Poker is becoming more and more popular globally. There has been a large increase of people participating in the games in recent years. The reason is because now the tournaments are shown on TV more than they use to be.
Daniel Negreanu is the most popular face in poker currently. His passion for the game is very strong. Reading his opponents is a very important skill he has. For some people this makes him an untouchable player, but he is known to have a light heart and very friendly personality.
Negreanu was born in Toronto, CA in the year 1974. At the age of 21, he started playing poker and never stopped. Globally, he is considered to be one of the best players in the world. He has won five WSOP bracelets, two WTP titles along with a large amounts of cashes in major poker events.
This poker star is also a member of Team PokerStars pro. He has also an author and co-author of some of the most popular poker books which includes Hold’em Wisdom for All Players and Super/System 11. His love for gambling started when he was a teenager. As a teenager he loved pool halls, hustling, playing cards, and sports betting.
In 1998, he entered his first World Series of Poker at age 23. He became the youngest WSOP champion. Up until 2004, he continued to keep the title of the youngest champion.
Phil Ivey is strongly considered to be the best poker player today in the world. Many people refer to him as the Tiger Woods of Poker. The reason many people refer to him as that is because of his resemblance to the famous golfer and he always expects to win along with the fact he always plays the best to his ability.
Ivey was born in Riverside, CA in the year 1977. At just three months, he and his family moved to New Jersey. When he was 18 years old, he started playing poker at casinos in Atlantic City through using a fake ID.
In the year 2000, he participated in the WSOP and cashed in three events. He almost took in $200, 000 in prize money from the third cash out. Just a few years later he cashed in seven events and won three more bracelets. Years later, he scored 42 money finishes and three more bracelets. Today he is one of the leading poker players in total amount of lifetime tournament winnings.
Jason Mercier was born in Fort Lauderdale in 1986. He got his big break in the poker scene back in 2008. In 2008, he won the European Poker Tour Sanremo Main Event. His love for poker started back when he was a teenager, but he did not start taking it seriously until he was in college. The start to his impressive career began when he won his first live tournament ticket through online satellite. Right now he has $8 million from tournament earnings.
Now he has won 2 WSOP bracelets and 31 money finishes. He has also cashed in 5 WPT events and contains one EPT title. Before he gained an interest in poker, he had planned to become a Math teacher. He had even studied to become one. High school is where he started playing poker, along with his friends. After gaining a love for poker, he started playing online. During the time he played online, he focused on cash games while participating in tournaments. While he was playing online, he won a satellite for the EPT Sanremo Main Event. He won the tournament and also won $1. 3 million cash in first place.
After he won in Sanremo, he traveled to Las Vegas for the WSOP. During that year he cashed in three WSOP events. He was able to earn over a total of $500, 000. After this, he went back to Europe and made an intense run for the WSOPE in the Pot-Limit Omaha for $5, 000. His run did not stop there. In 2009, he was able to continue his run at the WSOP. During that same year he made a very intense run in Europe at the WSOP and he finished in fourth place at $425, 158. In 2011, he received his second WSOP bracelet when he won the $5, 000 Pot Limit Omaha. He was able to take $620, 000 cash along with the prestigious trophy he won. He won another seven WSOP cashes in 2012. This occurred during the 43 rd annual World Series in Las Vegas. Then he won another three cashes a few months after the World Series at the WSOP in Europe.
Poker has become a major activity throughout the entire world. Since it has become a well-respected activity, it is best to assume that there will be more poker stars on the come up sometime soon.