They’re masters of acting, and of bluffing. Comedians, footballers, film stars – and, in more than one case, genuinely accomplished poker players with bracelets and six-figure cashes to show for it. Keep an eye out for these ten, because several of them would take your money at a home game.
10. Jennifer Tilly
The actor voices Bonnie Swanson in Family Guy and has appeared in the Chucky films and Modern Family. Acting aside, Jennifer Tilly is the real deal at a poker table – a professional player who has entered the World Series of Poker many times over.
She’s the only person on this list with a WSOP bracelet, which she won in the 2005 Ladies’ No-Limit Hold’em Championship for $158,335, still her largest recorded live cash. She may well be as famous in poker circles as she is in film.
9. Kevin Hart
The fast-talking actor and comedian has made himself one of the highest-earning comics alive, with a personality considerably larger than he is. You’ll know him from the recent Jumanji films and from Get Hard alongside Will Ferrell.
That same fast talk makes for excellent table chat, and he’s better at the game than the trash talk suggests. Hart has been part of the PartyPoker roster, and his recorded live winnings sit around $47,828, helped by a win in the No-Limit Hold’em $40,000 Guarantee at Larry Flynt’s Challenge Cup in 2010.
8. Jason Alexander
Best known as George Costanza in Seinfeld, Jason Alexander likes to play a rather different part away from the camera. He won the eighth season of Celebrity Poker Showdown and has taken down other celebrity events since, donating the winnings from each to charity. His best recorded live cash is $16,933.
7. Shannon Elizabeth
You know her from the American Pie films. In poker she’s something closer to a femme fatale. She entered a celebrity tournament at the World Series of Poker in 2005 against a field of 83 and beat the lot of them, then followed it with a win at Caesars Palace the year after.
She has kept proving herself in open events since, and has described poker as her second career rather than a hobby.
6. Ray Romano
Everybody loved Raymond, and quite a few people have regretted sitting down against him. The Everybody Loves Raymond star is as likable as ever and thoroughly vicious once the cards are out.
He turns up regularly at tournaments including the World Series of Poker, with a best recorded live cash of $18,176, and he hosts games with friends at home – which, as our guide to hosting a poker night covers, is where most good players actually start.
5. Tobey Maguire
A genuine Hollywood heavyweight, with Spider-Man (2002), Brothers (2009) and The Great Gatsby (2013) behind him.
The film career aside, Maguire has had serious success at the table. He has played since 2004 and has a reputation as a difficult opponent both live and online, particularly in the high-stakes private games that later became the subject of Molly’s Game. Perhaps the spider-sense helps when the board runs bad.
4. Aaron Paul
The Breaking Bad (2008) and El Camino (2019) star has won several poker events and once faced Cristiano Ronaldo heads-up at an exhibition match. Ronaldo is fairly used to winning things, and this was no exception – he beat the actor.
Paul hasn’t been put off. He has since played World Series of Poker events more than once.
3. Ben Affleck
Affleck is a genuine poker star as well as a film star, known for Batman v Superman, Gone Girl and the award-winning Good Will Hunting, which he wrote with his long-time friend and the next name on this list, Matt Damon.
He appears at tournaments often and is described as a tough opponent, though a pleasant and talkative one, which is a rarer combination than it sounds. He won the California State Poker Championship in 2004 and has been taken seriously in the game ever since.
2. Matt Damon
The star of Rounders (1998) doesn’t only act the poker life. He learned the game properly for the role, training with professionals, and has played seriously ever since.
The film did more for poker’s mainstream image than almost anything before it – it made the game look cool, and a few years later online poker and Chris Moneymaker turned that into a full-blown boom, the era we trace in our history of poker.
A sequel has been discussed on and off for years without ever being confirmed. In the meantime Damon has made himself genuinely respected in poker circles, as an ambassador for the game as much as a player.
1. Neymar
You don’t need a big screen to be an actor. The Brazilian forward is renowned for what he does with a ball, and almost as renowned for how convincingly he can act injured. At the poker table, though, he doesn’t mess about.
Neymar has played both the World Series of Poker and the European Poker Tour in Barcelona, and signed on as a PokerStars ambassador in 2015. His best recorded live cash is around $21,072 – modest next to Jennifer Tilly’s, but he is on this list for range rather than results.
Are You Also Great at Bluffing?
Want to test yourself against your friends in a free game of private digital poker? The EasyPoker app provides the chips, the cards and the dealing, so all you have to do is play them. It’s a digital version of a physical poker set that handles everything else for you.
Texas Hold’em is free and unlimited. You can also play Omaha, Short Deck (6+) and Reverse Hold’em – free for your first 10 games of each, after which hosting them needs EasyPoker Plus. And if you want to bluff like the names above, our guide on how to bluff and our list of poker tells are the place to start.
Want More Poker Content?
We’re always adding new stories about the game, and you’ll find them all on our blog. If it’s player stories you’re after, start with Dan Bilzerian, whose claimed winnings are argued over more than anyone’s, or Gus Hansen, who went from the best in the world to the biggest recorded losses in online poker. There’s also Daniel Negreanu and Doyle Brunson if you want the players the professionals look up to.
Got a suggestion for who we should cover next, or something to add to this list? Get in touch and let us know.
Celebrity Poker FAQ
Which actors are actually good at poker?
Jennifer Tilly is the standout – a professional player with a World Series of Poker bracelet. Beyond her, Tobey Maguire and Ben Affleck are the two most respected: Maguire for the high-stakes private games he played for years, and Affleck for winning the California State Poker Championship in 2004. Matt Damon learned the game properly for Rounders and has played seriously since.
Has an actor ever won a WSOP bracelet?
Yes. Jennifer Tilly won the Ladies’ No-Limit Hold’em Championship at the 2005 World Series of Poker, taking $158,335. It remains her biggest recorded live cash and makes her the only bracelet winner on this list.
Why is Neymar on a list of actors?
Mostly as a joke about how convincingly he goes down on a football pitch. He earns the place on merit at the table though: he has played the World Series of Poker and the European Poker Tour in Barcelona, and has been a PokerStars ambassador since 2015.
Is there a Rounders sequel?
Not so far. A follow-up has been talked about repeatedly since the original came out in 1998, with the cast and writers raising the idea more than once, but nothing has been confirmed or released.
Which poker games can you play on EasyPoker?
EasyPoker deals Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Short Deck (6+) and Reverse Hold’em. Reverse Hold’em is our own variant, where the river is dealt first and the flop comes last. Texas Hold’em is free and unlimited; the other three are free for your first 10 games of each, after which hosting them needs EasyPoker Plus.