Best Canadian Poker Players

Mike, also known as SirWatts, is a Canadian poker player born in St. John's in 1984. He has made an impressive $7.2 million from live tournaments, with his best cash ever being $1,673,770. His success extends to online tournaments as well, with six SCOOP titles and $5 million in prize money on PokerStars alone. He remains Canada's top online tournament player, with over $9 million in lifetime online earnings. Watson has also won major titles at WPT, WSOPE, EPT, and Aussie Millions, cementing his position as one of the poker best players.

Daniel Dvoress, a Canadian poker player that lives in Mississauga, ON, Canada, has earned over $15.9 million in lifetime earnings. Dvoress prefers to keep a low profile and do his bidding behind closed doors, but his success in super high roller events, including over $7 million in winnings from Super High Roller Bowl, Triton, and Partypoker Live tournaments, has made him a top-earning player. With a WSOP Online bracelet and an affable yet aggressive playing style, Dvoress is one of the poker best players to be reckoned with at the poker table.

Sam Greenwood's poker skills are no joke, with $22 million in live earnings and a reputation for crushing super high-roller events. But it all started with his talented online play, where he won over $6 million using his understanding of percentages, EV, and variance under the name IfHeDiesHeDies. Greenwood then made a name for himself on the live circuit, earning $77,447 with an eighth-place finish in the $10,300 North American Poker Championship in 2008. His years of grinding paid off with WSOP, EPT, WPT, and Super High Roller Bowl titles, making him one of the poker best players.

Daniel Negreanu was born in Toronto, Ontario. Today, he is one of the most successful Canadian poker players, having won 6 WSOP bracelets, 2 WPT titles, and the Card Player Magazine Player of the Year award in 2004. He is known for his colorful personality and strategy of staring down and talking to opponents. His total live earnings exceed $32 million, and he is also a prominent representative of GGPoker. Negreanu's ability to quickly adapt to the changing industry of professional poker has made him a top earner, with over $43 million in tournament winnings.

Jamil Wakil, once a recreational poker player, has become a pro, amassing impressive wins both online and live. In January 2023, he made the final table of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event, finishing sixth for $307,500. Previously, he finished third in the EPT Prague Mystery Bounty for €44,260. His financial security as a mutual funds worker allowed him little time for poker, but he decided to pursue it full-time. His ability to adapt to the game and quickly improve through study and practice has made him a rising star in the poker world.

Timothy Adams, a Canadian professional poker player from Burlington, Ontario, started playing poker at 18 with a carefree attitude and a love for the challenge. His success includes over $2 million on PokerStars and $530,000 in Full Tilt Poker online tournaments, and over $24 million in live tournament earnings. Adams has won titles such as WSOP, Super High Roller, and partypoker Live trophies. His biggest single payday is $3.6 million, earned in 2020 at the Super High Roller Bowl. Adams is known for his successful execution of huge bluffs, which means he has the skill of reading his opponents perfectly. His ability to adapt and his willingness to take calculated risks are truly outstanding.

Colten Yamagishi, a marketing major, won the Alberta Poker Player of the Year Race on January 2, 2023. Overall, his best live cash ever (as of now) was $71,568. Not much is known about his biography except that he had random hobbies such as playing online poker and guitar, back as a student. He was involved in student politics and led dynamic teams throughout his university career, including being elected as VP of Student Life and later as President of the University of Alberta Students' Union. After starting to play poker professionally, Colten played a ton of events to stay on top. His dedication to mastering different skills outside of poker may have contributed to his success in the game.

Growing up in Toronto, Ontario, Ari Engel was studying finance when he was introduced to online poker by his college roommate. After throwing a few bucks onto a poker site, it only took ten days of gains to convince him to quit his job and take up the game full-time. His dedication paid off, earning close to $2.5 million online and at one point climbing to the top of the online player rankings. Engel has also made a name for himself in live tournaments, with over $3.2 million in lifetime live earnings, including two WSOPC rings and the 2016 Aussie Millions main event.

Canadian poker player Andrew Chen has earned more than $5 million throughout his career in live poker tournaments alone. He is also a well-known online pro, with over $2 million in earnings from PokerStars alone. Chen's live tournament successes include a third-place finish at the European Poker Tour in Prague in 2008, and a runner-up finish at the 2012 EPT Berlin for over $800,000. In 2014, he won the EPT London High Roller Event for well over $600,000. Chen is known for his adequate playing style and travels all over the world for poker tournaments.

Not much is known about Albert Nguyen’s biography and career. It seems that this poker player has unstable luck and some years were better while some were worse in terms of poker success. Albert lives in Brossard, QC, Canada, and he is quite famous as a local player. His best live cash ​​by now was $550,959. In December 2022, Albert Nguyen left $1,100 in the WPTPrimeChampionship in 5th place for $200,000! The most recent event where Albert took part was on February 24, 2023, in Canada, C$ 1,150 No Limit Hold'em - Main Event (Event 6) Playground Poker Week, Kahnawake, and he took 2nd place with C$ 53,000 as a prize.

