Biggest Wins In Poker History

In the last 10 years of poker alone, we have seen a massive increase in daring and skill. Some put this phenomenal growth down to the growing online Casino Games offering more people the chance to play their hand. Others suggest the bigger wins come from the dramatic inflation we have seen during this time.

Regardless of the reason why we want to show you the biggest poker wins in history! Just winning once would be enough to change your life, but these big dogs keep going back for more.

Bryn Kenney – $20,563,324 (£16,890,509) – 2019 Triton Million for Charity

When Bryn Kenney won $20,563,324, the crowd was in awe. The last time someone had taken the top spot for the biggest payout was in 2012, and that $2m less payout was considered unrepeatable!

Still, there was more than one shock when it came to this 2019 tournament. For one, Kenney didn’t even come first. Aaron Zang earned the champion title, but he walked away with $4m less!

While Kenney held a 5:1 chip lead over Zang, he struck up a bargain. This bargain meant he couldn’t lose the $20.5m in his nest, but the title of champion wouldn’t be his. Zang agreed, and the world of poker has been changed forever.

Due to UK taxation, Kenney eventually walked home with $20,537,187 (£16,890,509), which is $26,137 less than his grand winnings. That kind of loss would be a dagger in the heart for most of us, but for this millionaire, it’s water off a duck’s back.

Antonio Esfandiari – $18,346,673 – 2012 Big One For One Drop

You might have expected Aaron Zang to take the second spot in this article, but his winnings are seen as mere pennies to Esfandiari.

Not only was Esfandiari able to hold onto the title of “biggest win” for 7 years, but he was also able to claim another historical moment too. Before the 2012 Big One For One Drop, the largest buy-in tournament was the $250,000 Challenge. 

As the name suggests, every player had to pay $250,000 just to enter into these games. However, when the 2012 Big One For One Drop came into play, that buy-in price hiked up to $1,000,000. This was the first time a 7 figure buy-in tournament was created, which is why you won’t find a 2011 winner on this list!

Aaron Zang – $16,775,820 (£13,779,491) – 2019 Triton Million For Charity

Okay, so Zang’s win wasn’t as tiny as we were making it out to be, but there was still a $2m gap between him and Esfandiari. And a $4m gap between Zang and second place winner Kenney.

To enter into this competition, the players had to spend a £1,050,000 buy-in fee, which translates to US$1,423,149 today.

This money was used to pay for the player’s winnings and sent to 15 different charities around the world. These included the One Drop Foundation, the Malaysian Red Crescent,  Healthy HK, and more. In total, the tournament raised £2.7m for the cause. 

Dan Colman – $15,306,668 – 2014 Big One For One Drop

There wasn’t a Big One For One Drop in 2013, as the creators and developers took a year off. But when the big tournament came back, the same massive $1,000,000 was used as the buy-in figure.

This was the second time such a high price was placed on a poker tournament, but these big pay-ins created more massive rewards.

Although Colman created a massive winning in Vegas no less, he didn’t celebrate as most winners do. There were no gigantic parties, no huge battle between him and runner-up Daniel Negreanu, and Colman refused to do interviews.

Negreanu was able to explain to the public why Colman had gone cold. He said that Colman didn’t like promoting poker as most people lose.

He hasn’t been able to win this big since, but his current all-time cash-ins total is an impressive $28,925,058.

Elton Tsang – $12,248,912 – 2016 Monte-Carlo One Drop Extravaganza

The One Drop had such an amazing turnout for their 2012 tournament and their 2014 one too. Because of this, they decided to move their next games (2016) to Europe. Again the buy-in payment was €1,000,000, but that translated to $1,129,090 – higher than the other two years.

More changes were introduced too. The players couldn’t be professionals; instead, they had to be recreational players. And secondly, the only way to play was through an invitation.

Professionals like Paul Newey, Jason Strasser, and Talal Shakerchi were allowed to play despite these new rules.

Summary

When looking at the biggest wins in poker history, many online web pages ignore tournaments outside the US. Narrowing their view means that readers cannot see how amazingly and dramatically the Europeans play.

Antonio Esfandiari held onto his title for 7 years. We wonder how long it takes for Bryn Kenney to be knocked off first place.