The Top Pros

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Guess88

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The best 20 poker players in the world at the moment:

1. Daniel Negreanu
2. Phil Ivey
3. Doyle Brunson
4. Johnny Chan
5. Gus Hansen

6. Chris Ferguson
7. Phil Hellmuth
8. T. J. Cloutier
9. Scotty Nguyen
10. Mike Matusow
11. Barry Greenstein
12. Phil Laak
13. Sam Farha
14. Antonio Esfandiari
15. Erick Lindgren
16. Howard Lederer
17. Jennifer Harman
18. Erik Seidel
19. John Juanda
20. Chau Giang
 
Jack Daniels

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Huh?

Is this a list from where and based on something? Or just opinion?
 
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Guess88

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sorry, shudve made it clear - just an opinion.
 
4Aces

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Are you talking about NLHE only? Even if you are i dont agree with you.
But, if your talking about all round poker, how can Chip Reese not be in the top 20?
 
Swanny

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Ok thanks. How did you come to your conclusions? No break down? Gimma reasons man! ;)
 
pokernut

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There are some online players making the jump into live action that will really open people eyes that you are missing.

Also, no Allen Cunningham?
 
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mischman

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The best 20 poker players in the world at the moment:

1. Daniel Negreanu OK
2. Phil Ivey OK
3. Doyle Brunson OK
4. Johnny Chan OK
5. Gus Hansen Overrated, horrid
6. Chris Ferguson Hasnt done much of anything lately.
7. Phil Hellmuth OBV
8. T. J. Cloutier Hasnt done much of anything lately.
9. Scotty Nguyen Hasnt done much of anything lately.
10. Mike Matusow OK
11. Barry Greenstein Yea
12. Phil Laak Overrated, overall horrid. Hasnt done much of anything lately.
13. Sam Farha Hasnt done much of anything lately.
14. Antonio Esfandiari Hasnt done much of anything lately.
15. Erick Lindgren Hasnt done much of anything lately.
16. Howard Lederer Hasnt done much of anything lately.
17. Jennifer Harman Hasnt done much of anything lately.
18. Erik Seidel Hasnt done much of anything lately.
19. John Juanda He quit poker....thus, Hasnt done much of anything lately.
20. Chau Giang Hasnt done much of anything lately.
21. tenbob OBV :)


Your 'best players at the moment' list is not correct at all.
 
Swanny

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Gee, I wonder if cslowey and the OP are posting from the same IP address?

I love spam, wonderful spam...
 
Tammy

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Gee, I wonder if cslowey and the OP are posting from the same IP address?

I love spam, wonderful spam...
OOoo! I like the way you think! :) But no. I checked. :D Gotta love the random spam post though. :p
 
vanquish

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OK where are Chip Reese and Allen Cunningham, and why is Phil Laak ranked so highly?
 
aliengenius

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Also, no Antonius, no JC Tran, no Grinder, no... etc. For some reason the list has put me on tilt.
 
vanquish

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Alien, should I bring Emelianenko back?
 
hott_estelle

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Originally Posted by Guess88
The best 20 poker players in the world at the moment:

1. Daniel Negreanu OK
2. Phil Ivey OK
3. Doyle Brunson OK
4. Johnny Chan OK
5. Gus Hansen Overrated, horrid (Has won 4 WPT Events, most in WPT History, and just won the most recent Aussie Millions, he is most definitely not horrid)
6. Chris Ferguson Hasnt done much of anything lately.
7. Phil Hellmuth OBV
8. T. J. Cloutier Hasnt done much of anything lately.
9. Scotty Nguyen Hasnt done much of anything lately.
10. Mike Matusow OK
11. Barry Greenstein Yea
12. Phil Laak Overrated, overall horrid. Hasnt done much of anything lately.
13. Sam Farha Hasnt done much of anything lately.
14. Antonio Esfandiari Hasnt done much of anything lately.
15. Erick Lindgren Hasnt done much of anything lately.
16. Howard Lederer Hasnt done much of anything lately.
17. Jennifer Harman Hasnt done much of anything lately. (Has been cleaning up cash tables)
18. Erik Seidel Hasnt done much of anything lately.
19. John Juanda He quit poker....thus, Hasnt done much of anything lately. (He is playing in this year's WSOP, has made it deep already once that I know of, he has not quit poker; everyone knew that wouldn't last for Juanda)
20. Chau Giang Hasnt done much of anything lately.
21. tenbob OBV :)


Your 'best players at the moment' list is not correct at all.

