Have you ever been watching a poker tournament on TV, and the commentator mentions a player’s “Hendon Mob page”? Or maybe you’ve heard friends debating who the best tournament player is, and someone pulls out their phone to “check the Hendon Mob” to settle the argument. If you are new to the poker world, this might have left you scratching your head. What is this Hendon Mob, and why does it seem like the ultimate authority on who is who in the game?
I remember when I first started playing poker seriously. I would hear these mysterious names – Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Erik Seidel – and everyone talked about their tournament wins and earnings. But I had no idea how people knew all this stuff. Then a friend showed me the Hendon Mob website. It was like a secret door had been opened. Suddenly, I had access to the entire history of live tournament poker. It completely changed how I understood the game. Let me walk you through everything you need to know about this incredible resource.
What Exactly is the Hendon Mob? More Than Just a Website
At its heart, the Hendon Mob is the world’s most comprehensive and trusted database for live poker tournament results. Think of it as the central record keeper for the entire professional poker circuit. If a player cashes in a public, live poker tournament anywhere in the world that reports its results, that finish and the money won will almost certainly find its way onto their Hendon Mob profile.
But the name “Hendon Mob” itself has a story. It is not the name of a company that started this database. It was the nickname for a group of four poker-playing friends from the Hendon area of North London: Barny Boatman, Ross Boatman, Joe Beevers, and Ram Vaswani. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, these guys were a formidable force on the European poker scene. They were charismatic, successful, and always seemed to be at the final tables together.
Back then, poker was exploding in popularity thanks to the World Poker Tour and the World Series of Poker being on television. However, there was no single place to find out a player’s tournament history. The four friends, along with a website developer, created a simple site to record their own results, mostly as a bit of fun and to keep track of their exploits. They called it “The Hendon Mob” after their group nickname.
What started as a personal project quickly grew. Other players wanted their results listed too. Tournament organizers began sending in their data. The website evolved from a private scorecard for four friends into the public library for the entire poker community. It filled a massive gap in the market. For the first time, fans, journalists, and players themselves could verify accomplishments and track careers. This humble beginning is a big part of why the poker community holds the database in such high regard; it was built by players, for players.
From a London Pub to the Global Poker Index: A Journey of Legitimacy
The growth of the Hendon Mob database was a clear sign that poker was becoming a mainstream professional sport. All professional sports have official statistics and records. Baseball has batting averages, football has passing yards, and poker now had the Hendon Mob.
The database’s credibility took a huge leap forward when it was integrated into the Global Poker Index (GPI). The GPI is the official ranking system for live tournament poker players, much like the ATP rankings in tennis or the FIFA rankings in soccer. In 2011, the Hendon Mob database was acquired and became the statistical backbone of the GPI.
This partnership was a game-changer. It meant that the Hendon Mob was no longer just a fan site; it was now the official record-keeper for the entire industry. The data it houses is used to calculate the GPI rankings, which determine “Player of the Year” awards, invitations to prestigious tournaments, and a player’s standing in the global pecking order. This official status is why you can trust the information you find there. It is meticulously curated and verified.
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How to Use the Hendon Mob Database: A Step-by-Step Guide
The website can be a bit overwhelming at first glance, but it is actually quite simple to use once you know your way around. Let us break it down.
The Most Basic Task: Looking Up a Player
This is what 90% of people use the site for. Let us say you want to look up the legendary Phil Ivey.
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Go to the Hendon Mob website.
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You will see a prominent search bar at the top of the page.
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Type “Phil Ivey” into the bar and hit enter.
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His profile will be the first result. Click on it.
Congratulations! You are now looking at the official poker resume of one of the greatest players of all time.
Understanding a Player Profile
A player’s profile page is a treasure trove of information. Here is what each section means:
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Total Earnings: This is the sum of all the prize money the player has ever recorded in live tournaments. It is important to remember that this is gross earnings, not net. It does not account for taxes, travel expenses, or, most importantly, “selling action” (where players sell percentages of their tournament entry fee to backers). A player’s “net” worth is always a mystery.
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The Graph:Â This visual representation shows their earnings over time. You can see the peaks (like a big World Series of Poker win) and the quieter periods. It tells a story of their career trajectory.
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Results:Â This is the chronological list of every tournament cash. You can see the date, the tournament name, the buy-in cost, the place they finished, and the prize money. Scrolling through this list for a player like Ivey or Negreanu is a history lesson in itself.
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Countries:Â This shows you how many tournaments they have cashed in, broken down by country. It is a great way to see if a player is a local specialist or a true global superstar.
