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The United States is a well-known poker hub, but which states produce the most professional poker players? And after they go pro, where do the best US poker players like to live to pursue their careers?
We dug into poker databases and archives to identify which states produce the most poker players. Also, we used relocation data to determine which states are most favorable for pro poker players to live in.
US Poker Player Map
New York (11), California (6), and Florida (5) have produced 22 of the top 50 poker players in the US. The other 28 hail from 17 total states, including Ohio (4), Pennsylvania (3), Colorado (3), and Maryland (3).
It takes a lot to crack the top 50 in career earnings for US-born players. At the time of writing, Brandon Adams ranks 50th with $13.5 million in career earnings. In total, the top 50 players have combined for over $1.5 billion in career winnings.
The remaining 30 states currently have no players in the top 50 US poker pros as of October 2026.
New York Yields the Most Poker Players
The Empire State reigns supreme as the most successful state at creating winning poker players. A staggering 11 of the top 50 US poker players are from New York. The $322 million in combined career earnings of the best New York players is over a fifth of the total earnings of the top 50 players combined.
Some of the most successful poker players from New York include:
| Player | US Rank | Career Earnings |
|---|---|---|
| Bryn Kenney | 1st | $90.8 million |
| Isaac Haxton | 4th | $65.3 million |
| Alex Foxen | 6th | $59.0 million |
| Eric Seidel | 9th | $49.3 million |
| Nick Schulman | 29th | $21.9 million |
| Vanessa Selbst | 35th | $18.9 million |
| Dan Shak | 41st | $16.8 million |
Bryn Kenney is the most successful US-born poker player to date with $90.8 million in career earnings. Kenney is the top-ranked player on Hendon Mob’s all-time earnings list, too.
Isaac Haxton, Alex Foxen, and Eric Seidel are fellow New Yorkers who also rank in the top 10 of US poker earnings.
Many poker pros hail from New York, but most moved away from the Empire State. Vanessa Selbst and Dan Shak are the only pros in the top 50 who still live in New York full-time. Nick Schulman lives in New York, too, but splits his time in Las Vegas.
Which State has the Most WSOP Bracelets?
The 50 most successful US poker players have won a combined 130 World Series of Poker bracelets. Of the 20 states with players in the top 50 all-time US earners, the ones that have produced the most WSOP bracelets are:
- California = 22 WSOP bracelets
- New York = 21 WSOP bracelets
- Wisconsin = 17 WSOP bracelets
- Colorado = 15 WSOP bracelets
- Florida = 13 WSOP bracelets
- Ohio = 13 WSOP Bracelets
New York has the most players in the top 50, but California has the edge in WSOP bracelet wins. Players from the Golden State have earned 22 WSOP bracelets, one more than players from New York (21).
Wisconsin rounds out the top three at 17 WSOP bracelet wins. However, unlike New York and California, all of the WSOP bracelets won by Wisconsin players belong to one man: Phil Hellmuth.
California also owes the bulk of its WSOP bracelets to one player. Phil Ivey, born in Riverside, CA, but raised in New Jersey, accounts for 11 of Cali’s 22 WSOP bracelets.
Where Do The Top 50 Pros Live Now?
Check out the table below to see where the best US-born poker players live now.
| Location | Number of Top 50 Players |
|---|---|
| Nevada | 32 |
| Florida | 7 |
| CA, NY, PA, MI, OH | 6 |
| Outside of the US | 5 |
Las Vegas, Nevada, is synonymous with gambling in the US. So, it is not surprising that 32 of the top 50 US poker players have relocated to Sin City to pursue their careers.
Living in or near Vegas allows poker pros to easily access tournaments and benefit from the player-friendly gambling laws in Nevada.
Florida has the next most players, with seven of the top 50 pros in Miami, Jacksonville, and Tampa. Five of the top 50, or 10%, have left the US to seek friendlier online poker regulations.
Recent WSOP Hall of Fame inductee Jason Koon, for instance, is from West Virginia but now spends his time between Vancouver. BC and Las Vegas, NV.
A handful of the 50 best US poker players still live in their home states. For example, JC Tran still resides in Sacramento, CA, where he was born.
How We Gathered This Data and Our Methodology
We gathered the above information from trusted databases. To ensure accuracy, we checked multiple sources, including:
- Hendon Mob: A trusted poker earnings database that we used to verify tournament winnings, birthplaces, and current residences of US poker players.
- WSOP official archive: Used to cross-reference WSOP bracelet totals and tournament results.
- PocketFives: A poker archives and tracking feeds database we used to verify screen names of online professional poker players who left the States after the DOJ shutdown many popular poker sites in 2011.
- State Department revenue guidelines: Used to determine state-level personal income tax rates on poker winnings.
The Tri-State Area Produces the Most Pro Poker Players in the US
New York has produced the most professional poker players in the top 50 career winners in the US. Eleven of the top 50 players are from the Empire State. If you expand the search parameters to the tri-state area, including New Jersey and Pennsylvania, that number grows to 16, or 32% of the total.
New York has the most players in the top 50, but players from the Empire State have only 21 WSOP bracelets, one fewer than California (22), which has the most.
FAQs
Phil Hellmuth has the most WSOP bracelets of any player, with 17. The US players with the next most include Phil Ivey (11) and Erik Seidel (10).
Phil Hellmuth has the most cashes on Hendon Mob with 420. Next are Erik Seidel (365), Cary Katz (310), and David Peters (282).
Cary Katz has the highest lifetime earnings of any US player from the South. The Georgia native has $43 million in career winnings, ranking 12th among players in the US.
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