Huckleberry ''Huck'' Seed (born January 15, 1969) 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 best known for winning the Main Event of the

1996 World Series of Poker The 1996 World Series of Poker (WSOP) was a series of poker tournaments held at Binion's Horseshoe. The 1996 World Series featured the first woman to win an open event outright when Barbara Enright won the $2,500 Pot Limit Hold'em event. Prelimi ...

Early life

Seed was born in

Santa Clara, California Santa Clara (; Spanish for " Saint Clare") is a city in Santa Clara County, California. The city's population was 127,647 at the 2020 census, making it the eighth-most populous city in the Bay Area. Located in the southern Bay Area, the cit ...

, but grew up in

Corvallis, Montana Corvallis (Salish: cƛ̓mƛ̓mqéy) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Ravalli County, Montana, United States. The population was 1,125 at the 2020 census. History Corvallis, Montana was named by settlers who hailed from Corvallis, Oregon. It ...

, where he attended Corvallis High School. He was a member of the 1987 Montana All-State basketball team. Seed was an

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

student at

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

and a member of Fleming House. He took a

leave of absence The labour law concept of leave, specifically paid leave or, in some countries' long-form, a leave of absence, is an authorised prolonged absence from work, for any reason authorised by the workplace. When people "take leave" in this way, they are ...

in 1989, started playing poker, and never returned to college. Seed was a star player on Caltech's basketball team and is featured in the 2006 documentary ''

Quantum Hoops ''Quantum Hoops'' is a 2007 American documentary film directed by Rick Greenwald, that follows the California Institute of Technology's basketball team—the Caltech Beavers—in their attempts to end a 21-year losing streak during the final week o ...

''.

Poker career

Huck Seed played under the screen name “HuckleberrySeed” on the now defunct site Full Tilt Poker, and was a sponsored “red” poker pro on Full Tilt. Seed won the

main event, which resulted in his second bracelet and the $1,000,000 first prize. He made the final table of the 1999 WSOP main event, but was eliminated in sixth place by eventual champion

Noel Furlong John James Furlong (25 December 1937 – 27 June 2021) was an Irish businessman and poker player who won the 1999 World Series of Poker main event. Early life Furlong was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland. He originally became a milliona ...

. In the

2003 World Series of Poker The 2003 World Series of Poker (WSOP) was held at Binion's Horseshoe. Preliminary events Main Event There were 839 entrants to the main event. Each paid $10,000 to enter what was the largest poker tournament ever played in a brick and mortar ca ...

, Seed won his fourth career bracelet in a $3,000 Limit Razz tournament. He defeated

Phil Ivey Phillip Dennis Ivey Jr. (born February 1, 1977) is an American professional poker player who has won ten World Series of Poker bracelets, one World Poker Tour title, and appeared at nine World Poker Tour final tables. Ivey is regarded by numerou ...

in heads-up play to win the bracelet. In the 2007 Main Event, Seed finished 73rd out of 6,358 players. Seed won the 2009 NBC Heads-Up Poker Championship, where he took the top prize of $500,000 and improved his overall record in the event to 18-4, an all-time best for win total. In addition, Seed became the only player to cash in every NBC Heads-Up tournament. Seed's streak ended in the 2010 tournament with his first round loss to eventual runner-up

Erik Seidel Erik Seidel (born November 6, 1959) is an American professional poker player from Las Vegas, Nevada, who has won nine World Series of Poker bracelets and a World Poker Tour title. In 2010, he was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame. Early life ...

. In 2010, Seed won 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 for $500,000. On December 17, 2020, Seed was announced as one of the ten finalists for the 2020 induction into the

Poker Hall of Fame The Poker Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional poker in the United States. Founded in Las Vegas, it was created in 1979 by Benny Binion, the owner of the Horseshoe Casino, to preserve the names and legacies of the world's greatest ...

. On December 30, 2020, Seed was announced as the 2020 inductee into the Poker Hall of Fame after receiving 76 votes ahead of Matt Savage (51 votes),

Isai Scheinberg Isai Scheinberg ( he, ישי שיינברג; born 1946 or 1947) is the Lithuanian Jewish founder of the PokerStars online poker site. Scheinberg previously had been a senior programmer for IBM Canada. Biography In about 1986, Scheinberg left Is ...

(45 votes), and

Eli Elezra Eliahu Ilan Elezra ( he, אלי אלעזרא; born November 24, 1960, in Jerusalem) is an Israeli professional poker player and businessman, now living in Las Vegas, Nevada. With five WSOP bracelets and a WPT win in the post Moneymaker era, he ...

(30 votes). As of February 2021, his total live tournament winnings exceed $7,600,000. He has four WSOP bracelets and cashed 54 times at the WSOP, accounting for $3,653,465 of his live tournament winnings.

World Series of Poker bracelets

Prop bets

Seed has been involved in many " prop bets". He once made a $10,000 proposition bet with

Phil Hellmuth 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 Even ...

and Konstantin Othmer that he could float in the ocean for 24 hours without touching the bottom. By bet rules, he was not allowed to bet more than an additional $15,000, and could settle the bet without attempting the feat for $5,000, which is what eventually happened. This bet has been incorrectly reported; Seed discussed it in a podcast. Seed once took a six-figure bet that he could break 100 on a desert golf course four times in a day using just a five iron, sand wedge, and putter. He has also bet that he would be able to go an entire year without shaving. He once used a golf cart to ride backwards during the entire golf match. He was paid 500,000 to do so.

References

External link

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Seed, Huck 1969 births Living people American poker players World Series of Poker Main Event winners World Series of Poker bracelet winners National Heads-Up Poker Championship winners Poker After Dark tournament winners California Institute of Technology alumni People from Santa Clara, California People from Ravalli County, Montana People from Las Vegas Poker Hall of Fame inductees