I don't know if there is such a thing. The best players have losing years. Sometimes you make the best decisions in poker and you still lose. You have no control over variance. Daniel Negreanu is a very good ambassador for poker. Yet he has had losing years at the wsop. Phil Ivey was so entertaining to watch. Yet, he hasn't won anything or consistently in a long time. I think he won a tournament more recently but he's not a consistent winner anymore. Phil Helmuth does so well at WSOP and so poorly in the high rollers against professional players. Alex Foxen has been crushing in the past few years but is he the best? Shawn Deeb has lot of good results at the WSOP but I don't know that he's the best. Anyway, I think poker benefits from having a lot of people with very different play styles represent it. It makes it more entertaining to watch.
When it comes to the number of WSOP bracelets, Phil Hellmuth obviously has the edge. But if we're talking about who the best overall player is, I think it should be someone who's great across multiple formats, like Michael Mizrachi or Benny Glaser. They both have shown an incredible level across different variants, and the Poker Players Championship is a great example of that. In 2025 Mizrachi won it, and in 2026 Glaser took it down.
To me, that tournament is one of the best indicators of an all-around poker player's ability because it requires players to compete in nine different poker variants.
To me, that tournament is one of the best indicators of an all-around poker player's ability because it requires players to compete in nine different poker variants.
