The question of who is the best NL Texas Hold'em tournament player is one that is constantly asked.  People have different answers to this question and I think it can be agreed that there is no right or wrong answer.  Some base their answer on statistics or bracelets, while others base it off of different types of events won.  I happen to base my answer on a little of both along with some other factors. 

The most common answer that I hear is that Phil Hellmuth is the best poker tournament player in the world.  It is very hard to argue this.  He has the most World Series bracelets (11), has won the main event, and is a force to be reckoned with in every tournament he is in.  The problem with Phil is that he doesn't get in a wide enough variety of tournaments.  Phil has had monster success in the World Series Of Poker but really has nothing from the WPT to show.  Granted if I won even one WSOP bracelet I would care less about anything else but Phil Hellmuth needs to have even a little WPT success to be my top player.  Even the big names say that the WPT has more skill involved than the WSOP.  The structures of the tournament are simply better allowing for more play and less luck. 

Another player always mentioned is none other than Daniel Negreanu.  Daniel is one of the most well rounded players out there and has more success then anyone.  So why is he not at the top of my list?  He, unlike Phil, plays in too MANY events.  Now I am not saying anything negative towards Daniel as his win ratios are still amazing, but you are bound to win something if you play in every event.  Daniel is one of the classiest guys in the poker world and one of my favorites to watch and learn from but he is not the best tournament player in my eyes.

So if it isn't Hellmuth or Negreanu then who is it?  Johnny Chan?  Nope.  Doyle Brunson?  Keep guessing..  The best tournamnet player in the world today is none other than... Action Dan Harrington!  Dan Harrington is the most underrated player there is.  He has won a great number of tournaments, both WPT and WSOP events, is a main event winner, and still has time to do other things on the side.  Dan's accomplishments are some of the most impressive of all time.  His back to back ME final tables were something that nobody will ever accomplish again with the large fields.  But none of this is why I select him.  The real reason is that he plays in maybe 10 big tournaments a year!  Only 10!  For him to have as much success playing the amount of tournaments he does is just ridiculously amazing.  This is why Dan Harrington is the best poker tournament player in the world, and everyone would do well to take whatever wisdom they can from him.  Dan, you're the man!

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