Top 10 Poker Streamers & Why They Are So Popular

Poker is consistently ranked as one of the most popular casino games, online and off. Why? Because poker requires skill, knowledge and luck to master. It’s a game that is fairly easy to learn but that can continually be honed by its best players – those top players we love to watch at tournaments. Now the top poker streamers have brought the game to even more online viewers.

In this blog you’ll find everything you need to know about today’s top poker streamers and where to watch them. We’ll cover the top ten in the arenas of Twitch and YouTube streaming, and will explain what each of them is most known for. If you love poker and want to learn more about it in an entertaining format, watching these popular online personalities is definitely one of the ways to go.

At any time, you can use the links below to jump directly to more info about a certain topic within the blog. We follow with frequently asked questions below. If you’re ready to start playing, check out our ranking of the best online poker sites.

• The World of Poker Streamers
• Best Poker Streamers: Our Top Ten
• Where to Watch
• Live Events

The World of Poker Streamers

Though poker streamers seem to be getting more and more popular lately, they have actually already been around for a long time. Twitch was formed in 2011 and some of the most popular people on our list have also been active for years already. They’ve had time to build ample followings and perfect what they share on streams, which is why they continue to attract new viewers.

Poker streamers have perhaps become even more popular due to the fact that online poker is also increasingly available in more states and countries. Since players have access to a variety of for-money games at all times, they also want more advice and support on how to up their game strategies. Let’s face it, watching a real person is always more interesting than reading strategic manuals!

Therefore, if you are a poker player that wants to learn more about the game while being entertaining, these top poker streamers are definitely for you! Read more about each of them to assess what style might be most interesting. We’ve also included links so you can sample each one yourself and see what you respond to the most.

One important note: If you are looking to learn more about strategies, look for players who play in similar games to you. Though you might learn basics or more general rules from any of these Twitch poker streamers, the truth is that you cannot play in the same way on micro stakes games that you would on other types of games, as an example. So always keep this in mind if you feel you’re replicating someone’s strategy but it isn’t working like it works for them!

Best Poker Streamers: Our Top Ten

Before we get into it, we wanted to explain how we compiled this list. There are various blogs, threads and other info out there breaking down the so-called “best” poker streamers on the internet. However, there are also current Twitch rankings on which players are watched the most. Using this precise data, we can show you which streamers are in fact the most popular now, at the time of writing.

Popularity on Twitch, YouTube and other platforms is always shifting so these stats might be slightly different in the future. No matter what, these are still some of the best poker streamers you can rely on for great advice and entertainment online!

1. Lex “LexVeldhuis” Veldhuis

Lex Veldhuis is a Dutch streamer and professional poker player who is consistently one of the most watched in his field on Twitch. At the time of writing, he’s number one in the poker category with nearly 300,000 viewer hours, far surpassing his peers. Veldhuis is part of the Dutch Poker Hall of Fame and Team PokerStars Online. He’s won “Streamer of the Year” at the Global Poker Awards twice. He’s been streaming since 2018 and playing professionally for 18 years.

You can find him on YouTube and Twitch. His advice will be most useful for mid-stakes, high-roller and multi-table tournament players. He also brings a lot of humor to what he does, creating appeal for a wide audience of fans.

2. Bert “girafganger7” Stevens

Following Lex in today’s Twitch rankings with over 100,000 viewer hours is Bert Stevens, a Belgian professional player. Bert made waves last year when he won the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Online Main Event, with the biggest prize haul in its history: $2,783,433. Stevens is also known for MTT style play, calling himself the greatest MTT player of all time (though others might take issue with that!). What is certainly true is that he is a talented player with a growing following. He’s even available for coaching for especially motivated players. You can watch him on Twitch here.

3. Ben “Spraggy” Spragg

Crossing the pond away from continental Europe we now have Spraggy, an extremely popular British player that has been streaming since the early days. Aside from his own Twitch stream, you can find him and his pal Fintan “easywithaces” Hand on the popular PokerStars channel, which currently receives the third highest viewership on Twitch with just under 100,000 viewer hours.

Spraggy has had a variety of experiences in the game, which may be what makes him so appealing. Having started in cash games and then transitioned to tournament style play, his streams are perfect for fans of low-stakes tournaments, cash games, mixed games, and high rollers alike. He also mixes comedy with strategic teachings to help his fans get the most out of their watching time.

