The Poker Hall Of Fame Is Broken – How To Fix It?

Editor’s Note: This column initially appeared in July of 2023, however since no modifications had been made to the Poker Hall of Fame within the final yr, it stays related and is being re-run with the suitable edits.

There’s no doubting Patrik Antonius’ worthiness for the Poker Hall of Fame. The 43-yr-outdated has a stellar poker résumé that boasts tens of millions in excessive rollers wins and prolonged time in a few of the largest money video games on this planet. By all accounts, the Finnish professional was a slam dunk alternative for nomination, described by WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart as “a force both online and live.”

Antonius turns into the 63rd total member, and can be capable to forged a vote subsequent yr together with the 31 different residing members of the Hall.

Still, it’s arduous to not really feel for the deserving gamers left on the skin wanting in, and that’s a listing that’s far longer than simply the 9 different nominees who got here up simply quick this yr.

Antonius beat out Mike Matusow, Matt Savage, Ted Forrest, ‘Miami’ John Cernuto, Isai Scheinberg, Bill Smith, Barny Boatman, Josh Arieh, and Kathy Liebert for induction this yr. All of them have Hall-worthy achievements, however but their possibilities at getting in develop slimmer annually because the logjam of eligible gamers ages into consideration and bottlenecks with a one-participant-per-yr restriction.

Matusow has now been nominated 10 totally different instances, with Savage sitting on 9. Forrest has been up for induction seven instances. There are many points going through the establishment, however the largest stays the Hall’s exclusivity.

1. One Player Per Year Is Not Enough

I doubt I’ll get many who disagree with me right here. There at the moment are 63 members of the Poker Hall of Fame (full listing beneath), however arguably simply as many gamers who meet, or will quickly meet the standards for induction. In reality, within the subsequent 5 years there can be a lot of excessive-stakes crushers who will flip 40, placing my private present depend of Hall-worthy gamers at greater than 80. (Yes, I made a listing. No, I received’t publish it.)

It wasn’t all the time this fashion, after all. The Poker Hall of Fame started with an inaugural class of seven members, and though there was just one inductee per yr for fairly a while after that, the poker world was additionally fairly small again then. In 2002, two gamers had been inducted on the identical time, and double inductees continued within the increase years from 2005 to 2019. But as an alternative of doubling the quantity to 4, as many needed, the Hall as an alternative went again to at least one per yr.

The resolution is apparent and easy… extra inductees. How many? I imagine three to 4 gamers per yr can be an excellent quantity, with an extra inductee yearly for many who fall into the class of trade contributors and influencers. (Perhaps even writers!)

The precise quantity will be debated, nevertheless it simply HAS to be multiple. The poker world has grown exponentially because the Hall was began again in 1979.

2. The Hall Needs A Physical Home

The World Series of Poker operates the Poker Hall of Fame and has been run by Caesars Entertainment since their buy of the sequence again in 2004. They’ve since launched a particular Hall of Fame occasion on the WSOP that encompasses a $1,979 purchase-in and bounties on all Hall members who play, and rebranded the Horseshoe card room because the Hall of Fame Poker Room, full with participant pictures and a few restricted memorabilia.

Las Vegas is dwelling to many attention-grabbing locations and has museums honoring the historical past of every thing from punk rock to pinball, even the mob, however poker’s Hall doesn’t actually have its personal bodily house to name its personal. And that’s shocking given the quantity of precise house that Caesars has at its disposal on the Paris and Horseshoe on the Strip.

Each summer season, the WSOP ought to dedicate a small part of the conference space to the Poker Hall of Fame and its members. Existing Hall members may mortgage out memorabilia akin to pictures and bracelets that would rotate on show for guests. Caesars may even tie it into their present store and promote t-shirts if they should justify the sq. footage. (Will folks purchase a hoodie with Hellmuth’s face on it?)

3. Most Voters Are Clueless

With all due respect to the general public (and to the readers of Card Player), the general public ought to have little to no say in who will get into the Poker Hall of Fame. The WSOP discovered this out the arduous approach in 2009 after they requested followers to vote on nominees and a then 22-yr-outdated Tom Dwan was the overwhelming alternative.

Today, the general public will get some enter with an internet nomination interval, nevertheless it’s minimal. According to the WSOP web site, the Poker Hall of Fame Governing Council will get the ultimate say on who makes the listing.

The ultimate vote goes to the residing members of the Hall, of which there at the moment are solely 32. While all of them are legends within the poker world, not all of them are as plugged into the sport as they as soon as had been, and in consequence, lots of the put up-increase gamers have been ignored.

There was once an extra voting block of media members, Card Player included, nevertheless it was eradicated as soon as the Hall went again to at least one inductee per yr. In my biased opinion, this was a mistake. Almost each different sports activities corridor of fame asks their trade journalists for assist in the nomination and voting course of, most notably the Baseball Writers Association of America, which votes yearly on the Baseball Hall of Fame.

As far as I’m involved, the extra educated voters, the higher. With solely 32 voters, a few of whom are extra influential than others, there’s a pure tendency for lobbying, if not outright collusion. (I received’t repeat unsubstantiated rumors, however there have been murmurs of gamers pushed in by pleasant votes over time.)

When a small group of associates determines who will get into the Hall yearly, the Hall finally ends up missing in range. Even in case you neglect the truth that the Hall solely has three feminine members, there’s additionally a obtrusive lack of worldwide gamers despite the fact that the sport has grown by leaps and bounds all around the world. (Although the Hall grew just a little extra various with its first Finnish inductee.)

4. Timing Plays Too Big A Role On Who Gets In

An age requirement was a good suggestion on paper, and it solved the Tom Dwan drawback from 2009, nevertheless it additionally creates an unlucky bias of timing in the case of who will get chosen. Since a participant have to be 40, naturally, all eyes go to those that are of their early 40’s. There are dozens of candidates of their 50s, 60s, and 70s to select from, however they’ve largely been forgotten to historical past.

Keep in thoughts {that a} participant who’s 40 has been taking part in poker for under 20 years, give or take after they began. While that may be a lengthy profession in sports activities, it’s nowhere close to the end line in poker. Do we not give credit score to those that have constructed a complete lifetime for themselves within the recreation? Conversely, can we punish those that began out robust as crushers, however who in the end aged out of the excessive-stakes video games earlier than they might get acknowledged for his or her accomplishments?

What about those that simply take their foot off the gasoline pedal? We’ve had various excessive rollers over the past decade turn out to be so profitable that they determined to retire early or solely play half time. Will they be penalized for profitable an excessive amount of, too quickly?

Rast confirmed unbelievable timing final summer season, profitable his third PPC title simply days after the voting opened, however timing additionally components in different methods. Layne Flack and David ‘Devilfish’ Ulliott are clearly worthy of the Hall, however had they not handed away, they’d probably nonetheless be ready for his or her flip.

The guidelines already state {that a} participant should “stand the test of time” to be inducted, so there’s actually no purpose for an age requirement. What constitutes “standing the test of time?” That’s as much as the person voter.

If somebody has put collectively a Hall of Fame profession by the age of 35, (Fedor Holz is barely 30!) then they need to be thought-about. On the opposite hand, if somebody qualifies at age 70 due to sheer longevity, then they shouldn’t be disregarded, both. ♠

Here’s a take a look at the entire Hall of Fame.

*Photos by WSOP

Julio Rodriguez is the Associate Publisher and Editorial Director for Card Player Media, having began with the corporate as a dwell match reporter on the 2006 WSOP. Originally from Miami, Florida, he now lives in Las Vegas together with his spouse and daughter.