Top Poker Professionals Who Started Out As Poker Dealers

Either you can be a poker player or a dealer, not both, is what the popular notion dictates. Most poker dealers tend to be bad at the game itself. You might wonder why this is so, considering that close to 40 hours a week are spent watching and dealing cards! Yet, there are a few in the world of poker, who have gone against the odds and proved to the world that poker dealers can become the best poker playing professionals too and that includes online poker as well! Here is our take on the top five professional poker players of all time.

Mike Matusow

This poker player is best known for bad-mouthing at poker games. Hence, he is characteristically nicknamed as ‘The Mouth’. Matusow started his career as a poker dealer and then during the 1990s he began playing serious poker. Among his list of successes are winning the bracelet three times in the famous World Series of Poker and winning the 2005 event of World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions. With an impressive cumulative winning totaling 6,800,000 dollars, Mike Matusow is undoubtedly the quirkiest professional poker player of these times.

Johnny Chan

It took a junket to the amazing city of Las Vegas to change the life of 16-year-old Chan forever. Instead of managing his family business of restaurants, Chan decided to pursue poker playing full-time. His rise to fame was most prominent during the 1980s and he won 2 consecutive championships at WSOP or World Series of Poker in 1987 and 1988. Chan is actually the last poker player to win two WSOP events one after the other. One of Chan’s quirks is to have an orange in front of him while playing. While some tout it as a lucky charm, Chan insists it is because of the aroma.

Scott Fischman

Once Fischman was introduced to the world of poker at the age 12, there was no turning back. Fischman started his career by being a poker dealer at Mirage and Sahara. In 2004, he won two bracelets at the WSOP championship. This earned him the coveted reputation of being the youngest poker player to win this title. He also earned two bracelets each in H.O.R.S.E. and no-limit Texas Hold’em tournaments.

Ted Forrest

Forrest is a highly competitive poker player, known for participating in very high limit poker games. He was part of a collective group, which played against Andy Beal, Texas-based billionaire who made his money in the real estate and banking segments. After winning three bracelets in 1993 at WSOP, Forrest returned with a triumphant win in 2004 at WSOP by winning two more bracelets.

Scotty Nguyen

Nguyen has the distinct reputation of being the five-time bracelet winner at WSOP and is best known as the winner in the WSOP 1998 main event. He was also the winner last year at WSOP and won the 50,000-dollar championship of H.O.R.S.E. World Championship. His triumph of poker playing in 1998 soon turned into tragedy with his brother’s death the next day.