4. Jeferson “JEFFAOCS” Santos

So far we’ve focused on Twitch streamers who work in the English language, but we also wanted to give a much-deserved shout-out to Brazilian player Jeferson Santos, who is currently sitting at 74,000 viewer hours on Twitch, and almost 400,000 followers. This impressive player has been making waves in the poker scenes of Latin America and seems positioned to go far. If you’re a Portuguese-speaking player, you’re in luck! Catch one of his next streams.

5. Aaron “abarone68” Barone

Another relative up-and-comer is Aaron Barone, a US poker player who has moved all over the world in his pursuit of playing online poker. Barone tells a story about leaving the US when online poker was made illegal in 2011. His pursuit of the game has brought him to the Bahamas, Canada, Thailand and more, and he has certainly made a name for himself online. He’s reached more than 60,000 viewer hours and is sure to continue finding success.

6. Parker “tonkaaaaP” Talbot

The second North American on our list is Parker Talbot, a “semi-retired” player who reps the PokerStars team from his native Canada. Talbot has purportedly taken home $3.4 million in earnings in online games. He’s also known for his tournament play, so one to watch for tournament enthusiasts for sure.

7. Sebastian “peacendloove” Huber

Sebastian Huber is another relative up-and-comer, this time from Austria. Huber is another PokerStars ambassador who won his first WCOOP title in 2022. Huber also won a Platinum Pass to the PokerStars Players Championship in 2023. Though Huber’s fanbase is still smaller compared to some of the more established top Twitch poker streamers, he is also another new face on the scene to watch in the coming years, especially for those interested in high stakes games. You can follow his streams here.

8. Alejandro Lococo a.k.a. “Papo MC”

Crossing to Latin American again, we present Papo MC, a rapper and poker player from Argentina. Because of Papo’s ample fanbase across his MC work and now poker playing, he’s become one of the most watched Spanish-language poker players on Twitch with a whopping 1.8 million followers and 42,000 viewer hours for his poker content.

9. Arlie Shaban

Finally we have Arlie Shaban, one of the original Twitch poker streamers and definitely amongst the most well known in the group. Though Shaban only has 38,000 viewer hours at the time of writing, he’s still definitely renowned for his poker streams which started in 2017. He’s also known for epic streaming marathons, including 1,000 hours in 125 consecutive days at one point. Shaban is from Canada and focuses on low-stakes tournaments, high roller games, cash games and mixed games, so he has a wide variety of content that may appeal to you.

10. Kevin “Kmart” Martin

Rounding off our list is another OG Canadian streamer, Kevin Martin. Kevin has been streaming since 2015, making him one of the most long-standing poker streamers out there. Kevin has a similar games perspective to Arlie Shaban, and is also known for appearing on and winning a season of Big Brother Canada.

Where to Watch

Twitch and streaming are synonymous, and we have linked all of our top streamers’ Twitch profiles above. However, Twitch is not the only place where you can go to connect with and enjoy content from these players. Many are equally active on YouTube – in fact, a blog post just on YouTube poker content might be necessary in the near future, as there is plenty out there as well!

Most of these players are also active on other social media platforms like X (formerly known as “Twitter”), Instagram and TikTok, and they sometimes offer other content there. Some players have their own Discord channels or even offer one-on-one coaching, like Bert Stevens for example.

What Viewers Have to Say

As we explained before our rankings, we compiled these based almost solely on Twitch’s current metrics. However, there are other players that have large fan bases and who have made waves in the past which may not be as high up in the rankings today. There are also poker streamers who have smaller, dedicated fan bases that may be equally worth watching, depending what kind of advice you are looking for.

With that in mind we wanted to highlight some advice and names shared by other poker fans around the world. Some of the fans we found love Bart Hanson, a podcaster on Crush Live Poker, for his advice on low/mid-stakes games. Others recommend Doug Polk, a poker enthusiast who also gives interesting investment-related advice.

For online cash games, Carrot Poker and Weazel1991 came up as favorites. Some also recommended Mariano Grandoli, an Argentine American player who can be looked at for high stakes games. For low stakes, Jonathan Little is a good shout, according to fans who add, “if you can handle his personality.” Ouch!