For the last eight years, the largest tournament in the world has been the World Series of Poker Main Event. With the exception of 1992, the US$10,000 buy-in tournament increased in prize pool year-over-year from its start in 1970 until 2007 (the latter a result of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, which reduced the number of players winning their seats via online play).
The first tournament to reach a million dollar prize pool was the 1983 WSOP Main Event. The WSOP Main Event of 2004 had the first prize pool of above $10,000,000.
The largest non Hold'em Tournament has been the 2008 WSOP $50K HORSE with a prize pool of $7,104,000 and the first prize of $1,989,120 going to Scotty Nguyen.[1]
Below are the 30 largest poker tournaments with respect to the prize pool in United States dollars and not number of entrants. This list includes live and online poker.
Currently, 14 of the 15 largest prize pools in history have been WSOP Main Events. The second largest prize pool outside of the Main Event is the 2012 WSOP event known as The Big One for One Drop, held from July 1–3. It featured a buy-in of US$1 million, the largest in poker history. Of the buy-in, $111,111 was a charitable donation to the One Drop Foundation, and the WSOP took no rake. All 48 seats available for that event were filled, resulting in a prize pool of $42,666,672, with over 5 million dollars donated.[2] The second largest pool for any event outside of the WSOP was the 2012 Macau High Stakes Challenge, with a HK$2 million (US$260,000) buy-in plus a rebuy option. The event drew a field of 73, of which 21 made a rebuy, resulting in a prize pool of HK$182,360,000 (slightly over US$23.5 million).[3]
The complete scoop on the largest online poker sites for cash games and tournament poker. We cover the huge cash game sites from the likes of Ignition Casino's poker room all the way down to the smallest tournament sites like the GrandPoker Room. Traffic estimations are included as well as advice on which room is best for. Probirs playing another massive pot against ilsy. As he had the biggest stack to start the hand with he scooped the whole pot of $627,083.15 and was sitting with a $983,854.37 stack after this huge massacre. He later lost a $580K pot against ilsy168, but probably still left the game as on overall winner.
All of the 30 richest tournaments to date were played in No Limit Hold'em.
| Event | Prize Pool (US$) | Winner | 1st Prize | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 WSOP Main Event | $82,512,162 | Jamie Gold | $12,000,000 | [4][5] |
| 2019 WSOP Main Event | $80,548,600 | Hossein Ensan | $10,000,000 | [6] |
| 2018 WSOP Main Event | $74,015,600 | John Cynn | $8,800,000 | [7] |
| 2010 WSOP Main Event | $68,799,059 | Jonathan Duhamel | $8,944,310 | [8] |
| 2017 WSOP Main Event | $67,877,400 | Scott Blumstein | $8,150,000 | [9] |
| 2019 Triton Super High Roller Series - Triton Million | $65,660,000 (£54,000,000) | Aaron Zang | $23,100,000 (£19,000,000) | [10] |
| 2011 WSOP Main Event | $64,531,000 | Pius Heinz | $8,711,956 | [11] |
| 2008 WSOP Main Event | $64,333,600 | Peter Eastgate | $9,152,416 | [12] |
| 2016 WSOP Main Event | $63,327,800 | Qui Nguyen | $8,005,310 | [13] |
| 2014 WSOP Main Event | $62,820,200 | Martin Jacobson | $10,000,000 | [14] |
| 2012 WSOP Main Event | $62,021,200 | Greg Merson | $8,527,982 | [15] |
| 2009 WSOP Main Event | $61,043,600 | Joe Cada | $8,547,042 | [16] |
| 2015 WSOP Main Event | $60,348,000 | Joe McKeehen | $7,680,021 | [17] |
| 2007 WSOP Main Event | $59,784,954 | Jerry Yang | $8,250,000 | [18] |
| 2013 WSOP Main Event | $59,708,800 | Ryan Riess | $8,359,531 | [19] |
| 2005 WSOP Main Event | $52,818,610 | Joe Hachem | $7,500,000 | [20] |
| 2012 WSOP Event 55 – The Big One for One Drop | $42,666,672 | Antonio Esfandiari | $18,346,673 | [21] |
| 2014 WSOP Event 57 – The Big One for One Drop | $37,333,338 | Dan Colman | $15,306,668 | [22] |
| 2016 Monte-Carlo One Drop Extravaganza | $27,437,564 | Elton Tsang | $12,248,912 | [23] |
| 2019 PokerStars NL Hold'em Players Championship | $26,455,500 | Ramon Colillas | $5,100,000 | [24] |
| 2018 WSOP Event 78 – The Big One for One Drop | $24,840,000 | Justin Bonomo | $10,000,000 | [25] |
| 2004 WSOP Main Event | $24,224,400 | Greg Raymer | $5,000,000 | [26] |
| 2012 Macau High Stakes Challenge Super High Roller | $23,511,128 | Stanley Choi | $6,465,560 | [27] |
| Super High Roller Bowl 2015 | $21,500,000 | Brian Rast | $7,525,000 | [28] |
| 2016 WSOP Event 67 – High Roller for One Drop | $19,316,565 | Fedor Holz | $4,981,775 | [29] |
| 2013 WSOP Event 47 – One Drop High Roller | $17,891,148 | Anthony Gregg | $4,830,619 | [30] |
| Super High Roller Bowl 2017 | $16,800,000 | Christoph Vogelsang | $6,000,000 | [31] |
| 2007 WPT Championship | $15,495,750 | Carlos Mortensen | $3,970,415 | [32] |
| 2013 GuangDong Ltd Asia Millions Main Event | $15,376,897 | Niklas Heinecker | $4,456,885 | [33] |
| 2011 Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure | $15,132,000 | Galen Hall | $2,300,000 | [34] |
Notes[edit]
- ^Hendon Mob
- ^Dalla, Nolan (June 30, 2012). 'The Biggest One—World's Most Spectacular Poker Extravaganza Starts Sunday'. World Series of Poker. Retrieved July 3, 2012.
