hall of fame
The Poker Hall of Fame.
Poker’s oldest honour is not a measurement. It is a small group of people voting on who belongs among them, against six criteria that were written down in 2009, adding at most a couple of names a year. Understanding how that vote works tells you more than the list of winners does.
sources checked 30 August 2026
how it works
Founded in 1979, by the man who founded the series.
Benny Binion set up the Poker Hall of Fame nine years after he started the tournament that became the World Series of Poker. It is still kept by the WSOP, which is why the two records sit next to each other, and why the history of the series and the history of the Hall are largely the same history.
Since 2009 there have been written standards for who can be nominated. They are worth reading closely, because four of the six are about consistency and longevity rather than about winning anything in particular.
- At least forty years old at the time of nomination
- Played against acknowledged top competition
- Played for high stakes
- Played consistently well, and earned the respect of peers
- Stood the test of time
- For non players: contributed to the growth and success of the game
The vote is held among the living members. In the 2026 round, eight finalists were put to them, each member could vote for up to four of the eight, and a finalist needed a two thirds majority to get in. If nobody cleared that bar, the finalist with the most votes would have been inducted alone. That is a deliberately high threshold, and it is the reason the Hall grows by roughly one name a year rather than by a class.
the founding class
The seven names of 1979.
This is the one part of the membership that can never change. It mixes players from the first years of the series with figures from long before it, including a writer on card games who died in the eighteenth century.
- Johnny Moss
- Nick "The Greek" Dandolos
- Felton "Corky" McCorquodale
- Red Winn
- Sid Wyman
- Wild Bill Hickok
- Edmond Hoyle
snapshot, recent inductions
The list below covers the most recent years as published by the WSOP and read on 30 August 2026. A new name is added most years, so this is a snapshot rather than a record. The complete membership, going back to 1979, is published at wsop.com.
| Year | Inducted |
|---|---|
| 2026 | Jason Koon |
| 2025 | Michael Mizrachi, Nicholas Schulman |
| 2024 | Patrik Antonius |
| 2023 | Brian Rast |
| 2022 | Layne Flack |
| 2021 | Eli Elezra |
| 2020 | Huck Seed |
what it is worth
A judgement, not a measurement.
You could build a hall of fame out of numbers. Poker did not, and the choice is defensible. The criteria ask about respect among peers and about standing the test of time, which are the two things a spreadsheet cannot see. It also means the Hall can recognise someone who changed how the game is run or watched without ever appearing near the top of the all time money list.
The cost of that choice is that it cannot be checked. A vote among peers reflects who is visible, who is liked, and who played in an era that people remember, and none of that is skill. If you want the version of this question with an actual answer, it is not about anyone famous: whether poker is a game of skill is settled by sample size, and variance explains why the sample has to be so large before anyone can tell.
next
The other record, and the one with numbers on it.
If the Hall of Fame is a judgement, the money list looks like a fact. It is a fact about something narrower than most readers assume, and the gap between the two is worth a page of its own.
questions about the hall of fame
What is the Poker Hall of Fame?
A record of players and contributors who shaped the game, established in 1979 by Benny Binion, the same man who started the World Series of Poker nine years earlier. It is kept by the WSOP, and the full list of members is published at wsop.com.
How do you get into the Poker Hall of Fame?
By nomination, then by a vote of the living members. Nominees must be at least forty, must have played against top competition for high stakes, must have played consistently well enough to earn the respect of their peers, and must have stood the test of time. People who contributed to the game without playing it at that level can be inducted for that contribution instead.
Who votes for the Poker Hall of Fame?
The surviving members. In the 2026 process each of them could cast up to four votes among eight finalists, and any finalist reaching a two thirds majority was inducted. If nobody reached that threshold, the finalist with the most votes became the only inductee of the year.
How many people are inducted each year?
Usually one, sometimes two, and the number is a result of the vote rather than a quota. That is why the list grows slowly and why any copy of it goes out of date within a year or two.
Who was the first member of the Poker Hall of Fame?
The Hall opened in 1979 with a founding class rather than a single first member. It included Johnny Moss, who had been recorded as the first world champion of poker in 1970, alongside figures from long before the modern game such as Wild Bill Hickok and Edmond Hoyle.
Does the Hall of Fame measure who plays best?
No. It is a judgement made by peers about standing and contribution over a whole career, not a measurement of current skill. That is a strength rather than a weakness: it can recognise someone who changed the game without ever topping a money list.