Champion of Poker

Online poker is a massive Industry which transacts millions of dollars around the world. Who are the big winners and losers online? Thanks to the data tracking sites we can get an idea of the most profitable winners and the biggest losing players. These tracking sites only track Texas Hold ‘em and PLO results but it is still worthwhile information for us to take a glimpse into the high stakes world of online poker.

Biggest Winners

The biggest winner is the online poker Industry. If you are unsure that you can make money playing online poker then just look at what these great players have made this year alone. Beware, however, these are the players you will need to beat and they know their poker! Here are the top three winners.

Phil Ivey is tracked as the biggest winner in 2009 so far in Texas Hold ‘em. He has 19,000 tracked hands for a $3.3 million profit. This equates to an 8.5BB/100 win rate which is quite something. Phil Ivey is a terrifying presence online. He is reported to make $1 million or more from his online poker sponsorship and share deal with Full Tilt, so even if he loses this poker phenom is a feared player by all and is constantly well bankrolled.

Isildur1 has been the talk of high stakes poker for the last month. His current stats show him in profit of between $2.5 million and $3.1 million but he has been as high as $5 million this month. He had a huge losing streak to show a profit of a mere $100,000 compared to his highest point but has won his way back to a large profit. Undoubtedly he will continue to swing wildly in regards to his bankroll.

Scubba is in third place winning $1.6 million this year. He plays predominantly capped No Limit Texas Hold ‘em and has had great success at the limits of $500/$1000 and $25/$50. He has worked his way up to challenge the best poker players and after a year of showing relatively small losses in 2008 he has blasted his way to the top of the rankings with a great second half of 2009, profiting almost all of his $1.6 million projected online poker profits in that time.

The Biggest Losers

Unfortunately for Tom Dwan he is the biggest loser of 2009 losing $3.2 million. Most of these losses have come against nemesis Isildur1 who Durrrr was so keen to meet he offered him a place at his live poker challenge which took place earlier this month. Isildur1 turned this down. Durrrr was as much as $4 million down on the year but has clawed some back. He has a long way to go however to turn around what was a good year for his online poker until Isildur1 decimated his online poker bankroll. Tom has, however, won $750,000 from his live poker challenge and has a Team Pro status with Full Tilt, so it is not time to worry for Durrrr fans just yet.

Martonas is second on the biggest losers of 2009. He pre-empted Isildur1 by being the first big story of 2009 coming to the high stakes poker tables as an unknown and building a $1 million profit very quickly. He lost that, however, and currently has a $2.4 million loss to his name. It is thought that he is rebuilding his poker bankroll after busting at the high stakes tables. He will be doing this under a different username possibly at a different site to avoid being mocked. He joins a growing list of players who has taken a shot at the high stakes tables and missed.

Well-known player Cole South has been having a tough year losing a reputed $1.6 million at the online poker tables. $300/$600 Pot Limit Omaha has been his biggest leak and his stats show he beats the lower stakes tables but continues to shoot and miss at the highest stakes tables. With a bit of adjusting Cole is talented enough to game select better and show better numbers.

Whilst these numbers are broadly accurate, they are only a guide and players real profits depend on all of their games played both live and online and also their poker tournament play. Players should keep their own accurate records to track your own online poker progress.

By Malcolm Clarke