Huck Seed Inducted Into Poker Hall Of Fame

The World Series of Poker announced Wednesday that four-time bracelet winner Huck Seed is the newest member of the Poker Hall of Fame.

The 1996 WSOP main event champion racked up nearly $7.65 million in live tournament earnings over the course of his career, which dates back to 1990. Aside from his $1 million score in the main event, the Santa Clara native earned bracelets in the 1994 $2,500 pot-limit Omaha, the 2000 $1,500 razz and the 2003 $5,000 razz.

Along with his four bracelets, the former Caltech College basketball standout took down the NBC National Heads-Up Championship in 2009 for $500,000.

While Seed was a poker standout, among the high-stakes community, he might even be more renowned for his legendary prop bets away from the table. A couple of the more noteworthy bets include Seed losing a five-figure sum to Phil Hellmuth when he claimed he could float in the ocean for 24 hours and winning $10,000 from Howard Lederer when he said he could learn to do a standing backflip in two days.

In one of his more recent prop bets, he grappled with former poker pro and MMA fighter Terrence Chan during a break of the 2015 WSOP. In the video of the fight, three-time bracelet winner Greg Mueller can be heard claiming that the match was for $50,000. Security eventually broke up the fight and no money was exchanged.

The 31 living members of the Poker Hall of Fame were eligible to cast up to 10 votes across the slate of finalists. With one member deciding to abstain from voting, the 51-year-old Santa Clara native netted 76 of a possible 300 votes, earning this year’s honor.

“Hearing the news that I am being inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame this year brought back memories of my early poker days, walking into the Binion’s Horseshoe, about to start a poker session, admiring all the Poker Hall of Famers on the wall,” said Seed. “It feels good to be included with all the poker legends that I once idolized and competed against over the years. Thank you, everyone.”

Earlier this month, fellow Hall of Famer Erik Seidel tweeted that Seed was his pick for this year, citing Seed’s success in high-stakes cash games, his tournament results and his reputation in the community.

Reasons Huck is my top HOF pick:

1-1st player to break Chip & Doyle’s 30 year hegemony in cash games
2-Had a great tournament record including winning WSOP main
3-Honorable, well liked
4-Was inspiration for main character in the movie Lucky You
5- Dylan wrote Huck’s Song

— Erik Seidel (@Erik_Seidel) December 18, 2020

A couple people asking about 1, which is the most critical factor. Chip & Doyle dominated cash games & broke many players throughout the years. Huck came on the scene & for a period took on all comers & crushed souls on a daily basis, he was the OG Ivey

— Erik Seidel (@Erik_Seidel) December 18, 2020

Veteran tournament director Matt Savage finished second in the voting with 51. Here is the final vote count:

• Huckleberry Seed – 76 votes
• Matt Savage – 51 votes
• Isai Scheinberg – 45 votes
• Eli Elezra – 30 votes
• Antonio Esfandiari – 23 votes
• Lon McEachern and Norman Chad – 20 votes
• Ted Forrest – 20 votes
• Mike Matusow – 17 votes
• Patrik Antonius – 15 votes
• Chris Ferguson – 3 votes

In 2019, Chris Moneymaker and David Oppenheim were voted in as the 57th and 58th member of the group. Seed becomes the 59th.

The criteria for being inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame are as follows:

• A player must have played poker against acknowledged top competition
• Be a minimum of 40 years old at the time of nomination
• Played for high stakes
• Played consistently well, gaining the respect of peers
• Stood the test of time
• Or, for non-players, contributed to the overall growth and success of the game of poker, with indelible positive and lasting results

Here is a look at everyone inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame since it was founded in 1979:

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