- ^Peters, Donnie (August 31, 2012). 'Stanley Choi Wins Macau High Stakes Challenge for US$6,465,746'. PokerNews.com. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
- ^'2006 WSOP Main Event payouts'. WSOP. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
- ^Hendon Mob
- ^https://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/event.php?a=r&n=541550
- ^[1]
- ^wsop.com
- ^http://www.wsop.com/tournaments/payouts.asp?grid=1352&tid=15673
- ^https://triton-series.com/triton-super-high-roller-series-london-2019/
- ^'PIUS HEINZ WINS 2011 WSOP MAIN EVENT CHAMPIONSHIP'. WSOP. 8 November 2011. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
- ^Hendon Mob
- ^'Level 4 concludes: officially the largest main event in the last five years'. WSOP. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
- ^Poker News Daily
- ^pokernews.com
- ^'2009 WSOP main event prize pool'. WSOP. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
- ^'Event #68: No-Limit Hold'em MAIN EVENT'. 2015 World Series op Poker Chip Counts. World Series of Poker. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
- ^Hendon Mob
- ^'2013 44th Annual World Series of Poker, Event #62: No-Limit Hold'em Main Event'. WSOP.com. Retrieved July 20, 2013. Click on the 'Prizepool' tab for the first prize.
- ^Hendon Mob
- ^Dalla, Nolan (July 3, 2012). 'Antonio Esfandiari Pulls Off Amazing Trick by Winning One Drop'. WSOP.com. Retrieved July 4, 2012.
- ^Hendon Mob
- ^[2]
- ^[3]
- ^[4]
- ^Hendon Mob
- ^Hendon Mob
- ^Hendon Mob
- ^Hendon Mob
- ^Hendon Mob
- ^[5]
- ^Hendon Mob
- ^Hendon Mob
- ^pokerstarsblog.com
Last week, Denmark's Gus Hansen appeared on the Joey Ingram podcast and gave some unique insights into his life. At one point in the podcast, Hansen said he wasn't planning to play the big games online anymore, after his attempts on PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker had resulted in a combined result of minus $20 million.
Still, 'The Great Dane' returned to the high stakes anyway, sitting down on Wednesday in a $100/$200 pot-limit Omaha game on partypoker called 'Trickett's Room', named after partypoker Ambassador Sam Trickett.
While he broke with his vows, the result of plus $336,866 must have excited Hansen.
Gus Hansen wins a $205,000 Pot (1,025 Big Blinds) from Leon 'KingsOfLeon' Tsoukernik
($100/$200 PLO 6-Max)
In a massive pot, replayed by Ingram, Hansen won over $200,000 in a hand against Trickett and King's Casino owner Leon 'KingsOfLeon' Tsoukernik.
The action began with Tsoukernik opening to $700 from the hijack before Hansen three-bet to $1,200 from the cutoff. Trickett then cold four-bet from the button to $4,600 and the players in the blinds folded.
Tsoukernik called before Hansen jacked it up with a five-bet to $18,700. Trickett and Tsoukernick called before the flop came .
The action continued to pick up with Tsoukernik leading out with a pot-sized bet of $42,295. Hansen then went all-in for $146,701. Trickett folded and Tsoukernik called his remaining stack of $39,522.
| Player | Hand | Equity on |
|---|---|---|
| Gus 'Gus__Hansen__' Hansen | 75.49% | |
| Leon 'KingsOfLeon' Tsoukernik | 24.51% |
Hansen was a 3:1 favorite in the hand and Tsoukernik was drawing dead after the turn gave Hansen a flush. The completed the board on the river shipping Hansen a pot worth $205,929.
