March 28, 2024
Annapolis, US 49 F

Famous Poker Players from Maryland

Poker
Photo by Anna Shvets from Pexels

Maryland might have been very conservative about legalizing gambling within its borders but we cannot deny how rich the gaming culture in the state is. Despite the lack of locally-regulated gambling options, the residents found ways of indulging in a bit of the action. One of the most popular casino games in Maryland is poker.

Poker is a very special game and it is no surprise that so many people in the state of Maryland love to play it. In fact, the state is home to many popular poker players. These players have not only made names for themselves in the highly-competitive online poker sector but also contributed to elevating the game to greater heights. Whether you are playing at a tournament or any of the top online US poker sites from the ones listed here, you will likely have come across their names.

Here are some of the famous poker players who are from Maryland:

Darvin Moon

Darvin Moon, a self-employed logger, and amateur poker player is, without a doubt, one of the best-known poker players from Maryland. His biggest break came when he became the runner-up of the 2009 World Series of Poker, (WSOP) US$10,000 no-limit Texas Hold’em Main Event. While he had played poker at different levels before, this was a very big deal as it was the first time he was playing at the WSOP.

To make this story even more interesting, Moon who had taught himself to play the game won the seat at the WSOP in a $130 satellite tournament. The tournament earned him a whopping US$5.18 million for his second-place finish which is pretty good for an amateur player.

Phil Galfond

This American pro poker player is known for among other things winning a total of three World Series of Poker bracelets. These were the $5,000 buy-in pot-limit Omaha with rebuys event in 2008, the $10,000 no-limit 2-7 single draw championship in 2015, and the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship in 2018.

All these earned him a top spot among the poker elite and he would go on to be a popular face in multiple seasons of the Game Show Network’s High Stakes Poker show. Today, he is best known for his efforts in running the Run It Once Poker site. In addition to that, he also operates and coaches at the Run It Once Training poker site.

Gregory Merson

Greg Merson made a name for himself as a formidable poker player but what he is best known for was his amazing performance at the 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event where he was the winner. That kicked off a very good year for the player.

After the WSOP Main Event win in 2012, Merson went on to win an additional WSOP bracelet in the $10, 000 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em World Championship. The win was a record-breaking one. It was the shortest day of poker in the history of the WSOP when it was extended to the fourth day. Merson won on the second hand of the day. No one had ever done that before and it is still hard to pull off even today.

All these wins cumulatively contributed to him being the 2012 WSOP Player of the Year and a renowned figure in US poker.

Anthony Greg

Anthony “Tony” Greg is arguably one of the most ambitious poker players alive. One of the things he is famous for is making three appearances at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure main event. No one else had made more than two appearances at the event before that which goes to show how skilled he was. Greg did not win any main event though – he finished second on two of the three occasions and sixth on the third. That is very impressive still.

It gets even better though. He won the $111,111 One Drop High Roller in 2013 for a prize of $4,830,000 which is one of his most memorable wins.

Scott Palmer

Scott’s poker story almost always sounds like it is from an online poker thriller film. Even while still living with his parents, the poker whizz was raking in millions of dollars from high-stakes online poker games. He has played some of the highest stakes poker games on the internet which makes him a very interesting person, especially among people who are hoping to kick off professional online poker gaming.

Perhaps one of the things that made Scott Palmer such a great poker player was his strong background in math. This likely played into making him better at using strategies at the poker tables he plays at.

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