The global popularity of poker today is undeniable.
With Japan’s unique position as a rising force in the international poker community, it is estimated that there are 100 million famous asian poker players worldwide and over 50,000 in Japan alone.
And of course, the popularity of poker continues to grow as Japanese players defy legal restrictions and make their mark on the global poker stage.
Poker has been recognised as a sport by the International
Olympic Committee (IOC) and may even become an official Olympic sport in the future.
Poker is very popular and well known around the world and is not only played in online casinos or among friends, but there are also professional poker players who play for cash prizes.
Poker is also known as a mind game, and the psychological tactics used by professional poker players are fascinating to watch on the online poker sites Japan.
From here, let’s take a look at the prize money ranking of Japanese poker players!
In this article, we’ll tell you more about these poker professionals: We have selected the Japanese poker players with the highest lifetime winnings from “The Hendon Mob”, a website that ranks the results of major poker tournaments.
Tsugunari Toma: The Poker Prodigy
The number one professional poker player in Japan is Osaka-based Tsugunari Toma (nicknamed “Tsugu-nii”).
But Tsugunari Toma is not only a poker player, he is also the CEO of Touma Total Business Co., Ltd, which he founded in November 2008.
Currently, Toma manages eight companies and plays poker in Japanese as a relaxing hobby.
His career earnings total $2,275,334, with a career high of $581,943.
Ranked on the all-time money global poker index, his winnings are relatively small compared to the world.
For example, Justin Bonomo from the United States with a lifetime earnings of $57,194,649 or Bryn Kenney with $57,108,865.
Although he is a part-time professional poker player, he is the highest earning Japanese player who plays mainly overseas.
He is known for his intelligent poker style and his affiliation with international PokerStars.
In 2019, he won the Japan Player of the Year award and has three ambassador contracts with AJPC, Sponichi and natural8.
In 2020, he signed professional contracts with three companies, including the Sports Nippon newspaper.
Kazuhiko Yotsushika: The Maverick Player
The second highest ranking professional poker player in Japan is Kazuhiko Shika, a part-time professional poker player who runs a real estate company in Kumamoto.
His total career poker earnings amount to $1,682,654, with his biggest payday being $431,092.
He is also a versatile player, having even won the Japanese championship in the board game of backgammon.
It is also worth noting that Yotsushika has become widely known not only for his professional poker skills and $1.6 million-plus career, but also for his unique style, characterized by eye-catching outfits and a deadpan expression.
Recently, Kazuhiko Yotsushika played in a World Poker Tour event and won.
Takashi Ogura: The Strategic Contender
The third highest ranking professional poker player in Japan is Takashi Ogura, who is also a professional mahjong player.
His total career earnings amount to $1,672,731, with his biggest payday being $350,628.
Ogura has a unique, deliberate, slow-burning style of playing the game, so it didn’t take him long to gain recognition throughout Asia.
A full profile of Takashi Ogura with live earnings of over $1.6 million remains hidden as the player doesn’t like publicity.
He has also played in prestigious poker tournaments throughout Asia and the USA.
Masato Yokosawa: The Poker Ambassador
Here we take a closer look at Masato Yokosawa’s influence and impact on Japanese poker.
The professional poker player attracting the most attention in Japan at the moment is probably Masato Yokosawa.
Yokosawa, affectionately known as “Yokosawa”, is a hugely popular YouTuber who runs the YouTube channel “Yokosawa of the World”, which has around 770,000 subscribers.
Masato poker is a Japanese professional poker player with an unusual past: having been scammed at the age of 20 and ending up 40 million yen in debt, he discovered poker at the lowest point of his life and went on to become a professional.
So Yokosawa poker has won a total of $920,354 (or 93.6 million yen) in prize money from international tournaments and casinos around the world, including the WPT Main Event.
Hiroki Nawa, who co-hosts the channel, is also a talented player who has won 35 million yen in WSOP prize money.
In 2021, Yokosawa and Nawa will open “ROOTS SHIBUYA”, an amusement poker shop in Shibuya, Tokyo, where visitors can play for real money and win various prizes.
Sashimi: The Enigmatic Player
So in this part, we are going to make a little exploration of Sashimi’s presence as a poker player in the Japanese poker scene.
Sashimi (さし美) is a female poker player who runs her own YouTube channel with little more than 23,000 subscribers.
The speculation and intrigue surrounding Sashimi’s identity is probably a key to her image.
She is known for her mysterious persona, so it’s not easy to find information about her on the internet.
Public information about Sashimi poker’s winnings and Japan poker tournaments appearances is also very limited.
Sashimi is known for her unconventional poker style and the ease with which she defeats her opponents.
Her contributions to Japanese poker are significant as she is known worldwide as a professional poker player.
Embracing the Dawn of Japanese Poker Excellence:
All of the Japanese poker players we have discussed in today’s ranking have undoubtedly made their contribution to the global poker landscape.
And of course, with over 770,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel, Masato Yokosawa’s role as a key figure in popularising poker in Japan is undeniable.
We can look forward to continued success and the emergence of new talent from Japan in the competitive world of poker.
About The Author
