The 2026 nominees for the Poker Hall of Fame were announced on Wednesday evening, with the eight names set to be voted on by the 33 living Poker Hall of Fame inductees.
Five of the eight nominees are on the ballot for the very first time: Shaun Deeb, Jason Koon, Isaac Haxton, Chris Moorman, and Justin Bonomo.
Mike “The Mouth” Matusow has been nominated for a 12th time, while Scott Seiver is back on the ballot again after being eligible for the first time in 2025. PokerStars founder Isai Scheinberg is on the list of nominees as well.
Poker Hall of Fame changes
As we mentioned last week, the Poker Hall of Fame underwent major changes to its previously cutthroat voting process. After years of complaints, multiple players can be inducted in the same year.
As in previous years, here are the criteria to be inducted:
- Must be at least 40 years old at the time of nomination.
- Must have played for high stakes.
- Played against acknowledged top competition.
- Must have played consistently well and gained the respect of peers.
- Must have stood the test of time.
- For non-players, they must have contributed to the overall growth and success of the game of poker, with indelible positive and lasting results.
However, beginning this year, the 33 living members of the Poker Hall of Fame will all cast ballots, with each member voting for up to four nominees. If any of the nominees receive two-thirds of the vote, which would be 22 votes this year, then they will be automatically inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame.
Poker Hall of Fame nominees
Shaun Deeb
The poker world is expecting Shaun Deeb to be a slam-dunk first-ballot Poker Hall of Fame inductee. With eight WSOP bracelets and being one of just two players to win multiple WSOP Player of the Year awards (2018 and 2025), he’s considered one of the toughest players in all of poker.
It’s all the more impressive considering that Deeb dominates all games, not just Texas Hold’em, and is admittedly an unstudied player. In addition, Deeb currently only plays live poker at the WSOP, WSOP Europe, and the WSOP Circuit whenever it comes around near his home in upstate New York. Of course, Deeb won that WSOP Circuit Main Event in 2023, too.
Nobody who has won eight or more WSOP bracelets has ever been denied a place in the Poker Hall of Fame.
Shaun Deeb WSOP bracelets
| Year | Event | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Event #13: €25,000 GGMillion€ | €329,000 |
| 2025 | Event #79: $100,000 PLO High Roller | $2,957,229 |
| 2023 | Event #27: $1,500 Eight Game Mix | $198,854 |
| 2021 | Event #53: $25,000 PLO High Roller | $1,251,860 |
| 2018 | Event #74: $10,000 NLHE 6-Handed Championship | $814,179 |
| 2018 | Event #42: $25,000 PLO High Roller | $1,402,683 |
| 2016 | Event #49: $1,500 Seven-Card Stud | $111,101 |
| 2015 | Event #15: $10,000 Pot-Limit Hold’em Championship | $318,857 |
Scott Seiver
Like Deeb, Scott Seiver should be a lock for the Poker Hall of Fame. Also like Deeb, Seiver also is an upstate New Yorker who generally only comes out for WSOP tournaments and crushes just about any game he touches.
Seiver stunned the poker world by winning three bracelets in three different variants in 2024 en route to winning WSOP Player of the Year, giving him seven WSOP bracelets.
While he was snubbed in favor of Nick Schulman last year, Seiver, who is 46th on poker’s all-time money list with over $27 million in career live tournament earnings, should have no trouble getting in this year.
Scott Seiver WSOP bracelets
| Year | Event | Prize |
| 2024 | Event #72: $10,000 NL 2-7 Lowball Championship | $411,041 |
| 2024 | Event #40: $1,500 Razz | $141,374 |
| 2024 | Event #10: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better | $426,744 |
| 2022 | Event #3: $2,500 Freezeout | $320,059 |
| 2019 | Event #62: $10,000 Razz Championship | $301,421 |
| 2018 | Event #52: $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship | $296,222 |
| 2008 | Event #21: $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em | $755,891 |
Isaac Haxton
Haxton is another player who most would expect to get into the Poker Hall of Fame on his first try. Haxton currently sits in seventh place on poker’s all-time money list with over $65 million in career live tournament earnings, including a pair of PGT Super High Roller Bowl titles in 2018 and 2023.
Haxton, who also happens to be from upstate New York, has played at the highest of stakes ever since coming into the world at the 2007 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure with an $862,000 payday when he was just 21 years old. He finally broke his WSOP bracelet curse in 2023 when he took down the $25,000 High Roller.
Isaac Haxton WSOP bracelets
| Year | Event | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Event #16: $25,000 High Roller | $1,698,215 |
Jason Koon
Jason Koon is a testament to how far hard work can get you in the poker world. After growing up in rural West Virginia as a poor, troubled youth, Koon is seen as one of the best and most likeable players in the game today. The PokerStars Team Pro is, by far, the winningest player in Triton Poker history with 12 titles. Nobody else has won more than seven.
Jason Koon WSOP bracelets
| Year | Event | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Event #32: $50,000 High Roller | $1,968,927 |
| 2021 | Event #11: $25,000 Heads-Up Championship | $243,981 |
Justin Bonomo
It wasn’t long ago that Justin Bonomo was in a back-and-forth battle with Bryn Kenney as poker’s all-time money list leader. Ever since reaching the 2024 WSOP Super Main Event final table (7th for $1.3 million) and being threatened with disqualification for wearing a Palestinian Keffiyeh scarf at the televised feature table, he has stepped away from poker and into an activist role.
If Bonomo didn’t already face an uphill battle due to his extremely public political views, he has long been highly criticized for being caught multi-accounting in 2008.
