Hoyt Bricken Corkins (born December 20, 1959 in Glenwood, Alabama) is an American professional

poker Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game w ...

player. He has three children: Chelsei Corkins, Brittney Corkins, and Ashley Roundtre. Known for his softly-spoken voice and his aggressive style, Corkins has two

World Series of Poker bracelet The World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet is considered the most coveted non-monetary prize a poker player can win. Since 1976, a bracelet has been awarded to the winner of every event at the annual WSOP. Even if the victory occurred before 197 ...

s and two

World Poker Tour The World Poker Tour (WPT) is an internationally televised gaming and entertainment brand. Since 2002, the World Poker Tour has operated a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting playdown and the fi ...

titles.

Early life

He started playing at the age of 19 after receiving lessons from his

father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...

. He is often known by his nickname "

Cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaquer ...

" as he always wears a cowboy hat and boots to the table. However, he has been given other

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

s, including "Mr. Move All-In" by

Phil Hellmuth Jr Phillip Jerome Hellmuth Jr. (born July 16, 1964) is an American professional poker player who has won a record sixteen World Series of Poker bracelets. He is the winner of the Main Event of the 1989 World Series of Poker (WSOP) and the Main Event ...

. Many players also call him "Nightmare".World Poker Tour profile
/ref> He often wears a pair of

ear plugs An earplug is a device that is inserted in the ear canal to protect the user's ears from loud noises, intrusion of water, foreign bodies, dust or excessive wind. Since they reduce the sound volume, earplugs are often used to help prevent hearing ...

while playing in live poker tournaments in order to prevent other players' chatter from affecting his game.

World Series of Poker

Corkins won a

World Series of Poker The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Paradise, Nevada and, since 2004, sponsored by Caesars Entertainment. It dates its origins to 1970, when Benny Binion invited seven of the best-known poker pla ...

bracelet and $96,000 for winning the

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

$5,000

Pot Limit In the game of poker, the play largely centers on the act of betting, and as such, a protocol has been developed to speed up play, lessen confusion, and increase security while playing. Different games are played using different types of bets, ...

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...

tournament. In total, he has finished in the money on 26 occasions. In November 2005, Corkins finished second to

Mike Matusow Michael Matusow (born April 30, 1968) is an American professional poker player residing in Henderson, Nevada. Matusow's nickname of "The Mouth" reflects his reputation for trash-talking at the poker table. Matusow began playing poker seriously ...

in the

World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions The World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions is an invitational freeroll poker event. Wins in this event do not count as official WSOP bracelets, but the winner receives a large trophy in the shape of the official World Series of Poker logo ...

freeroll, receiving $325,000. In the

2007 World Series of Poker The 2007 World Series of Poker (WSOP) began on June 1st, 2007. The $10,000 ( US) no-limit Texas hold 'em Main Event began on July 6th and was completed on the morning of July 18th. All events were held at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in L ...

, Corkins won the $2,500 6 Handed No Limit Hold Em event, defeating Terrence Chan and winning over $515,000, in addition to the championship bracelet. At the

2008 World Series of Poker The 2008 World Series of Poker was the 39th annual World Series of Poker (WSOP). Held in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino, the series began on May 30th, 2008, and featured 55 poker championships in several variants. All ...

Main Event, Corkins finished in 162nd place out of 6,844 entries, earning him $41,816.

World Series of Poker bracelets

Reappearance into poker

After the win in 1992, Corkins disappeared from the game for 11 years whilst going through a

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

. He was encouraged to return to poker by his ex-

fiancée An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...

Natalie, and resurfaced in 2003, taking a then record-breaking first prize ($1,089,200) in the

2003 World Poker Finals. He also had a second-place finish to

Gus Hansen Gustav Hansen (born 13 February 1974) is a Danish professional poker player from Copenhagen, Denmark who has lived in Monaco since 2003. In his poker career, Hansen has won three World Poker Tour open titles, one WSOP bracelet and the 2007 Auss ...

in early 2004 at the

PokerStars Caribbean Poker Adventure The PokerStars Caribbean Adventure was an annual televised poker tournament. The event was first held in 2004 and was originally co-sponsored by PokerStars and the World Poker Tour. In 2008, the event moved from the WPT to the European Poker Tour. ...

, which earned him $290,065. Corkins was sick from

flu Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptom ...

during the event, but he says it did not affect his play. Also in 2004, he made the final table at the

United States Poker Championship The United States Poker Championship (USPC) was a major annual stop on the poker tournament tour. This event was held at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The series started in 1996, took one year off in 1997, and ran every year fr ...

main event held at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, NJ. Away from the poker circuit, Corkins has sixty head of

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

to tend in Alabama and also has a home in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

World Poker Tour

In 2006, he made another

(WPT) final table in the Season V Legends of Poker event, finishing 3rd. In 2008, in the Season VI of the WPT's

World Poker Open The World Poker Open was one of the annual events on the World Poker Tour. Notes

{{reflist World Poker Tour ...

WPT Corkins finished second winning $458,267. In December 2008, during Season VII of the WPT Corkins made the final table of the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic and finished in 6th place, earning $216,175. In January 2010, Hoyt made another World Poker Tour final table at the Southern Poker Championship, and took home the first place prize of $739,486. As of 2019, his live tournament winnings exceed $6,000,000. His 26 cashes at the WSOP account for $1,017,074 of those winnings.World Series of Poker Earnings
, worldseriesofpoker.com

References

External links

Official site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corkins, Hoyt American poker players Living people People from Crenshaw County, Alabama World Poker Tour winners World Series of Poker bracelet winners Super Bowl of Poker event winners 1959 births