The Greatest Poker Success Stories

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Ever since the early nineteenth century, poker has made it possible for billions of devilishly lucky players with a “winner-takes-all” mentality to put whatever it actually takes to win it all on the line. And, sad as it may sound, powerful motivation and exceptional luck are not enough to harness fortune and triumph in poker. Indeed, there are very few top gamblers whose casino stories can be labeled true successes. It doesn’t demand much thinking to figure out what leads to the hype that surrounds this game and captivates minds all over the world.

Someone else’s success story is sometimes rather inspiring and can benefit a lot to reaching your goal. Here is a brief but yet useful compilation of some of the greatest poker success stories that led to the best poker wins. Don’t forget to blink while reading them!

The Impressive Transformation of Patrick Antonius’s Trade

The dream of Patrick Antonius, a promising tennis player, was destroyed after an accident with his back. So, he decided to chase a new dream and rise to the top of the ranks in a totally different kind of sports: poker. Patrick did manage to carry the day and become one of the most successful poker players out there.

Prior to the accident, which happened when he was fifteen, Antonius was extremely determined about his career as a professional tennis player. At the age of eighteen, Patrick took up gambling at a casino for the first time and, as is typical of most people’s first times, lost. And he kept right on losing. And guess what? He continued to drain the guts out of poker up until he won. Not only did Antonius win but also made up for the mishap that had prevented him from accomplishing great success as the elite tennis player he’d aspired to become.

Eric Seidel’s Amazing Path to Success

Eric’s brilliant gambling career launched when he started playing backgammon to supplement his income. His wits and sharp intuition revealed the financial perks he could obtain from this game. So, he devoted himself to backgammon but changed course after he discovered poker. Then came 1988, which marked Seidel’s very first participation at the World Series of Poker, where he first experienced how it feels to succeed in poker. There followed a series of irrefutable wins that assured Seidel and his peers of his rare talent for this game.

Nevertheless, his legendary poker performance was yet to come. Eric beat his fellow players in the $250k Aussie Millions Super High Roller by winning $2.5 million. This was the tournament that made him one of poker’s greatest icons and one of the most successful gamblers of all time.

Johnny Moss. The Legend of Poker

One of poker’s big daddies, Johnny Moss belonged to the great clique of poker “founders” who shaped this game industry as we know it today. His primal passion for poker began to unravel when he was a daredevil teenager striving for new experiences and pocket money. Eventually, having gained enough expertise and tough skills in poker to blend in at a white-collar authorities game, Moss forged his way into big poker and turned himself into the youngest poker prodigy the world had yet known.

One more immense reason why Johnny Moss has been praised in the poker industry is his alleged participation in one of the most legendary games in the history of poker. The game in question took place in 1949, where Moss’s rival was the infamous Nick “The Greek” Dandolos. Moss is believed to have won and lost about $15 billion over the course of the game.

Vanessa Selbst: the Most Successful Female Poker Player

In her twenties, Vanessa Selbst has won numerous prestigious awards at the WSOP, World Poker Tour, and European Poker Tour. In 2010, PokerStars became her official sponsor. Her success inspired many other women to try their hands at poker not only at ladies-only events but at the biggest tournaments in the world.

A Yale graduate who fights social injustice, Selbst has dedicated over 12 years of her life to poker. In 2018, she retired, starting a career at the stock market. She is still playing just for fun. More importantly, she remains the female icon of the industry who motivates many lady poker players to improve their skills and don’t be afraid to conquer the male-dominated game.