You can check out this hand and another that Hansen lost here, compliments of Joey Ingram.
Ingram actually did a long live stream showing the action, which can be viewed here.
Gus Hansen wins a $336,866 Pot (1,684 Big Blinds) from Leon 'KingsOfLeon' Tsoukernik
($100/$200 PLO 6-Max)
Tsoukernik opened the cutoff for $700 before Hansen on the button three-bet to $2,400. The blinds got out of the way and Tsoukernik four-bet to $7,500. Hansen called to see a flop.
On , with $15,295 in the middle, Tsoukernik bet pot. Hansen called and the two got the on the turn to work with. Tsoukernik bet pot again, this time for $45,885, and Hansen tanked for a bit.
Tsoukernik had $61,556 behind and would soon have to commit it as Hansen moved in. Tsoukernik called.
| Player | Hand | Equity on |
|---|---|---|
| Gus 'Gus__Hansen__' Hansen | 82.5% | |
| Leon 'KingsOfLeon' Tsoukernik | 12.5% |
Hansen was in great shape and collected the full pot when the on the river paired the board.
You can watch the hand here, courtesy of the partypoker Twitch stream.
Catching Up on High Stakes Action: Three Biggest Pots of The Week
In addition to the huge action last week at partypoker, there were tons of big pots played at PokerStars as well. The top 29 hands according to HighStakesDB.com all took place at $100/$200 pot-limit Omaha tables.
1) Ben 'Sauce123' Sulsky wins a $86,895 Pot (434 Big Blinds) from 'BERRI SWEET' (March 29)
($100/$200 PLO 6-Max)
The action began in the biggest pot of the week at PokerStars with 'BERRI SWEET' raising the button to $600 and Ben 'Sauce123' Sulsky three-betting to $1,800. 'BERRI SWEET' four-bet to $5,400 and Sulsky called to bring the preflop pot already up to $10,800.
Both players checked on the flop. Sulsky fired out for $3,567 after the appeared on the turn and got a call from his opponent.
Sulsky led out for $5,517 after the completed the board on the river. 'BERRI SWEET' raised to $34,481 and Sulsky called. Sulsky shipped a huge pot of $86,895 after he turned over for the second nut flush, good against the over pair and nut-flush blocker held by 'BERRI SWEET' with .
2) 'BERRI SWEET' wins a $77,966 Pot (390 Big Blinds) from Ben 'Sauce123' Sulsky (March 29)
($100/$200 PLO 6-Max)
The second biggest hand of the week took place five hours before the biggest pot, involving the same duo of 'BERRI SWEET' and Sulsky. This time, 'BERRY SWEET' was able to get the best of Sulsky to snag a pot worth $77,966.
The hand kicked off with 'BERRI SWEET' opening from the button for $600 before he called a three-bet from Sulsky to $1,800. Sulsky then led out for $2,037 on the flop and got called.
After the appeared on the turn, Sulsky check-raised a bet from 'BERRI SWEET' from $2,297 to $11,196. 'BERRI SWEET' called and the completed the board on the river.
Sulsky jammed his remaining stack of $23,957 and 'BERRI SWEET', who had him covered, called. Sulsky turned over for trips, which proved to be no good against the flush held by 'BERRI SWEET' with .
3) Rui 'PepperoniF' Cao wins a $64,337 Pot (322 Big Blinds) from Sami 'Lrslzk' Kelopuro (April 1)
($100/$200 PLO 6-Max)
The high-stakes duo of Rui 'PepperoniF' Cao and Sami 'Lrslzk' Kelopuro battled it out on April 1 when the third biggest hand of the week took place.
Kelopuro opened the action to $680 from the button and called a three-bet from Cao to $2,120. Cao led out for $2,600 on the rainbow flop and Kelopuro called.
Cao check-called a bet of $7,614 after the paired the board on the turn. Cao then checked again after the completed the board on the river. Kelopuro fired out a huge bet of $19,795 and had just $9,771 behind.
Cao raised the action enough to cover Kelopuro's chips. Kelopuro folded his cards went to the muck, while Cao collected a huge pot of $64,337 without revealing his cards.
This Week's Online High-Stakes Biggest Winners and Losers
Rui 'PepperoniF' Cao was easily the biggest winner of the week notching up a healthy profit of $210,102 while also winning three of the six biggest hands of the week. His big week catapulted him from a small career loss at PokerStars into one of the site's profitable players in high-stakes games.
