Who are the best and most famous online poker players in the world? Who are the real names hiding behind some of the most famous online poker nicknames like “durrrr” and “Isildur1”? Find out more about your favorite online pros below.
Who Are the Best Online Poker Players?
The best online poker players in history are the likes of Viktor ‘Isildur 1’ Blom, Dan ‘Jungleman12’ Cates and Tom ‘durrrr’ Dwan.
Blom is perhaps the most notable online player of the 21st century. His stardom grew in the late 2000s as he gained popularity from the high-stakes scene. A lot less was known about the Swedish wonderkid back then, due to the anonymity of online poker, but the scarily high stakes, fast-paced style and fearlessness when it came to bluffing and huge pots helped him become very well known. He later began playing live tournaments as well.
Jungleman is another huge fixture online, but Cates’ name has perhaps transcended into the live scene ever more than Blom’s. The American has played many live games, much of which were also televised, and was considered by many top pros to be the best heads up player in the world.
Dwan shares similarities with both Blom and Cates. He grew to fame online, playing excessively large pots and was unfazed when it came to playing pots worth more than most houses. He became a huge name in live poker as well. A large part of his rise to the top was not only his impressive skills at the table, but also his young age - playing against veteran pros decades his senior while he was just in his early twenties.
Some younger online players who are considered among the best include Fedor Holz, Benny Glaser, Andras Nemeth, Yuri Dzivielevski and Niklas Astedt.
Why Do Poker Players Play Online?
The main reason that poker players play online is down to how easy and convenient it is. In a matter of moments, at the click of a button a player can access any format of poker, any game, any stake and connect with a global pool of millions of players.
There’s also no worry of giving off tell (at least physical ones) playing online. There’s no need to travel and no need to carry physical cash. All in all, it’s overwhelmingly more convenient. That’s not to say it’s necessarily better than live poker, but online is far more accessible to most people.
What is the Difference Between Online Poker and Live Poker?
The main difference between online poker and live poker are tells. Tells in poker are (mostly) physical actions that can subtly indicate the strength or weakness of a players’ hand. Things like shaking, eye contact (or lack of), sweating, tone of voice, choice of wording or even the way the chips are moved in can all be giveaways as to what hand is being held.
On the contrary, these tells aren’t a factor for online poker players. The only tells that exist online are timing tells.
Another difference between online and live poker is the pace of the game. Due to no physical cards, chips or player actions being needed, online poker is much quicker, meaning many more hands can be played in a shorter time.
Online Poker FAQs
Who are the best online poker players?
Dan "Jungleman" Cates, Tom Dwan and Viktor Blom are considered among the best online poker players.
Where do professionals play online poker?
Professional poker players play online poker at all the top sites - including GG Poker, PokerStars, 888poker and partypoker. The great thing about poker is that you can have beginners and amateurs playing with the very best on a daily basis on these sites. It's true that pros will play higher stakes, but most will still drop down buy-ins for some of the larger tournaments.
Some professional online poker players will play at multiple different sites, to take advantage of and play all the best online tournaments. However, those who stream or are ambassadors for a site, like Daniel Negreanu is for GG Poker, will stick to one site.
What is the best site to play online poker at?
Some of the best sites to play online poker are PokerStars, GG Poker, 888poker and partypoker. However, due to the sheer amount of options out there, it's difficult to pick the very best. Not every site is available in each region, and one player's idea of what makes a site the best will differ greatly. Check out our regional pages, such as the best poker sites in Ontario, the best poker sites in New Jersey etc. or visit our other domains to find more information about the best online poker sites in your region.
How can you play online poker?
Playing online poker is simple - all you need to do is pick a site you want to play at, verify your age and identity and start playing! It really is that simple. Although, if you're a new player to the game, we suggest reading some of our poker strategy and tips for beginners pages, or playing for fun as you learn the game.
