If you have spent any time watching poker on television or listening to players talk, you have definitely heard the name “Hendon Mob.” It is one of those terms that gets thrown around like everyone should know what it means. But if you are new to the poker world, it can be a bit confusing. Is it a group of players? A gang? A website? Well, in a way, it is all of those things, but today, it is most importantly the beating heart of poker’s historical record.
I remember when I first started playing poker seriously. I would see players win a big tournament, and the commentator would say, “That moves him up to 47th on the Hendon Mob All Time Money List.” I had no idea what that meant, but it sounded important. When I finally explored the website for myself, it was like a whole new dimension of the game opened up to me. It was not just about who won the latest tournament; it was about a player’s entire journey, their consistency, and their place in poker history. Let me walk you through what makes the Hendon Mob so special.
So, What Exactly is The Hendon Mob?
The name itself has a great story. It originally referred to four poker players from Hendon in London: Barny Boatman, Ross Boatman, Joe Beevers, and Ram Vaswani. They were a charismatic group who found success and became well known on the poker circuit in the late 1990s and early 2000s. They were the “Mob,” and they brought a certain style and energy to the game.
But as their fame grew, so did the need to document their results and the results of others. What started as a simple page to track their own winnings slowly evolved into something much bigger. The website, TheHendonMob.com, became the central repository for live poker tournament results from all over the world. The original “Mob” may have given it its name and its soul, but the database itself became the legacy.
Today, the Hendon Mob is the undisputed, official record keeper for live tournament poker. Think of it as the census bureau or the hall of records for the global poker community. If you want to know how much money a player has won in their live tournament career, where they won it, and who they beat, this is the one and only place to look.
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Why is it Considered the Poker Player’s Bible?
You might be thinking, “It is just a website with numbers. What is the big deal?” The big deal is credibility. In a game often associated with bluffing and tall tales, the Hendon Mob is a source of pure, unvarnished truth.
Before this database existed, a player’s reputation was often based on hearsay or a few big wins everyone remembered. Now, it is all there in black and white. This transparency has done wonders for the game. It gives players a tangible measure of their careers. Making it onto the database, or “getting a Hendon Mob page,” is a rite of passage. It means you have cashed in a recognized live tournament. It means you are part of the official story of poker.
For fans and journalists, it is an indispensable tool. When writing about a player, the first thing anyone does is pull up their Hendon Mob profile to verify their accomplishments. It adds authority and context to any discussion. For aspiring pros, it is a source of inspiration and a way to study the career paths of their heroes. You can see the grind, the slow build, the breakout victory, and the sustained success.
A Guided Tour of the Hendon Mob’s Key Features
The website can seem a bit overwhelming at first glance, but it is actually quite logical once you know what you are looking at. Let us break down the main sections.
The Player Search: Finding a Needle in a Haystack
This is the most used feature. The search bar is your gateway to any player’s career. You can search by their full name, their nickname, or even just part of their name. The beauty of it is its comprehensiveness. It is not just for the famous pros. If your friend from home cashed in a small local tournament, there is a very good chance they are in there too.
I once met a player at a local casino who told me about a big score he had years ago. I was skeptical, but a quick search on my phone confirmed his story right down to the date and the number of entrants. The look on his face was a mix of pride and surprise that his achievement was permanently etched into poker’s history books. That is the power of this tool.
The All Time Money List: The Ultimate Ranking
This is the feature that gets the most attention. It is a simple, sorted list of every poker player, ranked by their total lifetime live tournament earnings. Seeing names like Bryn Kenney, Justin Bonomo, and Daniel Negreanu at the top is a testament to incredible skill and longevity.
However, it is important to understand what this list is and what it is not. It is a list of raw, nominal earnings. It does not account for inflation, the buying power of money in different countries, or, most importantly, the fact that players often sell pieces of themselves in tournaments. A player’s listed $5 million win might have been a $1 million payday for them after they sold 80% of their action. The list does not show that, and it is a common point of discussion among knowledgeable fans. It is a measure of gross success, not net profit.
Individual Player Profiles: A Career in a Spreadsheet
This is where the real magic happens. When you click on a player’s name, you are taken to their personal profile page. This page is a treasure trove of information. You will see a graph of their earnings over time, which visually tells the story of their career peaks and valleys. You will see their total earnings, number of cashes, and biggest single win.
Below that, you will find a chronological list of every single live tournament cash they have ever had. It shows the date, the tournament name, the buy in amount, the place they finished, and the prize money. You can see a player’s entire journey, from their first small cash to their World Series of Poker bracelet wins. You can see if they are a specialist in one type of tournament or if they have success all over the world. It is an incredibly detailed and objective biography of their poker life.
How You Can Use the Hendon Mob to Your Advantage
Whether you are a fan, a recreational player, or someone with dreams of going pro, the Hendon Mob is a powerful resource.
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For Fans: Use it to settle debates. Use it to learn more about your favorite players. Before a big tournament, look up the players at the final table to understand their background and what this win would mean for their career.
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For Recreational Players: You can look up your own record. It is fun to see your own name in the database and track your progress. You can also look up the players at your local casino to see who you are up against. It is a great way to add context to your own game.
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For Aspiring Pros: This is your research library. Study the career graphs of top players. You will notice that very few have a smooth, upward trajectory. Most have sharp spikes and long plateaus. This can be a sobering and motivating reality check. The grind is real, and the Hendon Mob proves it.
A Living, Breathing History Book
The Hendon Mob is more than just a website. It is a community institution. It has democratized poker fame, replacing myth with data. It gives every player, from the unknown amateur to the global superstar, a chance to have their accomplishments recognized and recorded forever. It tells the real, unedited story of poker, one tournament result at a time. The next time you hear a poker player’s name, I encourage you to look them up. You might just discover a story you never knew.
Conclusion
The Hendon Mob has grown from a fun nickname for a group of friends into the most important non-playing entity in poker. It provides an irreplaceable service by maintaining a transparent, accurate, and comprehensive record of live tournament results. It adds a layer of legitimacy and history to the game, allowing everyone from casual fans to seasoned pros to verify, analyze, and celebrate the achievements that define modern poker. It is, without exaggeration, the definitive archive of the game.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q1: Is the data on Hendon Mob 100% accurate?
While it is the most accurate and comprehensive database available, it is not perfect. It relies on tournament organizers submitting results, and sometimes small events or errors can be missed. However, the team behind it is diligent, and players can submit updates to their own profiles to correct any mistakes.
Q2: Does Hendon Mob include online poker results?
No, the Hendon Mob is exclusively for live poker tournament results. Online poker sites have their own tracking systems, and the nature of online play, with its vast number of tournaments and players, makes it a very different type of record-keeping.
Q3: How does a player get listed on Hendon Mob?
A player gets listed automatically the first time they “cash” (finish in the money) in a live tournament that reports its results to the Hendon Mob. Almost all significant tournaments around the world do this. You do not need to sign up; your profile is created when that first result is processed.
Q4: What is the difference between Hendon Mob and the Global Poker Index (GPI)?
The Hendon Mob is the raw database of results and earnings. The Global Poker Index (GPI) uses that data to create a sophisticated points-based ranking system, similar to the ATP rankings in tennis. The GPI ranking considers factors like the quality of the field and recency of results, whereas the Hendon Mob All Time Money List is a simple ranking of total dollars earned.
Q5: Can I remove my name from Hendon Mob?
Generally, no. The Hendon Mob’s policy is to act as a historical record. Just as you cannot erase your name from a sports league’s history books, they do not remove player profiles, as it would compromise the integrity of the database as a complete archive of the game.
