• Huck Seed Beard
• Hall Of Fame Tracker 2020

Huck “Huckleberry” Seed is a prolific tournament player. He has participated in tournaments for many years, and has made quite a comfortable living doing it. He is still competing in many of the big live poker tournaments, and also spends time playing poker online with Full Tilt Poker. Huck Seed Wiki Biography Huckleberry Seed is an American professional poker player best known for winning the main event of the 1996 World Series of Poker. Huckleberry 'Huck' Seed is a professional poker player who is best known for winning the main event of the 1996 World Series of Poker. Born in 1969 in Santa Clara, California, Seed grew up in Montana, where he attended Corvallis High School. Huck Seed is a reputable American professional poker player born on Jan 15, 1969. Seed spent most of his formative years in Corvallis, Montana. At a young age, his heart laid elsewhere, basketball. Thanks to his height and enviable basketball skills, he excelled on the court and managed to form Montana All-state and Caltech basketball teams.

The Poker Hall of Fame announced Wednesday that 1996 World Series of Poker Main Event Champion Huck Seed is the newest inductee. The honor recognizes a card-playing career dating back to the late 1980s.

Seed received the greatest number of votes from living Hall of Fame members. That totaled 76votes with tournament director Matt Savage getting the second-largest total at 51.

“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,” Seed said in a news release.

“It feels good to be included with all the poker legends that I once idolized and competed against over the years. Thank you everyone.”

A long career at the poker table

Originally from Corvallis,Montana, the 6-foot, 7-inch Seed was a star basketball player in high school. He earned all-state honors and went on to study electrical engineering and play basketball at the California Institute of Technology.

However, Seed left college behind in 1989 to play poker full time. Along with being a regular high stakes cash game player for several decades, Seed has several notable tournament wins. Along with the Main Event, Seed has three other WSOP bracelets.

In 2009, he won the NBC Heads-Up Poker Championship for $500,000. Winning the WSOP Tournament of Champions followed a year later for another $500,000. Seed currently boasts live tournament winnings of $7.7 million.

Along with prowess at the poker table, Seed’s prop betting antics are also well known. His wagers included learning to do a standing backflip within six months and not shaving for an entire year.

Reaction to Seed’s Hall of Fame induction

Many poker players applauded Seed’s election to the hall after such a long career in the game. WSOP/ESPN commentator Lon McEachern was also a nominee with broadcast partner Norman Chad. He congratulated Seed on a worthy career for the honor.

Huck Seed is such an amazingly worthy new member of the Poker Hall of Fame. His accomplishments are more than 'Hall-worthy' and the stories of him off the felt would have lasted forever even if he were not voted in. I am very happy for him.

— Lon McEachern (@lonmceachern) December 31, 2020

Poker legends Erik Seidel and Phil Hellmuth expressed their congratulations on Twitter as well. Daniel Negreanu, who is locked in a heads-up battle with Doug Polk, also offered some words about Seed’s induction.

Was happy to see @HuckleberrySeed finally get the call for the Poker Hall of Fame, his induction was long overdue.

He was a hero of mine growing up in Vegas trying to make it. We used to go for drinks then play $200-$400 Stud 8 heads up for hours.

He won.

— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) December 30, 2020

The Hall of Fame added only a single member this year as done from 1980 to 2004. Hall member Linda Johnson congratulated Seed, but wished the process still inducted more than one person.

Huck Seed Beard

“Congratulations to Huck Seed,” she noted. “I sure wish they had inducted two people this year. Matt Savage also deserves to be in.”

Inside the Hall of Fame voting

Among the qualifications for the Hall of Fame include playing against top competition for high stakes and standing the test of time. Non-players must have contributed to the growth and success of the game with “positive and lasting results.”

Several big names were among this year’s nominees – from Antonio Esfandiari and Mike Matusow to Eli Elezra and Ted Forrest. PokerStars founder Isai Scheinberg was also included for the first time.

Scheinberg finished third in the voting with a tally of 45 and Elezra behind him with 30. The hall was acquired by Caesars Entertainment in 2004 when the company bought the WSOP. This was the first year that the Hall of Fame has released official voting results.

