Scott Seiver explained his desire to make the Hall of Fame
Seven-time World Series bracelet holder Scott Seiver was a guest on the Late Reg podcast, hosted by Brian Rast and Phil Laak. Among other things, the American reg spoke candidly about his desire to make it into the Hall of Fame.
According to Seiver, he only recently realized that his own internal understanding of his greatness isn't enough for him. He needs to have it confirmed through recognition from his peers.
"I used to say I didn't know why it was important to me to get into the Hall of Fame. Over the last few weeks I've done a lot of analyzing this question. And I think now I know the answer. It comes from a need for recognition. I think people have an innate desire to be heard, to be recognized. And poker, in my personal experience, is a pretty lonely pursuit.
On top of that, poker isn't like basketball, golf, chess, or any other sport. Nobody really knows which player can be called good and which one great. There are maybe 30 people in the world whose opinion on this I'd actually trust. I have this romantic notion that it should be exactly those 30 people who are in the Hall of Fame and pushing poker forward. That's not quite how it works, and that's okay.
Part of why I want to get into the Hall of Fame is that it turned out not to be enough for me to just know myself that I'm a great player. I know I deserve it. I know that the eight people I truly trust and respect also think I'm great. I don't need to prove it to anyone.
But when you put enough time into anything, you want to feel like you made the right choice, and that you were rewarded for it. Of course, I was rewarded with money. But it would also be a reward to know that your peers believe you did something special enough to be remembered after you're gone."
Seiver also suggested drawing on the NFL's experience to improve the system for selecting players for the Hall of Fame. In the American football league, the journalists most familiar with a Hall of Fame nominee write a short piece about him for the jury. In Seiver's opinion, this would help better showcase the players' significance to the industry.
As a reminder, in 2026 several people could have been inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame, but only Jason Koon received the required number of votes. Scott Seiver fell just four votes short.
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According to Seiver, he only recently realized that his own internal understanding of his greatness isn't enough for him. He needs to have it confirmed through recognition from his peers.
"I used to say I didn't know why it was important to me to get into the Hall of Fame. Over the last few weeks I've done a lot of analyzing this question. And I think now I know the answer. It comes from a need for recognition. I think people have an innate desire to be heard, to be recognized. And poker, in my personal experience, is a pretty lonely pursuit.
On top of that, poker isn't like basketball, golf, chess, or any other sport. Nobody really knows which player can be called good and which one great. There are maybe 30 people in the world whose opinion on this I'd actually trust. I have this romantic notion that it should be exactly those 30 people who are in the Hall of Fame and pushing poker forward. That's not quite how it works, and that's okay.
Part of why I want to get into the Hall of Fame is that it turned out not to be enough for me to just know myself that I'm a great player. I know I deserve it. I know that the eight people I truly trust and respect also think I'm great. I don't need to prove it to anyone.
But when you put enough time into anything, you want to feel like you made the right choice, and that you were rewarded for it. Of course, I was rewarded with money. But it would also be a reward to know that your peers believe you did something special enough to be remembered after you're gone."
Seiver also suggested drawing on the NFL's experience to improve the system for selecting players for the Hall of Fame. In the American football league, the journalists most familiar with a Hall of Fame nominee write a short piece about him for the jury. In Seiver's opinion, this would help better showcase the players' significance to the industry.
As a reminder, in 2026 several people could have been inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame, but only Jason Koon received the required number of votes. Scott Seiver fell just four votes short.
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