On the flip side, one of Cao's victims Sami 'Lrslzk' Kelopuro lost the most money this week by recording the week's only six-figure deficit of $104,081.
| (user)name | hands | profit/loss 3/29- 4/4 | profit/loss 2018 | profit/loss all time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winning Players | |||||
| 1 | Rui 'PepperoniF' Cao | 1,864 | +$210,102 | +$279,697 | +$195,717 |
| 2 | 'BlackFortuna' | 609 | +$43,981 | +$216,659 | +$363,225 |
| 3 | Ben 'Sauce123' Sulsky | 1,440 | +$41,445 | +$248,468 | +$5,410,074 |
| 4 | 'MMAsherdog' | 2,733 | +$32,484 | +$17,751 | -$17,005 |
| 5 | 'Venividi1993' | 315 | +$27,283 | +$46,953 | +$63,451 |
| 6 | Joni 'bustoville' Jouhkimainen | 1,142 | +$27,035 | +$27,928 | +$30,562 |
| 7 | Andras 'probirs' Nemeth | 1,029 | +$24,487 | +$163,772 | +$224,734 |
| 8 | 'Xplode7777' | 816 | +$24,091 | +$35,797 | -$27,170 |
| 9 | 'haochunyang' | 262 | +$19,477 | +$19,353 | +$19,353 |
| 10 | Jonas 'OtB_RedBaron' Mols | 717 | +$19,295 | -$262,537 | +$2,109,645 |
| Losing Players | |||||
| 1 | Sami 'Lrslzk' Kelopuro | 1,225 | -$104,081 | -$80,274 | -$2,061,174 |
| 2 | 'Grazvis1' | 1,274 | -$56,801 | +$119,259 | +$409,407 |
| 3 | Daniel 'DANMERRRRRRR' Merriless | 231 | -$50,258 | -$73,870 | -$261,036 |
| 4 | 'kycb113' | 77 | -$45,036 | -$58,736 | -$58,736 |
| 5 | 'BERRI SWEET' | 1,297 | -$41,191 | -$199,945 | +$2,130,369 |
| 6 | Jordi 'prot0' Urlings | 1,010 | -$$38,000 | -$182,302 | +$369,854 |
| 7 | 'gragik' | 1,044 | -$34,886 | -$76,140 | -$97,222 |
| 8 | 'farruh1415' | 355 | -$27,724 | -$28,355 | -$28,355 |
| 9 | 'boerni21' | 645 | -$24,318 | -$32,927 | -$21,508 |
| 10 | 'huang33' | 417 | -$19,298 | +$41,029 | -$154,354 |
The 2018 Leaderboard
Linus 'LLinusLLove' Loeliger extended his lead on the 2018 leaderboard despite minimal play while James 'JayP-AA' Park remained in second place and Alexander 'joiso' Kostritsyn remained third despite not playing a single hand last week.
Likewise, the bottom three spots on the leaderboard remained the same. Once again, 'ImagineKing' added to his losses and has a firm hold on the biggest loss of the year. Mikael 'ChaoRen160' Thuritz with a strong week was able to climb out of the bottom three with Blom losing big in heads-up play and taking his spot in second to last on the leaderboard.
Biggest Ever Online Poker Pot Free
Viktor 'Isildur1' Blom added slightly to his losses with minimal volume while Elior 'Crazy Elior' Sion didn't play a hand last week and has remained in third to last on the yearly leaderboard for a third straight week.
| (user)name | hands 2018 | profit/loss 2018 | profit/loss per hand 2018 | profit/loss all time | most played game 2018 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winning Players | ||||||
| 1 | Linus 'LLinusLLove' Loeliger | 26,460 | +$568,908 | +$21.50 | +$1,199,489 | NL Hold'em |
| 2 | James 'JayP-AA' Park | 15,354 | +$316,630 | +$21.62 | +$2,642,409 | PLO |
| 3 | Alexander 'joiso' Kostritsyn | 9,269 | +$291,585 | +$31.45 | $4,253,455 | 8-Game |
| Losing Players | ||||||
| 1 | 'ImagineKing' | 24,518 | -$761,574 | -$31.06 | -$2,321,281 | PLO |
| 2 | Viktor 'Isildur1' Blom | 22,092 | -$318,406 | -$14.41 | +$1,838,092 | PLO |
| 3 | Elior 'Crazy Elior' Sion | 3,745 | -$293,492 | $-78.36 | -$171,055 | 8-Game |
The above top winning and losing players in online poker for 2018 only takes PokerStars accounts into consideration. All public data courtesy of HighStakesDB.com. If you want to opt out of being listed in this PokerNews update on high-stakes action, send an email with your username to [email protected]
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Biggest Poker Pot Ever
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