Legendary poker players vs. the new generation of poker players

The best poker players can be easily split into two main categories: the old legends and the new rising stars. The two types of poker sharks are very different in the way they reached the top, but they also have the same high level poker skills. One of the most representative figures of legendary poker players is Doyle Brunson. Another representative poker player, but for the new generation this time, is Michael Mizrachi.

Now at the age of 77, Doyle Brunson has almost 60 years of poker playing and is considered by many as the most significant figure in the world of poker. He started to play poker occasionally as a teen and during college started to play for money, to pay his tuition. Soon after graduating he became professional poker player and started to play in illegal games.

Often these poker games were held by criminals and mafia members so he literally risked his life doing it. He met Sailor Roberts and Amarillo Slim and formed a partnership with them, all three traveling and playing together, taking care of each other.

Doyle Brunson won ten World Series of Poker bracelets during his career and was the first player to won more than $1 million in poker tournaments. His total live tournaments winnings are currently around $6 million.

Michael Mizrachi is a young professional poker player that can easily represent the new generation. Born in January 1981, he often played poker with his brothers as a kid and later he started to play online at Poker Stars.  His passion for poker increased proportionally with his bankroll so he dropped out of college and started a full time career in poker.

This year Mizrachi won his first Word Series of Poker bracelet in The Poker Player's Championship, receiving around $1.5 million. He also got on the November Nine short list, proceeding to the WSOP Main Event. As of 2010 Mizrachi’s tournament winnings reached nearly $10 million.

As you can see there are huge differences between the two generations, and only time will tell if the new type of poker players will rise to same level as the old school generation.