Negreanu and Seiver proposed changing the Poker Hall of Fame voting system
August 7, 2026
Eight-time World Series champion Daniel Negreanu and seven-bracelet winner Scott Seiver have called for a change to the procedure for electing new members of the Poker Hall of Fame. In their view, the system needs refining, despite the 2026 reforms that made it possible to elect several people.
Negreanu revealed that during the discussion of the reforms he had proposed implementing a ranked-choice voting system:
"Current Hall of Fame members should pick three nominees and rank them in order. A nominee gets 5 points for 1st place, 3 points for 2nd, and 2 points for 3rd. The two people with the most points get in. Additionally, a third nominee who scores more than 50 points could also get in.
I think the voters correctly chose Jason Koon, but a couple more people should have gotten in too. The goal of the reforms was to solve, to some extent, the problem of deserving players not making it into the Hall of Fame. But the system didn't work."
Scott Seiver, who was among this year's nominees, spoke about another flaw in the existing system. According to him, the late Doyle Brunson admitted to him that a significant portion of current Hall of Fame members don't follow the poker world closely enough to make meaningful decisions about the nominees. Instead, they turn to more knowledgeable players for advice.
To solve this problem, Seiver proposed giving nominees the chance to present themselves:
"I think going forward it would be good to give all nominees the chance to write a couple of paragraphs about their accomplishments and their role in the context of the poker world. That way they could present their own candidacy to the voters themselves. I think it would greatly humanize the voting process. Right now the list is just eight names with 'yes/no' checkboxes and no additional information whatsoever."
As a reminder, on August 4 Jason Koon became the only player inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame. The two-time WSOP champion received 23 votes against a threshold of 22 votes. Behind him were Scott Seiver (19 votes) and Isai Scheinberg (17).
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Negreanu revealed that during the discussion of the reforms he had proposed implementing a ranked-choice voting system:
"Current Hall of Fame members should pick three nominees and rank them in order. A nominee gets 5 points for 1st place, 3 points for 2nd, and 2 points for 3rd. The two people with the most points get in. Additionally, a third nominee who scores more than 50 points could also get in.
I think the voters correctly chose Jason Koon, but a couple more people should have gotten in too. The goal of the reforms was to solve, to some extent, the problem of deserving players not making it into the Hall of Fame. But the system didn't work."
Scott Seiver, who was among this year's nominees, spoke about another flaw in the existing system. According to him, the late Doyle Brunson admitted to him that a significant portion of current Hall of Fame members don't follow the poker world closely enough to make meaningful decisions about the nominees. Instead, they turn to more knowledgeable players for advice.
To solve this problem, Seiver proposed giving nominees the chance to present themselves:
"I think going forward it would be good to give all nominees the chance to write a couple of paragraphs about their accomplishments and their role in the context of the poker world. That way they could present their own candidacy to the voters themselves. I think it would greatly humanize the voting process. Right now the list is just eight names with 'yes/no' checkboxes and no additional information whatsoever."
As a reminder, on August 4 Jason Koon became the only player inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame. The two-time WSOP champion received 23 votes against a threshold of 22 votes. Behind him were Scott Seiver (19 votes) and Isai Scheinberg (17).
📰 Follow Pokerflow
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