There are holes in a few more of your claims as well, but not really in the mood to state them. I just pointed out the most obv ones.
 
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My opinion, live with it.
 
Tigersmith

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The best 20 poker players in the world at the moment:

1. Daniel Negreanu
2. Phil Ivey
3. Doyle Brunson
4. Johnny Chan
5. Gus Hansen

6. Chris Ferguson
7. Phil Hellmuth
8. T. J. Cloutier
9. Scotty Nguyen
10. Mike Matusow
11. Barry Greenstein
12. Phil Laak
13. Sam Farha
14. Antonio Esfandiari
15. Erick Lindgren
16. Howard Lederer
17. Jennifer Harman
18. Erik Seidel
19. John Juanda
20. Chau Giang

7. Phil Hellmuth ....:confused::confused::confused:
 
stormswa

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7. Phil Hellmuth ....:confused::confused::confused:

tournament pro, this is all around list so I wouldn't put Phil to high because in cash games I think he gets beat bad.

now if this was tourney pros he would be one of my top 3 easy.

of course I dont agree with this list at all just dont feel like taking time to give my opinion.
 
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This is how the list should be:

1. Daniel Negreanu
2. Phil Ivey
3. Phil Hellmuth
4. Doyle Brunson
5. Johnny Chan

6. Gus Hansen
7. Chip Reese
8. Allen Cunningham

9. J.C. Tran
10. Barry Greenstein
11. Chris Ferguson

12. Mike Matusow
13. Phil Laak
14. T. J. Cloutier

15. Antonio Esfandiari
16. Jennifer Harman

17. Erick Lindgren
18. Michael Mizrachi

19. Paul Wasicka
20. Scotty Nguyen
21. Howard Lederer
22. Erik Seidel
23. John Juanda

24. Greg Raymer
25. Sam Farha
26. Men Nguyen
27. Eli Elezra
28. Humberto Brennes
29. Todd Brunson
30. Annie Duke
 
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sinkist

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So what exactly is this list based on? How often you see these players on TV? Seems pretty poor basis for rating these players. LOL @ Jennifer Harman being awful.

As someone that has played with many of the top professionals and with friends that have played against all of them, I'm going to go ahead and say this list is plain wrong.

Daniel Negreanu: very good but not top 10. Is a bit of a calling station from my experience, but I've seen him make a few good laydowns.
Phil Ivey: easily top 5 as any pro will tell you, probably top 3
Phil Hellmuth: uhh have you watched highstakes poker? Hellmuth is awful. He is good at playing against people with no clue in tournaments, in cash games he is clueless, and against good players he is easily exploited. He is good and has been successful because he excels at beating large fields filled with weak players, such as found in the WSOP.
Doyle Brunson: very good but not top 10. Probably lacks the stamina to compete in big tourneys but still has the mental prowess to beat the highest cash games.
Johnny Chan
: good tournament player but no longer has the patience to outlast large field modern tourneys
Gus Hansen: A pioneer of many loose aggressive methods, but has not truly mastered them. A very strong, maybe top 25 but probably at the bottom of that list.
Chip Reese: Good at cash games, consistent winner at mixed games which is why he excels at HORSE. If you put him up against top internet players that specialize in one game he would get creamed, but I still think he is top 5 all-around just for his versatility.
Allen Cunningham: top 5 large

J.C. Tran: Never played w/ him, don't know much about him.
Barry Greenstein: Very good, especially at handreading. Very tough to fool. Excels at playing the shortstack and also a very nice person.
Chris Ferguson: Good at tournaments but limited experience in cash games

Mike Matusow : Ugh why is he on the list? He's not good. He tilts easily, he has no bankroll management, he's in debt up to his eyes, and his poker game frankly isn't that good. I know many many amateurs that are far better than this joke.
13. Phil Laak Not good, doesn't deserve to be on the list
14. T. J. Cloutier Another degenerate, gambles all his poker winnings away on craps. Deep in debt. A competent tourney player but I wouldn't put him on the list.

