The Hall of Fame is aptly named. It is not the Hall of the Greatest. Some the best players in the world are guys that you have never heard of, that grind it out day after day in the cash games, avoiding the limelight and the IRS. They are guys (and a few gals) that are content to keep a low profile and get their little piece of the pie everyday. They avoid the trappings of the lifestyle that create holes in your bankroll. They are always in action and play within their bankroll. They look for good games to crush, which means that you won't always find them at the biggest game in the room.
If you play long enough at one of the major card rooms, you can spot them. In limit games, rarely will they have a huge win, because they adhere to proper staring hand requirements and are capable of mucking a hand when they are behind. What you will see is that more often than not, they buy in for one rack and cash out two.
Are there great tournament players? Absolutely, and they are deserving of recognition. The problem is that the poker world looks at cashes and does not factor in buy ins or tournaments entered. So you had a $500,000 cash? Great, how many $10,000 tournaments did you play before that without winning a dime. How many is it going to take before you cash again?
A baseball player might get 200 hits in a season. But if he had 800 plate appearances, he is only a .250 hitter. I want to know their net profit or at least their tournament EV. Take Stu Ungar. 30 major tournaments entered, 10 wins. Three time Main Event Champ, including back to back. That is true greatness and HOF worthy.
My votes, 2 guys not on the ballot, David Chiu and Bobby Hoff.
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