Exploring the All-Time Money List
One of the most popular features is the “All Time Money List.” You can find this in the site’s menu. This list ranks every player in the world by their total lifetime earnings. It is a who’s who of poker greatness.
However, I must add a word of caution here. The list is heavily skewed towards modern players. Tournament prizes today are astronomically higher than they were 20 or 30 years ago. A single win in a high-stakes event today can propel a player past legends who have been grinding for decades. So, while the list is fascinating, it is not a perfect measure of “greatness.” It is more a measure of “highest grossing.” True students of the game look at consistency, longevity, and the quality of wins, not just the total number.
Why the Hendon Mob is So Much More Than a Number Cruncher
The database’s impact goes far beyond settling bar bets. It has fundamentally changed how we perceive poker players and their legacies.
The Arbiter of Legacies
Before the Hendon Mob, a player’s reputation was based on word of mouth, a few major wins, and media coverage. Now, we have an objective, data-driven record. When we argue about whether Daniel Negreanu is more accomplished than Phil Hellmuth, we can pull up their profiles and compare their results head-to-head over two decades. It provides proof of accomplishment. For a new player trying to make a name for themselves, a Hendon Mob profile with a few solid results is their CV. It is how they attract sponsors and get respect from their peers.
A Historical Archive
The Hendon Mob is also the historian of the poker world. It preserves the memory of tournaments and players that might otherwise be forgotten. You can look up the very first World Series of Poker Main Event from 1970 and see that Johnny Moss won $30,000. Then you can look at the 2023 winner and see he won $12.1 million. That comparison tells you the entire story of poker’s growth in one glance. It is an invaluable resource for anyone who loves the history and story of the game.
The Limitations: What the Hendon Mob Doesn’t Show
As powerful as it is, the Hendon Mob does not show the full picture of a poker player’s career or wealth.
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It Only Tracks Live Tournaments:Â The database does not include online poker results or, most significantly, cash game wins and losses. Some of the most brilliant and profitable poker players in the world rarely play tournaments. They are “cash game specialists,” and their earnings are completely invisible on the Hendon Mob. A player could be a millionaire from high-stakes cash games and have a very modest Hendon Mob profile.
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It Shows Gross Winnings, Not Net Profit:Â As I mentioned earlier, the earnings listed are the total prize money before any deals. A player might win $1,000,000 in a tournament but may have sold 70% of their action to backers. Their actual take-home pay, before taxes, would be $300,000. The site will still show a $1,000,000 score.
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It Relies on Reported Data:Â While comprehensive, the system relies on tournaments reporting their results. Very small, local events might sometimes be missed.
Understanding these limitations is key to using the database intelligently. It is the best tool we have, but it is not a complete window into a player’s financial world.
Conclusion: The Beating Heart of Poker’s History
From its origins as a personal project for four friends in a London pub to its current status as the official statistical partner of the Global Poker Index, the Hendon Mob has become an indispensable part of the poker ecosystem. It brings transparency, legitimacy, and history to a game that was once shrouded in mystery.
For me, it is more than a website; it is a time machine. I can lose myself for hours clicking through the profiles of the legends, tracing the rise of new stars, and reliving the most iconic moments in poker through the cold, hard data that recorded them. The next time you are curious about a poker player, do not just Google their name. Go to the Hendon Mob. Look at their story. You will gain a deeper, more meaningful understanding of what it takes to succeed in the world of professional poker.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q1: Is the information on the Hendon Mob database 100% accurate?
While it is the most accurate and trusted source available, no large database is completely infallible. It relies on tournament organizers to submit results correctly. Occasional errors can happen, but they are rare and are usually corrected quickly once reported. For all practical purposes, you can consider it the official record.
Q2: How does a player get added to the Hendon Mob database?
A player does not need to register. They are added automatically the first time they cash in a reported live tournament. The tournament organizer submits the results, which include the player’s name and nationality, and a profile is created for them.
Q3: Why is it called the “Hendon Mob”?
It is named after the original group of four poker players from Hendon, London Barny Boatman, Ross Boatman, Joe Beevers, and Ram Vaswani who created the website to track their own results.
Q4: Does the Hendon Mob track online poker winnings?
No, it does not. The Hendon Mob database is exclusively for live, in-person poker tournament results. Online poker sites have their own tracking systems and leaderboards.
Q5: What is the difference between the Hendon Mob and the Global Poker Index (GPI)?
The Hendon Mob is the raw database of results and earnings. The Global Poker Index is a ranking system that uses the data from the Hendon Mob to create a points-based leaderboard, much like a world ranking in other sports. The Hendon Mob provides the stats; the GPI provides the rankings.