All 31 living Hall of Fame members could cast up to 10 votes across the slate of finalists. In total, members cast 30 ballots with one abstention. The hall plans an induction ceremony sometime later in 2021. Here’s a look at the final voting:

• 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

* Lead image courtesy WSOP

Hall Of Fame Tracker 2020

* Legends of Poker photo courtesy WPT

Huck “Huckleberry” Seed is a prolific tournament player. He has participated in tournaments for many years, and has made quite a comfortable living doing it.

He is still competing in many of the big live poker tournaments, and also spends time playing poker online with Full Tilt Poker.

A small town kid who has risen to compete with the biggest names in poker including taking down the ultimate prize in poker.

Quantum Hoops

Seed was born in 1968 and grew up in Corvallis, Montana, a very small town with a population of just 976. His family was a very athletic one. He was an excellent scholar-athlete, and his younger brother was, too. Standing at a height of 6ft 7in Huckleberry inevitably took to the sport of basketball and was a member of the 1987 Corvallis All-State Basketball team.

Huck was born and raised in Corvallis, Montana, USA

This was just the beginning of Seed’s basketball playing. He went on to study engineering at Caltech college. There, he was a star on their team. He was involved in a documentary about the sport that was shot in 2006 called Quantum Hoops.

This is the trailer to ‘Quantum Hoops’ which featured Huck and was about his time playing for the Caltech basketball team which was filled more with academics than good players!

In the meantime, Huck was studying electrical engineering. His maths skills and attention to detail gave him a good foundation on which to build his academics. However, a career in engineering was not to be.

Instead, he decided to take a leave of absence from school. He left in 1989, with the intention to return. However after he started playing poker full-time he lost interest in school and never went back.

Seed made his first trip to the World Series of Poker in 1990. There, he tried his skills at the Limit Hold ‘em event and the Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo event. He did well, taking home fourth in both events. He got a taste of winning and was ready to come back for more.

Taking a Shine to World Series of Poker Bracelets

Huck Seed’s big breakout came in 1994. That year, he won the Pot Limit Omaha event at the World Series of Poker, taking home his first WSOP bracelet. While Seed was already making money playing in tournaments, the bracelet was, of course, a huge accomplishment.

Things got even better in 1996, when Seed won the World Series of Poker Main Event, the ultimate prize in poker. This second bracelet came with a $1 million prize this time. It also came with a place in poker history and a certain amount of celebrity status. Every year, the thousands of players who arrive at the World Series of Poker to try and match his accomplishment see gigantic pictures of all the past champions hanging from the wall, among them is Huck Seed.

Huck Seed has won 5 WSOP bracelets including the World Series of Poker Main Event – the ultimate prize in Poker!

Seed followed this up with other WSOP victories. He had a sixth place finish after making a final table in 1999. He also won his third and fourth WSOP bracelets in Razz, one in 2000 and one in 2003.

Huck Seed's Major Title Record

WSOP Bracelets

5

EPT Wins

0

WPT Wins

0

Lately, Seed is still making an impression on the poker world. He won second in FullTilt Poker‘s Poker After Dark. In the 2007 WSOP No Limit Texas Hold ‘em event, he placed 73rd for a cash of over $106,000. He also cashed at the NBC National Heads Up Poker Challenge.

Huck may appear to be a quiet man when he is concentrating on his game. He rarely gives any indication of what is on his mind. Yet, at other times he makes wild propositional bets that keep the other players interested and amused.

Huck alternates between being a very quiet player, not giving anything away, to getting involved in wild prop bets with other players

One crazy prop bet that Huck made was a $10,000 bet with Phil Helmuth that he could float in water for 24 hours, he lost that particular bet!

In 2009, Huck gave an in depth interview to PokerPlayer magazine in the UK which looked at his career and background in detail.

Playing as part of Team Full Tilt

For Seed, the more pressure and money that is involved, the more relaxed you will find him. With live tournament winnings of $7.6 million and some major tournament wins, he is doing well.

When he is not playing live poker, he spends a lot of time at cash tables and tournaments online at Full Tilt Poker. He is no longer sponsored by Full Tilt Poker, but still regularly plays at his former employers site.