Whenever a person compiles a “best of” list, it always courts controversy.  This is because these lists are subjective. Who one person believes should be included on a particular list, another does not. With that being said, and full understanding that not everyone will agree with us, we have created a short list of who we believe are the best, current, holdem poker players. We will list them and provide a short biography of each. Without further ado, the individuals included in our best holdem poker players of today list are Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth, Scotty Nguyen and Gus Hansen.  

Doyle Brunson: Most poker players and fans alike, have heard of Doyle Brunson. He is a living legend. Many people know him as a great holdem poker player. However, there are also those who are more familiar with his sports accolades. He was a college basketball star who would be eventually be drafted by the Minneapolis Lakers (NBA), today famously known as the Los Angeles Lakers. Unfortunately (or fortunately) his once promising athletic career was cut short b an injury. Consequently, he would return to college to attain his degree. While there, he began playing poker. Brunson eventually graduated from SimmonsUniversity and begin working. However, his poker prowess proved too profitable to keep his 9 to 5 job so he quit and began playing poker full time.

Brunson would go on to have a very successful career, winning his first championship in 1976 and then another in 1977.  His vast knowledge of the game moved him to write, what today is widely considered a classic, Super/System, a book covering Texas Holdem basics.

Today, Brunson still plays even though he is in his 70s. Still a force to be reckoned with, he continues to win and routinely cashes at high stakes tournaments. He also is the proud co-owner of the website which bears his name, Doyles Room.

Phil Hellmuth: Phill Hellmuth is arguably the best holdem player alive. Some would contend that he is the best poker player to have ever made their way to the felts. This may be a stretch, but again, that depends on who you ask. There is no argument, however, that Hellmuth is definitely a great player, one of the most successful of our time. He has won 11 World Series of Poker (WSOP ) Championships, the last one in 2007. Phil has also collected 68 WSOP cashes and played his way unto more final tables then anyone else, with 41.  Not surprisingly, he is a millionaire many times over and is one of the most respected holdem players in the world.

Hellmuth holds the distinction of one time being the youngest person to collect a WSOP bracelet for the Main Event. That record has since fallen.  He was 24 at the time (1989) when he beat one of the game’s best players at that time, Johnny Chan. Chan had already won two WSOP Main Events and was ripe for his third. Hellmuth however, was having none of that.

Scotty Nguyen: Nguyen also deserves a nod as one of the best holdem players. Having won more then $11,000,000 playing poker, Nguyen has definitely earned his place as one of the premier guys in this game. Besides the millions of dollars, Scotty has collected nearly 50 career titles.

Scotty Nguyen was born in Vietnam. He would move to the United States in 1974, at only 14 years old. He began to call himself and asked others to, call him Scotty, rather then Thuan, his given name.

In 1998, Nguyen won his first WSOP championship and has been a force every since. He has had hundreds of cashes and won a total of 4 WSOP bracelets.

Gus Hansen: Gus Hansen is known as The Great Dane. This is in homage to his home country, Denmark. Known as a very entertaining holdem player, he is also quite intelligent and thus, well respected. Originally an excellent Backgammon player, he would eventually quit in order to play poker. His plans were also thwarted by the military.  After completing a mandatory stint, he moved back to the United States and eventually began playing poker again, particularly, Texas Holdem. 

Hansen’s first major tournament win was at the World Poker Tour (WPT): Five Diamond World Poker Classic. He picked up the winner’s trophy and also $500,000.  Besides garnering a lot of attention on the felts for his exceptional play, he also gets a lot of attention for his looks. He was just a short time ago named one of People Magazine’s 50 Sexiest People.