Residing in Surrey, BC, Canada, Joon Park earned their best live cash of $61,013. At the Lone Star Poker Series Inaugural Texas State Main Event, he faced stiff competition with 1,818 total entries in a $1,300 buy-in no-limit hold'em tournament. Despite the massive field, he managed to finish in the top 220 and walk away with a share of the final prize pool of $2,090,700. While not the ultimate winner, Park’s impressive performance is a testament to their skill at the table.

Ryan Smith, a skilled poker player hailing from Saskatoon, Canada, has earned over $905,929 in live tournament earnings alone. With more than 129 public tournament appearances, Ryan is ranked 95th among Canada's poker players and 2272nd in the all-time money list. His impressive track record includes a noteworthy second-place finish at the C$300 Pot Limit Omaha event in Grey Eagle Winter Xscape, Calgary in 2020, as well as his best live cash of $103,194. Ryan's consistently impressive results are a testament to his exceptional poker skills and strategic gameplay.

Kristen Bicknell, married to fellow professional poker player Alex Foxen, was born in St. Catharines, Ontario. She started playing poker in college and made her online debut in 2006 under the alias krissyb24. Bicknell hit Supernova Elite on PokerStars three times and calls herself the "Ultimate Grinder" for her volume of hands played online. In 2013, she won the Ladies No Limit Hold'em Championship at the WSOP, earning $173,922. Foxen won the $1,500 No-Limit hold'em bounty event at the WSOP in 2016 and signed with partypoker that same year. Foxen has been ranked the highest live tournament female poker player and won three WSOP bracelets. Her total live tournament winnings exceed $5,188,000.

Sebastic Crema lives in North Vancouver, BC, Canada. He studied at the Faculty of Law at the University of Alberta. He is famous as a poker player but he is also a soccer player and a professional Pokemon player. Sebastian joined the Golden Bears team after 3 years at UBC and played for the Golden Bears in 2015-2017. In 2016, he helped the team to the 11th Canada West and 5th USports National Championship. As of now, his best live cash as a poker player is $37,971. His latest wins include a $194 prize at 45th place in $140 No Limit Hold'em - Nightly World Series of Poker Circuit, WSOPC North Carolina, Cherokee on February 22, 2023, and a $2,073 prize at 56th place in $400 No Limit Hold'em (Ring Event 2) World Series of Poker Circuit, WSOPC North Carolina, Cherokee, on February 16, 2023.

Patrick Quinn, from Toronto, Canada, has earned over $451,225 in live poker tournament winnings alone. With more than 36 live tournaments under his belt, Quinn's greatest win was an impressive $213,263. In the 2020 World Poker Tour - WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open, he secured 14th place in the $300 + $40 No Limit Hold'em - Black Chip Bounty (Event #24) event. Ranked #210 in Canada and #4830 in all-time money, Quinn's skill and consistency are undeniable, cementing his reputation in the professional poker niche.

Eric Afriat, a successful Canadian entrepreneur and poker player, has earned over $4.5 million in live poker tournaments throughout his career. Starting in 2008, Afriat quickly made a name for himself in the poker world with his first significant win at the 2012 Bellagio Cup for a prize of $110,000. He went on to win three World Poker Tour titles, including the WPT Main Event in Hollywood, Florida, where he earned over $1 million. Afriat's consistency and skill have led to numerous final table appearances, and he continues to make impressive tournament runs, including a second-place finish at the WPT Main Event in Hollywood in 2019 and a third WPT title at the Fallsview in Niagara Falls in 2020.

John Krpan, a recreational poker player from Toronto, has been playing poker for a decade and has over $500,000 in live tournament winnings. Despite playing only six to eight events per year, Krpan made an impressive deep run in the WPT Bobby Baldwin Classic, finishing in 10th place for $37,255 among a field full of top-notch rounders. Krpan now splits his time between Toronto and Naples, Florida, and works in real estate development. With his children grown and out of the house, Krpan has more time to focus on his poker game, which has clearly paid off.

Anthony Casten lives in Calgary, AB, Canada. Little is known about the biography or career of this poker player except for his participation in various events (which are plenty) and his wins. Anthony’s best live cash as of now was $29,865. His latest wins include C$11,000 in 6th place at C$ 1,100 No Limit Hold'em - Main Grande (Event 8), The Grande Poker Series, Calgary, on March 17, 2023, and C$11,491 in 12th place at C$ 1,100 No Limit Hold'em - Main Grande (Event 8), The Grande Poker Series, Calgary, on January 22, 2023.

Canadian poker player Alex Livingston, who lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, has over $6.5 million in live tournament earnings. In addition to finishing third in the 2019 WSOP Main Event, he also placed 13th in the same event back in 2013. Alongside his poker career, Livingston is a chess player and studied economics at Tufts University. With over $2.5 million in additional winnings, including a third-place finish at the Wynn Million, Livingston is a skilled and impressive player who continues to push his career forward.

Mark Toulouse, a ClubWPT Diamond Member and member of the ClubWPT Stream Team, is a skilled poker player. As the Principal of Emmanuel College at the University of Toronto, Toulouse took a break from the classroom to compete in live events such as the recent WSOPC Tulsa. With a best live cash of $89,197 and recent finishes of 17th, 11th, and 5th place, Toulouse is a competitor to be reckoned with and has shown that he has what it takes to compete at a high level in the world of poker.