Huck Seed was inducted to the Poker Hall of Fame after a vote amongst the 31 living members of the PHOF. (PokerListings photo)

After a vote by the 30 of the 31 living members of the Poker Hall of Fame, 1996 World Series of Poker Main Event Champion Huckleberry Seed has been named as the sole member of the Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2020.

“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 Binion’s Horseshoe, about to start a poker session, admiring all the Poker Hall of Famers on the wall,” Seed said. “It feels good to be included with all the poker legends that I once idolized and competed against over the year. Thank you, everyone.”

Seed is a four-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner with more than $7.6 million in career live tournament earnings. In addition to his Main Event victory, Seed won bracelets in Pot Limit Omaha (1994) and Razz (2000, 2003).

His career dates back to over a decade before the poker boom, but he became a fixture in poker culture by being featured on televised tournaments and cash games. In 2009, Seed was the winner of the NBC Heads Up Tournament and in 2010 he prevailed in the World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions.

After inducting two people every year since 2010, WSOP officials decided to return to the original limit of one inductee per year this year. WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart wanted to honor the original tradition of one inductee per year, which started in 1979.

“We like tradition. One per year is the way it was for the majority of the Poker Hall of Fame’s history. A single inductee seems to promote the prestige of the honor,” Stewart said. “Most of the finalists these past few years are very young men. I would hope and assume they will all get inducted eventually.”

There were a total of 300 votes cast by the Poker Hall of Fame members (one person abstained from voting) with Seed collecting 76, or roughly 25%, of the votes. Behind him in the voting was Matt Savage with 51 and PokerStars founder Isai Scheinberg with 45 votes.

Distribution of Votes

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 the poker community, Seed is also known as the “Master of the Prop Bet” with stories of the gambler putting himself through challenges that have included betting $10,000 that at six-foot-seven former basketball player could learn to perform a standing backflip in just two days. Other stories include Seed attempting to go an entire year without shaving, stand submerged in water up to his shoulders for 18 hours, and run a mile in under 4:40.

Seed’s official induction into the Poker Hall of Fame will take place at a ceremony in 2021huck