, a new American dream was born and the poker boom had begun.
- 2003 WSOP Main Event entrants: 839 players
The peak: The “Moneymaker effect” catapulted poker into the mainstream. By the time 2006 rolled around, the number of entries into the WSOP Main Event had 10x’d. By 2009, the biggest online games reached historic proportions, with all five of the biggest online poker hands ever taking place that year. Online poker sites like PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker regularly hosted games with millions of dollars at stake at any given moment.
- 2006 WSOP Main Event entries: 8,773 players
The fall: In what's known in the poker world as Black Friday, on April 15th, 2011, the U.S. DOJ filed an indictment against the three largest poker sites, Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars and Absolute Poker, for violating the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. Along with circumventing the UIGEA, the sites faced charges of bank fraud, money laundering, and illegal gambling.
- 2011 WSOP Main Event entries: 6,865 players
The aftermath: Poker has made a steady comeback in recent years. While the post-Moneymaker 2006 WSOP Main Event still holds the record for the most participants, 2019 saw the second most entries ever. Online poker has a rocky regulatory future ahead but it’s currently legal in four states: Nevada, Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
- 2019 WSOP Main Event entries: 8,569
Biggest Poker Hands Ever Played
YouTube
While most poker players are happy to win even $1 (myself included), there’s an upper echelon of poker that seems straight out of a James Bond movie. Here are the biggest poker hands––both online and live––ever recorded.
Online
The players:
- Viktor “Isildur1” Blom: You can’t talk about high-stakes online poker without mentioning Isildur1. He participated in the five biggest pots of all time before his 21st birthday. Watch this documentary on his rise and fall. It’s wild.
- Patrick Antonius: A former model from Finland, Patrick Antonius is a legend in both live and online poker. He’s also likely the winningest online poker player ever.
The pot:
- In 2009, Patrick Antonius won $1,356,947 off Isildur1 on Full Tilt Poker. You can watch the hand and some insightful commentary here.
Live
The players:
- Kane Kalas: Son of legendary baseball announcer Harry Kalas, Kane is a part-time poker player who loves playing in the biggest money games on the planet.
- Jason Koon: Widely regarded as one of the top ten players alive, Koon got injured playing sports in college and learned the game because he was bored. Talk about a good ROI.
The pot:
- In a 2018 live-streamed cash game, Kalas won a $2,002,157 pot against Koon. Watch how little everyone, including the commentators, react as two players toss around chips worth more than a Paycheck Protection Program loan. It confirms these guys are wired differently and that the pots have gotten much, much bigger in games that weren't live streamed.
All-Time Money List
Online Poker News
Poker database, Hendon Mob, calculates this list by adding up individual prize winnings in both online and live official poker tournaments.
Right now, New York native Bryn Kenny tops the list with $56,403,506 in career earnings.
- Keep in mind: $20,563,324 of that came from just one score, a super high roller tournament in London where players had to pay over $1 million just to enter the tournament.
Here’s the top five, and yes that’s Chipping in for COVID participant Erik Seidel, sitting in fourth place.
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1st |
United States |
$ 56,403,506 |
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2nd |
United States |
$ 49,128,107 |
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3rd |
Canada |
$ 42,053,307 |
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4th |
United States |
$ 37,748,126 |
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5th |
United States |
$ 36,742,718 |
Poker Training Resources
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To get your game tuned up for Chipping in for COVID, here are some materials to help you learn how to play cards that aren't pocket aces. Or to learn what pocket aces even are.
For total beginners:
- Learn the rules of the most common poker variant, and the one we’ll be playing in our tournament, Texas Hold ’Em.
- Use this guide to understand which hands to play and which hands to fold (not play).
- Toby Tip: When you’re first starting out, the easiest way to turn a profit is to narrow the range of hands you play. Play good cards, play them aggressively, win money.
For the people who played twice in college:
- How to play tight and aggressive (TAG) poker.
- How to play loose and aggressive (LAG) poker.
- Toby Tip: Play TAG poker and you’ll win/lose small. Play LAG poker and you’ll win/lose big. It’s your choice.
For advanced players/degenerates:
- Understanding the Independent Chip Model (ICM) and how to use it to make better tournament decisions.
- A basic guide to playing Game Theory Optimal (GTO) poker.
- Toby Tip: At this level, study, study, study. The best players in the world rely heavily on GTO solvers to find the optimal solution to any user-inputted scenario. If you are serious about your game, you should too.
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