Poker prestige is great, but isn't cash still king?

There's a pretty straightforward way to keep score in poker — count the cash.

Let's assume that we have two poker players on different paths.

Player A is one of the finest players in his local casino. Most nights, he sits in the cash games, and he walks out hours later with doubled money.

On the weekends, he usually either cashes or wins the local tournament outright, pocketing the $2,000 first-place prize.

Over the course of his 10-year playing career, he has amassed nearly $150,000 in winnings.

Player B is an admitted recreational player who wouldn't even earn the title of “best player” in his home poker game. Yet he qualifies for a major tournament after winning an online satellite.

Making the most of his opportunity, he finishes second, cashing for $250,000.

Who would you rather be? While there is certainly more prestige among your poker-playing peers in being Player A, you can't get away from the financial windfall of Player B. If the ultimate goal in poker is to win money, isn't more better?

The Internet provides a vast array of resources for poker players. One of my favorites is the online database found on thehendonmob.com. If a player cashes in a major tournament anywhere in the world, those results are recorded on the site.

Online poker accomplishments aren't tracked due to the anonymity of screen names. Cash-game results aren't taken into account either — only the taxman or a spouse can vouch for that.

The all-time money list yields interesting data.

Perched comfortably at the top are Daniel Negreanu ($14,116,192) and Phil Ivey ($13,859,944), two players who would be in anybody's top-five with multiple major-tournament scores and cash-game prowess.

Recent Poker Hall of Fame inductee Erik Seidel sits a close third with $13,788,227. Seidel already has won $3,433,214 in 2011 alone.

However, sitting at No. 4 is Jamie Gold. Gold will never be considered for the Hall of Fame or get any mention in a debate over the best of the best.

He wouldn't crack any notable list had it not been for one particular tournament — the 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event. Gold won out over a still-standing record field of 8,773 entrants, earning $12 million.

Phil Hellmuth, who owns the WSOP record for bracelet victories with 11, still needs to win $785,179 to catch him.

Winning the Main Event or other major tournaments has a way of fast-tracking players to the top, leapfrogging players with decades of success.

Jerry Yang (2007), Peter Eastgate (2008), Joe Cada (2009) and Jonathan Duhamel (2010) all reside in the top-20 with earnings in excess of $8 million.

Duhamel was the only one to win in excess of $50,000 before his victory.

Every poker player wants to be considered among the best, but sometimes all you have to do is be the best at the right time.

It's not exactly fair, but cash is king.

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