Here are the ten finalists for the 2014 Poker HOF:
CHRIS BJORIN
HUMBERTO BRENES
BRUNO FITOUSSI
TED FORREST
JEN HARMAN
BOB HOOKS
MIKE MATUSOW
JACK McCLELLAND
DANIEL NEGREANU
HUCKLEBERRY SEED
The bolded names are new nominees. The others are holdovers from last year.
In 2013, Scotty Nguyen and Tom McEvoy were elected. McEvoy's election was mocked throughout the poker world, and was apparently the result of voting blocs.
0-2 of the above names will be elected in 2014.
Here is what I wrote last year about the 5 nominees who remain on this ballot:
I still agree with my assessment from last year.Chris Bjorin: No. This is someone who is consistent and has racked up big numbers simply by playing for a lot of years, but isn't HOF material. Few would mention Chris Bjorin as one of poker's all-time greats.
Humberto Brenes: No. This is another person who racked up a lot of cashes over a long period of time, but is better known for his "shark" nonsense than his great play.
Jennifer Harman: Maybe. She is known for her ever-presence at high stakes cash games, but I am hearing conflicting reports as to whether or not she really wins at them. She has struggled in tournaments in recent years. It is possible she is a net loser in tournament play overall. On the plus side, Andy Beal considered her one of the toughest opponents in the infamous $100,000/$200,000 nosebleed heads up games awhile back, and she generally has a good reputation for her cash skill.
Mike Matusow: Probably. Despite all of his personal and financial problems, the guy is a great tournament player. He final tabled the WSOP Main twice (once with a big field), made 13 WSOP final tables overall, and was at five WPT final tables. He has 4 bracelets and seems to consistently rebound from various life problems with big tournament scores. The one knock against him is that he's not much of a cash game player. Then again, neither is Phil Hellmuth.
Huck Seed: No. After being one of poker's hottest up and comers in the '90s and early 2000s, he hit a wall and has generally been regarded as a has-been over the past decade.
Regarding this year's candidates:
Daniel Negreanu: Yes. Despite his lacking results in cash games, he has been a great and consistent performer on the tournament scene. He has also done a lot of great things to promote poker, and has been a good ambassador for the game (Choice Center notwithstanding).
Jack McClelland: No. He's a tournament director, and not a player. He should not be taking a spot away from players who get elected. This should be a separate election for HOF non-players.
Bob Hooks: No. Ever heard of this guy? Probably not. He's a really old guy (85) who was part of the old-school poker scene, spanning back to the 1950s. He also later managed some poker rooms. Simply being old and spending your life in the poker community should not qualify you to make the HOF, even if he played with Doyle and Amarillo Slim.
Bruno Fitoussi: No. Big guy for poker in France, but otherwise does not have HOF numbers, nor is he known for being a big cash game winner. (I played with him on Stars last decade, and actually found him to be one of the weaker LHE players at the higher games.) I understand the argument that Fitoussi did a lot to popularize poker in France, but again, that should not be a reason for induction -- at least not alongside players.
Ted Forrest: Probably. Successful in both cash games and tournaments, I'm surprised he hasn't been nominated prior to this year. One strike against him, however, is the fact that he hasn't done all that much in recent years.
Can't believe David Chiu wasn't even included on this year's ballot, after getting screwed out of election last year. Unbelievable.
My votes: Negreanu and Matusow