Make Your Nomination For Poker’s 2013 Hall of Fame Class

Home » Poker News » Make Your Nomination For Poker’s 2013 Hall of Fame Class

Sunday, July 7th, 2013 | Written by Stephen Smith

Poker is a game steeped in history and tradition. So it makes sense that poker – just like other classic American activities such as baseball and football – would have a Hall of Fame.

While Poker’s Hall of Fame may not be quite the destination that Cooperstown is, entry into the Poker Hall of Fame is still quite an honor reserved for only a few individuals.

Nominations – and entry – are open only once a year, during the World Series of Poker.

The process is simple: members of the public can contribute to the nominations and then an official Hall of Fame committee makes the final decision regarding who gains entry – and who will have to wait another year.

Public can submit nominations online

As mentioned above, public voting helps to decide what individuals are nominated for entry into the Poker Hall of Fame. The official ballot form can be found at WSOP.com here.

Note that the public is not solely responsible for the nominations, and that the final decision regarding entry is in the hands of a vote surveying current Hall of Fame members and select members of the poker media.

Rules for nominations into Poker’s Hall of Fame

As it currently stands, only 40 individuals constitute the Poker Hall of Fame. That low number – especially low when you consider the fact that the Hall of Fame was established in 1979 – is a result of some pretty stringent nomination and entrance requirements, including:

– Played against the best of their era.
– Played at the highest stakes.
– Minimum age is 40.
– Consistency matters as much as overall results.

The age rule is actually a relatively recent addition to the list, and resulted from public nomination of Tom Dwan – then only in his early twenties – in 2009.

The above are the primary guidelines and are not the only criteria voters can use in the selection process for poker’s Hall of Fame.

Recent Poker Hall of Fame classes

Most years see only two names – many times only one – added to the list of Hall of Fame members.

In 2012, it was Eric Drache and Brian “Sailor” Roberts that made the cut. Roberts, deceased prior to induction, may be the better known of the two, as he gained fame by being part of what many believe to be the group of men responsible for the game’s eventual fame, a group that also includes Doyle Brunson and Puggy Pearson.

Drache may not be a household name, but his entrance into the Hall of Fame reflects the fact that he helped the WSOP become a household name. He was the TD of the World Series of Poker for nearly two decades and continued to be very involved with multiple facets of the game after leaving that post in 1988.

In 2011, two very familiar names to anyone with even a passing interest in poker – Linda Johnson and Barry Greenstein – were granted entry in the Hall of Fame.

Is it time to overhaul the Hall of Fame?

The Poker Hall of Fame has always been something of an odd element in poker’s history. The Hall does not physically exist – there’s no place you can go to view it, save the official website at WSOP.com. And the rules for membership have changed dramatically over the years.

Some have called for an actual Hall of Fame to be constructed, arguing that it would add credibility to the institution and serve as good public relations for the game of poker. And some have suggested that the entry restrictions should be reconsidered, especially as the bulk of a modern poker player’s career may come during the early part of their life thanks to the advent of online poker.