How many of the top poker players won their stakes with their own money?

[BrentCrude]

I go to Cantrbury Park race track-card club in the twin cities of Minnesota and a good percentage of the higher stakes players more or less use other people's money to play poker with.By that I mean they sort of fell ass backwards into inheritances or else they are in some inner circle where they bilked some form of government agency to provide them subsidies sort of like Tony Soprano buying slum property and getting sweet heart deals from HUD to turn a quick profit.hehe!You get alot of lawyers too that made money in state tobacco settlements or trumped up sexual harrassment lawsuits and such too with big bank rolls at the tables.Easy come easy go because they take some fish or rube for all he's worth and then they become the fish losing it all.

I sort of have hunches who these players are at the final tables on the t.v.tournaments too.I know there are whiz kids but it's impossible that there are that many 20 somethings who can afford to get in no limit high stakes tourneys.

I wonder who the true players are that made poker a profession at a young age and who made quite a few million by staking the money they made in poker only.I'm talking self made people who purely have poker as their one source of income all throughout their adult life.


Worm on Rounders would be a good example who had nothing going for him other than the fact he could cheat to stake himself.I'm not saying cheating is the way to go to call yourself self made but maybe they should give an award to the poker player each year who has no source of income outside of poker and call it the wormy award.hehe!

[JoshW]

Have no idea on the percentages. But to stick around the big tournament scene and continue to lose have to have a lot of money to start with. Are certainly some that fit this and other got a name so they get backed just b/c people think they have a shot.

[scottyy11]

Backing is part of the dark side of poker and players should have to declare what other players they have action on to avoid collusion. Its rumored "men the master" backs a lot of his asian pals but if they get at his table they must dump chips to him. These rumors whether crazy or true are hurtfull to the game and tournaments need to be cleaned up.

[Al Masters]

Mike Sexton & Hellmuth were both staked in many tourneys up until the mid 90s by a guy from mtl canada big herbie. matter of fact one year at the woods his men came in 1st 3rd and 4th in same tourney, how bout eskimo clark plays in just about every tourney, i dont think hes ever spent a buck to get into one. then theres big Gavin Smith he was runnin around the toronto area and foxwoods searching to lock up a win, then he gets staked by EDOGN aka Eric Lindgren and bingo he hits some nice tourneys.
there must be 100s being backed. its part of the scene.