The list of Poker Hall of Fame nominees for 2020 induction has been released.
After an open-nomination process was held to identify worthy nominees, a group of 11 individuals is up for consideration, two of those being the pair of World Series of Poker (WSOP) commentators Lon McEachern and Norman Chad. Additionally, many poker players and fans will be happy to see PokerStars founder Isai Scheinberg gracing the ballot for the very first time. Another first-time nominee is high-stakes player Patrik Antonius.
Former nominees returning to the ballot include players Eli Elezra, Antonio Esfandiari, Chris Ferguson, Ted Forrest, Mike Matusow, and Huck Seed, as well as famed tournament director Matt Savage in the builder category.
Coming from Finland, Patrik Antonius has become one of the most feared poker players, especially in live and online cash games (source: partypoker.com) Born in Helsinki, Finland, on December 13, 1980, Patrik Antonius had his career goals set on a path quite different to that of a professional poker. Wheel of Wishes is the latest addition Antonius Samuel Poker to the jackpot family of casino online and mobile slots. With 5 reels and 10 paylines, this game features Power Spins, a Scatter Antonius Samuel Poker and a Wild, as Antonius Samuel Poker.
- Patrik Antonius, 'Brad Pitt' of the poker world. Professional tennis player and coach turned model turned professional poker player. He's a man of few words but he sure knows how to play some great poker.
- Willem de Graaf is a former association football player who represented New Zealand at international level. De Graaf made his full All Whites debut in a 0–0 draw with New Caledonia on 25 July 1969,.
- YouTube celebrity and renowned philanthropist Charlie Carrel has been featured on television and internet podcasts. But can he hang with old school high stak.
The list will now be sent to the 31 living Hall of Fame members to cast their votes. Unlike years past, there is no mention of select members of the poker media being allowed to vote. The sole 2020 inductee will be revealed and honored during the WSOP Main Event heads-up finale on Wednesday, Dec. 30.
Whoever is selected will become the 59th individual inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame and follow in the footsteps of Chris Moneymaker and David Oppenheim, who comprised the class of 2019.
In order to be eligible for the Poker Hall of Fame, nominees must meet the following criteria:
- A player must have played poker against acknowledged top competition
- Be a minimum of 40-years-old at 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
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Antonio EsfandiariChris FergusonEli ElezraHuck SeedMatt SavageMike MatusowPatrik AntoniusPoker Hall of FameTed ForrestRelated Players
Chris FergusonMike MatusowMatt SavageHuck SeedEli ElezraPatrik Antonius
Undoubtedly one of the biggest poker stars of all time is Patrik Antonius, who was a regular on TV shows and dominated online poker for over a decade. But lately, Antonius has largely been absent from the poker scene both online and live. So what’s the Finn been up to recently and why isn’t he playing much high stakes poker?
To answer the latter question, it seems that the biggest live games have dried out in most parts of the world. Specifically, the huge games are gone in London, Monaco and Vegas. As for internet poker, Antonius isn’t a fan of poker tracking software, notably the kind that essentially makes decisions for players in certain spots. He still plays mixed games online but believes that advanced tracking software will eventually be developed for these games too. Below you can see a lengthier look at Antonius’ recent poker comments, thanks to a PokerListings interview.
PokerListings: Why have you played so little poker lately?
Patrik Antonius: The big games I was playing in kind of dried out. In Macau the games moved more and more into private games and the game in Vegas wasn’t the same anymore, either.
Suddenly there was no more game in London and nothing in Monaco. You know, things just change in our industry. So I stepped back and cut down on poker.
Sometimes I didn’t play a single hand for months but I probably would have had there been a proper game. Then again I got to spend more time with my family and on my health and I succeeded in getting in better shape.
I used to have a lot of problems with my back, my shoulder and my hips but now I feel great. And it’s great to be back playing poker again.
PL: What happened to your online poker? We really miss the times when you and Tom Dwan were sitting there throwing hundreds of thousands of dollars around.
PA: You know, it’s a little sad, but it looks like the technology has advanced so much that it’s become a totally different game.
Nowadays players use software that gives them so much information and so much data that it has become more of a game of numbers.
I never used any of these programs. I‘ve never used technology to get an edge. I’m more of a feel player who’s living in the moment.
But the players today know what they’re doing. They are basing their play on what the software tells them to do so it feels like you’re playing against a computer these days.
Antonius Pokerstars
If you don’t use poker software it’s not a fair game anymore. But I still like to play Mixed Games.
PL: There’s no tracking software for these games.
Antonius Poker Wiki
PA: Well, I’m sure some smart people are already working on it and that there will be programs for Stud poker or heads-up 2-7 Triple Draw.
As much as I know Limit Hold’em is now basically solved. (ed. note: well, pretty much) I actually had to quit Hold’em and PLO online.
I lost about a million straight and then I realized that I couldn’t beat the ring-games anymore and that was largely due to tracking software.
Antonius Samuel Poker
I would take my chances against any high-stakes player live but online I don’t like my chances anymore, unfortunately.