15. Antonio Esfandiari Never played with him, from what I've seen he seems pretty good, top 50
16. Jennifer Harman: Top 10, Top 5 in Limit Hold'em. Amazing player.

17. Erick Lindgren: Good tournament player, easily top 25
18. Michael Mizrachi: Meh. Decent but nothing amazing. Another pure tournament player.

19. Paul Wasicka: Never played with him, not too fond of his Open ended straight flush laydown at the final table of the world series of poker, but I think he has a good head on his shoulders and could beat high stakes poker.
20. Scotty Nguyen: never played with him, no opinion
21. Howard Lederer: Can't make up my mind on this one. He's a genuinely nice person, but his game is too solid and he passes up too many edges to be a top player at NL, I think. He's also a top-notch limit hold'em player.
22. Erik Seidel: underrated tourney player, hasn't done much recently for some reason, never played w/ him
23. John Juanda: top notch NLHE tourney player

24. Greg Raymer: has a typical internet hyperaggressive style that he plays quite well. Not a top poker player, I hear that he's pretty good at omaha but in NLHE he's mostly a tournament player. He's quite good at using aggressive bluffs, semibluffs, etc. to force people to a decision for all their chips, and often they just fold rather than risk a coinflip. Very effective style, but it's also quite risky.
25. Sam Farha: Loose and aggressive, but he's nothing special at hold'em. He's competent at tournaments but his true strength is in pot limit omaha, where he's among the top 3 players in the world.
26. Men Nguyen: never played with him but I'm not to impressed from what I've seen on TV
27. Eli Elezra: Very good shorthanded cash game player but lost when it comes to tournaments or 9handed play.
28. Humberto Brennes: This has got to be a joke, right? This guy only plays AA, KK, AK. He's a complete nit and really isn't any good at all.
29. Todd Brunson: Never played with him, I hear his style is similar to that of his father's but I don't think he's as good a player as his Dad.
30. Annie Duke: ANother joke. Annie Duke is not even close to a top player.


The fact that names such as Brian Townsend, Patrik Antonius, David Benyamine, Brad Booth, and Phil Galfond were ommitted say to me that the original poster basically just watched the World Series and WPT on tv and made a list of faces he remembers without any true analysis of the games.

Brian Townsend and Patrik Antonius are better at No Limit Hold'em than anyone mentioned on any list here, save for possibly Phil Ivey, and there it's close. Benyamine is better at Omaha than anyone listed.

Also, there are a ton of top internet tourney professionals that put most of this list to shame. Shane "Shaniac" Schegler, Adam Junglen, Eric "rizen" Lynch, Darryl "gigabet" Dicken, (Greg "fossilman" Raymer), Jimmy "gobboboy" Fricke, Jordan "imsolucky0" Morgan, and Jason "Strassa2" Strasser have all successfully jumped from online tourneys to live tourneys and are having huge success on the tourney circuit, winning millions every year.
 
T

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And you are...?

OK, you are "someone who has played against many of the top professionals" but surely no one has the authority or omniscience to put up an objective list of the best players.
 
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Debi

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Interesting response Sinkist - Jennifer Harmon and Patrik Antonius are 2 players I like most.

Anyway - welcome to Cardschat.
 
hott_estelle

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J.C. Tran: Never played w/ him, don't know much about him.

So you've played with basically everyone else on the list?


28. Humberto Brennes: This has got to be a joke, right? This guy only plays AA, KK, AK. He's a complete nit and really isn't any good at all.

