The birthplace of Hold ’em is home to many of poker’s greatest tournament players. Sure, the godfather of poker Doyle Brunson hails from the state of Texas, but many of the game’s brightest online stars also reside in the Lone Star State, several of which have made big waves in the high-stakes tournament scene during the past year.

Grayson gray31Ramage (pictured), originally from New York, has taken control over PocketFives’ Texas PLB leaderboard with the help of a massive score in the Full Tilt PokerFTOPS XIX. Ramage finished third in Event #22, a $120 Multi-Entry KO tournament that saw a total of 23,342 entries participate. He took home over $157,500, good for the second largest online score of his career. In September 2010, Ramage finished eighth in the PokerStarsWorld Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) Main Event for $183,225. The event was won by fellow P5er Tyson POTTERMarks for $2.2 million and P5ers Jack jackellwoodEllwood, Darren darreneliasElias and Bobby ROMDOM Layne also reached the final table.

With 7,876 PLBs through Feb. 24, Ramage held a substantial lead over fellow Austin, TX native Jon apestylesVan Fleet (pictured), who was #2 on the Texas PLB Rankings list. Van Fleet is a moderator and long-time contributor to the PocketFives forum and has nearly $4 million in online tournament earnings to his name. He booked a pair of six-figure wins in 2010, both during major tournament series. In April, Van Fleet won FTOPS Event # 5 for $123,600, and then collected just over $133,000 for a victory in September’s WCOOP 2nd Chance $1,050 event. His 6,774 PLBs edged out Andrew SkillVilleWeisner (6,661) and Mark BleedBlue33 Leonard (6,448) in the State’s Top 4.

Coming in at #7 was Mario Deuce2HighSilvestri, who recently moved past eighth-ranked danger0uswith a $36,450 score in FTOPS Event #31 on Feb. 16. Silvestri plays as Pwnasaurus on PokerStars and Full Tilt and has more than $2 million in online earnings as well as a PocketFives Triple Crown.

The Top 10 also includes players that have logged major wins on the live circuit. The #10 ranked player in the state is Randal RandALLin Flowers (pictured), who last year at just 22 years old became the youngest player ever to win multiple World Poker Tour titles. While his online volume has fallen off due to an increase in live tournament play, Flowers has still recorded several big cashes online. The Dallas native recently took third in the $55 rebuy on PokerStars on February 6th for $ 18,625 and is creeping closer to a $2 million badge.

Another of Texas’ top players that has done damage on the live scene is Travis TravestyFund Rice, who ranked ninth in the Texas PLB Rankings through Feb. 24. Rice, who won the Aruba Poker Classic in 2007 for $800,000, won the Full Tilt Poker $100 rebuy on February 20th for $53,312. It was his biggest online score since an FTOPS victory in 2009.

Here’s a look at the Top 10 of the Texas PLB leaderboard through Friday, Feb. 25:

1. Grayson “gray31” Ramage — 7,876.77
2. John “apestyles” Van Fleet — 6,775.75
3. Andrew “SkillVille” Weisner — 6,661.18
4. Mark “BleedBlue33” Leonard — 6,448.34
5. David “weavel” Emmons — 5,887.44
6. Getty “gettym” Mattingsley — 5,671.32
7. Mario “Deuce2High” Silvestri — 5,231.65
8. danger0us — 5,191.05
9. Travis “TravestyFund” Rice — 5,007.39
10. Randal “RandALLin” Flowers — 4,660.55

Article written by: Brett bertminatti Collson