Photographers have long wielded the power to tell stories and preserve history. As we covered in our post , armed with no more than a camera, photographers immortalize candid moments that convey the atmosphere and spirit of events. This is especially true in the world of professional poker, a game rich with skill, strategy, and spectacle.
Over the years, poker has produced unforgettable moments—legendary bluffs, underdog victories, and high-stakes drama. Without photographers to capture these defining instances, many of these stories might have faded into obscurity. The work of poker photographers has documented the evolution of the game, bringing the tension and excitement of the felt to audiences worldwide. Here, we highlight three photographers who captured historic moments in poker history and helped shape the way we remember the game.
Eric Harkins
Credit: @moneymakertour on Instagram
As the founder of Image Masters, Harkins is often referred to as the “Godfather of Poker Photography.” He began his career capturing many of the pivotal moments during the US poker boom of the early 2000s. One of his most notable works includes photographing Chris Moneymaker’s triumphant victory at the 2003 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. Moneymaker, an amateur player who qualified through an online satellite, defied the odds to win $2.5 million, igniting a global poker boom. Harkins’ images from that event encapsulated the raw emotion and disbelief of Moneymaker’s win, bringing the story to life for millions worldwide.
Following his landmark victory, Moneymaker continued to have a strong poker career, becoming an ambassador for the trusted American online poker platform ACR Poker. With ACR Poker’s support, Moneymaker has gone on to raise poker’s profile through live tournaments and events. His Moneymaker Tour, for instance, makes stops around the world, inspiring poker players everywhere.
Damian Nigro
Damian Nigro is a seasoned poker photographer, blogger, and semi-professional poker player. His journey into poker photography began serendipitously after a fire razed his apartment in Luxembourg and led him to focus on traveling and playing poker. Combining his passion for the game and photography, Nigro started documenting poker events, capturing the myriad stories unfolding at the tables.
Supported by the German poker news platform PokerFirma, Nigro travels extensively to cover illustrious poker tournaments worldwide. In an interview, he noted that the organization actively supports his travel and photography projects in exchange for his content. On behalf of PokerFirma, Nigro has captured events like the Spanish Poker Festival, the 2016 WSOP Europe, and The Festival Series Malta 2024, among others. His dual perspective as a player and photographer allows him to tell compelling visual stories, enriching the poker community’s appreciation of the game’s depth and diversity.
Ulvis Alberts
Credit: @thesavagepoker on Instagram
In the 1970s, there was only one tournament game that professional gamblers awaited all year: the WSOP at Binion’s Horseshoe Casino in downtown Las Vegas. In 1977, Ulvis Alberts, a Latvian-American photographer, had a rare opportunity to take exclusive portraits of poker players at the beginning of these tournaments. He photographed gamblers with monikers like “Amarillo Slim” Preston, “Puggy” Pearson, Jack “Treetop” Straus, “Sailor” Roberts, “Texas Dolly” (Doyle Brunson), and Stu “The Kid” Ungar.
Notably, Alberts captured Ungar’s back-to-back WSOP wins. Ungar’s ultra-aggressive style helped him become the 1980 WSOP Main Event champion after defeating two other back-to-back champions in the process: Johnny Moss and Doyle Brunson. The following year, he continued right where he left off and eventually became only the fourth back-to-back Main Event champion, joining Moss, Brunson, and Johnny Chan. Ungar passed away in 1998, but his legacy lives on, thanks in part to Alberts’ evocative photographs.
Through the lenses of Eric Harkins, Ulvis Alberts, and Damian Nigro, we’ve been granted intimate access to the highs and lows of poker’s most memorable moments. Their work not only preserves the legacy of legendary players but also brings the excitement and drama of poker to audiences worldwide, ensuring that the spirit of the game endures for generations to come.
For more articles like this on historic moments captured in photographs, visit the Freaktography website.