Imagine winning $10,000,00. This was the guaranteed first-place prize for an event that carried a pool of $62, 820,200. The Swedish professional poker player, Martin Jacobson took the prize at the 2014 World Series of Poker main event. That this is a No-Limit Hold’em game should come as no surprise. Thirty of the top-paying poker tournaments are No-Limit Hold’ems.
As a poker variant, No-Limit Hold’em is hugely popular. It has spawned a whole industry. Books and websites on card strategy claim to help players to maximize winnings. Every year the WSOP is televised across the globe and until 2019 it held the top nine places for richest payout.
The Triton Super High Roller series interrupted this winning run in 2019 when it paid out a whopping $23,100,000. The winner, Aaron Zang, was a Shanghai financier, an unknown in the world of poker.
The 2016 winner Qui Nguyen wrote an autobiography following his win. At 22 the 2008 winner was the youngest to win the prize. The Danish winner auctioned his competition bracelet and donated the proceeds to UNICEF. A German online player won the 2011 event.
This infographic detailing the biggest winners offers insight into who they were and what their win was worth. Perhaps it’s time to give up Blackjack and take up Poker.