While his poker resume goes without saying, it will be interesting to see whether or not Bonomo is still held in high regard by enough existing Poker Hall of Famers.
Justin Bonomo WSOP bracelets
| Year | Event | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Event #78: The Big One for One Drop | $10,000,000 |
| 2018 | Event #16: $10,000 Heads-Up Championship | $185,965 |
| 2016 | Event #11: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em 6-Handed | $449,980 |
Mike “The Mouth” Matusow
Even if Matusow hasn’t won much lately, nobody can argue his influence on the poker world as a whole. Matusow was a fixture on early televised poker, including the famous NBC program Poker After Dark. Matusow’s long-standing friendship with Phil Hellmuth, needles included, was something that most current poker players grew up with.
Matusow was certainly a force both before and after the “poker boom”, making the WSOP Main Event final table in 2001 and repeating the feat in 2005. He made five televised World Poker Tour Main Event final tables and still, to this day, is a commanding presence whenever he comes to the table.
This is the 12th time Matusow has been amongst the final nominees, which is the most anyone has ever been nominated without getting in.
Mike Matusow WSOP Bracelets
| Year | Event | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | $5,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo Split 8 or Better | $266,503 |
| 2008 | $5,000 No Limit 2–7 Draw | $537,862 |
| 2002 | $5,000 Omaha Hi-Low Split 8 or Better | $148,520 |
| 1999 | $3,500 No Limit Hold ’em | $266,475 |
Chris Moorman
The British poker pro is widely regarded as one of the best online poker players on the planet. Moorman has the unique distinction of earning eight figures in tournament earnings both live and online, famously building his bankroll from scratch via freerolls.
Moorman cemented his legacy in 2024 and 2025 by reaching WPT World Championship final tables in back-to-back years, earning over $3.2 million for a pair of fourth-place finishes.
Moorman would be the third British player to ever be inducted, joining Edmond Hoyle and David “Devilfish” Ulliott.
Chris Moorman WSOP bracelets
| Year | Event | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 (O) | Event #29: $800 NLH Deepstack Championship | $102,406 |
| 2017 | Event #27: $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em 6-Handed | $498,682 |
Isai Scheinberg
The only non-player on this list, Scheinberg has been nominated once again for his contributions to the poker world. As one of the founders of PokerStars, he helped turn online poker from a niche game to a worldwide phenomenon in the early 2000’s. Without Scheinberg’s influence on the game, online poker may not be what it is today.
This is Scheinberg’s seventh time on the ballot.
Poker Hall of Fame members
The initial Poker Hall of Fame was established in 1979, with Johnny Moss headlining the initial seven inductees.
There have been 65 players inducted into the Hall of Fame, with Nick Schulman getting voted in last year. However, after winning both the Poker Players’ Championship and the WSOP Main Event to take his total bracelet count up to eight, the Poker Hall of Fame Governing Council decided to induct him immediately.
| Name | Year Inducted |
|---|---|
| Johnny Moss | 1979 |
| Nick “The Greek” Dandolos | 1979 |
| Felton “Corky” McCorquodale | 1979 |
| Red Winn | 1979 |
| Sid Wyman | 1979 |
| James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok | 1979 |
| Edmond Hoyle | 1979 |
| Blondie Forbes | 1980 |
| Bill Boyd | 1981 |
| Tom Abdo | 1982 |
| Joe Bernstein | 1983 |
| Murph Harrold | 1984 |
| Red Hodges | 1985 |
| Henry Green | 1986 |
| Walter Clyde “Puggy” Pearson | 1987 |
| Doyle “Texas Dolly” | 1988 |
| Jack “Treetop” Straus | 1988 |
| Fred “Sarge” Ferris | 1989 |
| Benny Binion | 1990 |
| David “Chip” Reese | 1991 |
| Thomas “Amarillo Slim” Preston | 1992 |
| Jack Keller | 1993 |
| Julius Oral Popwell | 1996 |
| Roger Moore | 1997 |
| Stu “The Kid” Ungar | 2001 |
| Lyle Berman | 2002 |
| Johnny Chan | 2002 |
| Bobby Baldwin | 2003 |
| Berry Johnston | 2004 |
| Jack Binion | 2005 |
| Crandell Addington | 2005 |
| T.J. Cloutier | 2006 |
| Billy Baxter | 2006 |
| Barbara Enright | 2007 |
| Phil Hellmuth | 2007 |
| Dewey Tomko | 2008 |
| Henry Orenstein | 2008 |
| Mike Sexton | 2009 |
| Dan Harrington | 2010 |
| Erik Seidel | 2010 |
| Linda Johnson | 2011 |
| Barry Greenstein | 2011 |
| Eric Drache | 2012 |
| Bryan “Sailor” Roberts | 2012 |
| Scotty Nguyen | 2013 |
| Tom McEvoy | 2013 |
| Daniel Negreanu | 2014 |
| Jack McClelland | 2014 |
| Jennifer Harman | 2015 |
| John Juanda | 2015 |
| Carlos Mortensen | 2016 |
| Todd Brunson | 2016 |
| David “Devilfish” Ulliott | 2017 |
| Phil Ivey | 2017 |
| John Hennigan | 2018 |
| Mori Eskandani | 2018 |
| Chris Moneymaker | 2019 |
| David Oppenheim | 2019 |
| Huck Seed | 2020 |
| Eli Elezra | 2021 |
| Layne Flack | 2022 |
| Brian Rast | 2023 |
| Patrik Antonius | 2024 |
| Nick Schulman | 2025 |
| Michael Mizrachi | 2025 |
