Poker Legends

The following is information regarding some of the most notable poker stars throughout the history of the game.

Wild Bill Hickock

This old west legend is notorious for the poker hand named after him known as Dead Man’s Hand. The poker hand being two pairs, black aces and black eights, was the hand Wild Bill was holding during a game in August 1876. Jack McCall shot Wild Bill dead as he believed him to be cheating.

Johnny Moss

It was the infamous poker marathon between Nick Dandolos and Johnny Moss that arguably conceived the idea for the World Series of Poker. a professional gambler named Nick Dandolos challenged Johnny Moss to a high-stakes poker marathon to be played in the public eye. The tournament ran continuously for 5 months, in which virtually all types of poker games were played. Moss won the tournament taking away an estimated $2m. The poker tournament attracted huge interest from the public but it wasn’t until 1970 that the original organizer Ben Binion decided to recreate it as a yearly event called the World Series of Poker. Johnny Moss was the first player in history to have won the World Series of Poker three times. Stu Ungar is the only poker professional to achieved this since.

Chris Moneymaker

Chris Moneymaker won the World Series of Poker No Limit Hold’em Championship in 2003, claiming a record payout of $2.5 million. This truly was one of the most headline- grabbing poker/gambling victories ever for the following reasons. Firstly, the then 27 year old accountant had only played poker for 3 years so was hardly a professional, and had never participated in a live poker tournament before. Secondly, he gained entry into the main event via an online poker contest costing him only $40.

Doyle Brunson

Doyle Brunson is a two time winner of the World Series of Poker and has accumulated 8 gold bracelets. In addition to his reputation as one of the most skilled professional poker players in the history of the game, he is also famous for the books he has published on the game. The book he published called “Super System” was an account of his tips and advice for enhancing your poker game for players of all standards, even professionals. This book is generally considered to be the bible for poker players.

Stu “The Kid” Ungar

Stu Ungar began his career as a professional gambler playing the game gin rummy. In 1963 at just 10 years old, Stu won a local tournament, and was generally considered to be the best in New York by 1967. In 1968 he quit school and started to play professionally, winning vast sums of cash. His later career in poker led to him matching Johnny Moss’s record by winning the World Series of Poker three times.
This is a very brief introduction to some of the most famous poker professionals the game has ever produced. Plenty of information is available online regarding each of these stars.