The thrills of drama and poker are well known to those who are taking part. In the major tournaments, this can be a tense game with high stakes on the table.
That drama translates nicely to the small screen where the big poker competitions are often broadcast live. There is a growing audience for poker and the viewers are intrigued by the skill and strategy that is involved.
Naturally, interest is increased when there are huge prize purses available, but what are the biggest poker wins of all time?
The World Series: 2006
Many learn how to play poker by watching the professionals on TV and that’s another benefit of live broadcasts. Viewers turn into players and that continues to raise interest in the game.
While there is a huge choice of real money online games and tournaments, few of those newbies could hope to emulate the big wins of the top stars. In terms of the biggest prize pools, they belong to the World Series of Poker.
The WSOP was founded in 1970 and quickly became the most important poker competition around. It gained a reputation for high stakes and big prize money, and the sums involved have exploded in the modern day.
Seventeen years after the event, the 2006 Series still holds the record for the biggest win in poker. The total prize fund just edged above $82.5 million USD and the top win of $12 million was scooped by Jamie Gold.
2022 WSOP Comes Close
The 2022 edition of the World Series of Poker came closest to beating the record for the biggest overall prize purse. A total of $80,782, 475 was up for grabs when the tournament was held in Las Vegas.
$10 million was awarded to the winner of the Main Event and the player to scoop the top prize was Norway’s EspenJorstad.The 2023 edition of the WSOP will be held at the end of May, and it remains to be seen whether it can eclipse the prize money of its predecessors.
The Biggest Individual Win
While the WSOP of 2006 set the milestone for the biggest overall purse, there have been bigger individual wins than Jamie Gold’s $12 million. In 2019 at the Triton Super High Roller Series, Bryn Kenney went home with a cool $20,563,324 in his back pocket.
The consolation prize wasn’t too bad. As the runner up in this prestige event, Aaron Zang walked away with just under $16.8 million.
WSOP 2012: The Big One for One Drop
While it wasn’t exactly a case of ‘Winner Takes All’ the WSOP of 2012 featured an event where the winner claimed a huge percentage of the overall prize. The World Series of Poker showcases a number of different events and, back in 2012, the Big One for One Drop was the highlight.
48 entrants lined up for a competition which had been added to the WSOP roster for the very first time. A prize pot in excess of $42 million was attractive enough, but the stakes were exceptionally high for the outright winner.
Antonio Esfandiari saw off each of his opponents before landing the top payout of $18,346,673. To date, this has been the most valuable edition of the Big One for One Drop, while Esfandiari’s win was an individual record which stood for seven years.
WSOP 2014: The Big One for One Drop
While it couldn’t quite match the levels of the original, 2012 series, the successful contestants at WSOP 2014 were not complaining. At this edition of the Big One for One Drop, a total prize pot of $37.333m was provided by the sponsors and organizers.
A slightly smaller entry of 42 players was involved while the winner, Daniel Colman, claimed just over $15 million.
2016: Monte Carlo One Drop Extravaganza
A major event back in 2016, the Monte Carlo One Drop Extravaganza remains the fifth biggest poker tournament in terms of the overall prize fund. 28 players were involved in a battle which allowed for up to two rebuys.
The total purse was set down at close to $27.5 million and Elton Tsang emerged as the overall winner. A familiar face on the circuit, Tsang’s reward was confirmed at $12,248,912.
These figures show that there is some serious money to be made in the biggest poker tournaments of all. Recreational players can only dream of those top prizes and only a few will have the skills and attributes needed to claim multi million dollar poker paydays.
Below those extremes, there are many other smaller prizes to be claimed, even through free play, and it’s perfectly possible to make a good living from this game. Years of honing those skills can be key to lighting up a pathway into professional poker.