He is 3rd in wsop cashes or so I believe, with around 50 or so, I think he has a very proven track record in NLHE events. Complete nits don't consistently make cashes (or else a lot of basic ABC players would be making 50 or so cashes in the WSOP) and complete nits don't make numerous final table appearances.

30. Annie Duke: ANother joke. Annie Duke is not even close to a top player.

Although maybe not a top all-around player, she is one of the better hi/low players.

Brian Townsend and Patrik Antonius are better at No Limit Hold'em than anyone mentioned on any list here, save for possibly Phil Ivey, and there it's close. Benyamine is better at Omaha than anyone listed.

Also, there are a ton of top internet tourney professionals that put most of this list to shame. Shane "Shaniac" Schegler, Adam Junglen, Eric "rizen" Lynch, Darryl "gigabet" Dicken, (Greg "fossilman" Raymer), Jimmy "gobboboy" Fricke, Jordan "imsolucky0" Morgan, and Jason "Strassa2" Strasser have all successfully jumped from online tourneys to live tourneys and are having huge success on the tourney circuit, winning millions every year.

Yes, because these internet professionals will put most of the top pros that have been around for at least 10+ years to shame with their vast internet experience. The last paragraph is just hilarious.
 
Egon Towst

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Sinkist, although the details might be subject to dispute, that`s one of the most interesting first posts I have ever seen by a new member.

May we know your name ?
 
dj11

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OH !!! I get it now, its popularity opinion..... In which case, I like Gabe Kaplan.

LOLOLOLOL
 
crancko

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Got me curious too!

Oh, btw. Being danish, i read about Gus Hansens results in the papers. Seems he's doing quite terrible at the wsop, but winning bigtime online at FT.
 
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So you've played with basically everyone else on the list?
I've been playing in Vegas and for a while and have met and played with many professionals(mostly in tournaments). I've been successful enough to make a living at poker and am good enough to realize who is good and who is not. I consider myself to be a good player but not amazing, but I also think there are a number of names on this list that are not even good at No Limit Hold'em, or poker in general to be honest.

I'm not giving out my name FWIW for security reasons, but suffice it to say that I'm not famous enough that any of you would have heard of me. I play mostly cash games, tournaments are not really my specialty, which also makes it hard to get on tv.

He is 3rd in WSOP cashes or so I believe, with around 50 or so, I think he has a very proven track record in NLHE events. Complete nits don't consistently make cashes (or else a lot of basic ABC players would be making 50 or so cashes in the WSOP) and complete nits don't make numerous final table appearances.
He's also been playing for a while...
just play with him sometime, go to Vegas at the world series and watch how many hands he plays, he seriously is a complete nit. He's also annoying (I think he's nice, but that shark thing is really rude).

Although maybe not a top all-around player, she is one of the better hi/low players.
I don't know anything about this, my knowledge on her mostly comes from what I've seen and what I've heard. A lot of gossip comes around when you live in Vegas 9 months out of the year.

Yes, because these internet professionals will put most of the top pros that have been around for at least 10+ years to shame with their vast internet experience. The last paragraph is just hilarious.
Most internet pros have played many many many more hands of poker than professionals; you can play 8-12 tables at once online (sometimes even more), and get in many many more hands per hour at each one. Also, many internet pros specialize in one game, whereas live pros play a lot of different games.

The list of live pros that are now broke or have lost their entire bankrolls would astonish you. From what was going around Vegas last month, TJ Cloutier, Daniel Negreanu (just his poker roll, he has a lot of investments), Gus Hansen, Tuan Le (another good player not mentioned on the list) just being a few that I've heard about.

Just look at the results from a couple weeks ago, when Brian Townsend, an admittedly inexperienced live player, took Sam Farha for more than 1$ million over two days.

Matusow is down almost 1$million on Full Tilt, and is deeply deeply in debt. He is not a winning player. He is good enough that he could beat 10/20NL and maybe 25/50NL live (or probably 3/6NL online) if he could just keep his head, but he plays in stakes that are beyond what he can afford and that are beyond his skill level.
 
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