Huck Seed is an American poker player who won the 1996 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event.
He has won four WSOP bracelets and made two WSOP final tables during his career He also won the WSOP Tournament of Champions in 2010, and the National Heads-Up Poker Championship in 2009.
In 2008 and 2009 he made back-to-back final tables in the WSOP $50,000 H.O.R.S.E.
In 2020, Seed was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame.
Biography
Seed was born in Corvallis, Montana on January 15, 1969. He was a member of both the 1987 Montana All-State and Caltech basketball teams. He studied electrical engineering at the California Institute of Technology but took a leave of absence in order to pursue poker, and never returned.
Related: Talking H.O.R.S.E. and Basketball with Huck Seed
He first cashed at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in 1990. In fact, he managed top ten finishes in eight of his first nine cashes at the WSOP.
1996 WSOP Main Event
The 1996 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event attracted 295 entries. Six-handed, Seed was second in chips behind John Bonetti, at a final table featuring Men "The Master" Nguyen.
The final table was noted for aggressive play from Seed, Nguyen and Bonetti, but Seed eventually triumphed over Bruce van Horn heads-up to win the $1,000,000 first prize.
"Ever watch the Super Bowl, it’s like that," Seed said about his win. "Look at the guys who win. They go crazy, they’re so happy. I think of poker as a sport. Sometimes it’s hard work, and sometimes it’s not so much fun.
"But when you win something like this, everything is worth it. It’s the same as winning the biggest event in any other sport. You can’t accomplish much more than that."
Huck Seed Poker Achievements
Seed would go on to make the final table of the 1999 WSOP Main Event final table, finishing sixth. He won Razz bracelets in 2000 and 2003.
In 2009, Seed won the NBC Heads-up Poker Championship for $500,000. One year later, Seed won the invitational WSOP Tournament of Champions, overcoming Howard Lederer heads-up.
Huck Seed Prop Bets
As well as an impressive poker resume, Seed has a rich history of prop betting. Here is a list of some of his more infamous ones:
- He bet Phil Hellmuth he could float in the ocean for either 18 or 24 hours - he lost
- He bet he could break 100 four times in a single day playing on a desert golf course with just three clubs - he won
- He could go a year without shaving - he lost (a funeral obligation forced him to give up)
- He bet Howard Lederer he could do a standing backflip - he won
- He bet Howard Lederer he could beat him in a 50-yard dash while hopping on one leg - he lost
- He bet Doyle Brunson he could run a mile in 4:40 - he lost (he ran a 4:47)
Huck Seed WSOP Bracelets
| Year | Event | Payout (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Event #3: $2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha | $167,000 |
| 1996 | Event #25: $10,000 NLHE WSOP Main Event | $1,000,000 |
| 2000 | Event #17: $1,500 Limit Razz | $77,400 |
| 2003 | Event #27: $5,000 Limit Razz | $71,500 |
Huck Seed Top Five Poker Cashes
| Date | Event | Buy-in | Place | Payout (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1996 | WSOP Main Event | $10,000 | 1st | $1,000,000 |
| January 1998 | Carnivale of Poker | $5,080 | 1st | $306,000 |
| June 2008 | WSOP H.O.R.S.E. | $50,000 | 7th | $284,160 |
| June 2009 | WSOP H.O.R.S.E. | $50,000 | 5th | $276,609 |
| May 1999 | WSOP Main Event | $10,000 | 6th | $167,700 |
WSOP Main Event Winners 1987-96
| YEAR | ENTRIES | CHAMPION | COUNTRY | PRIZE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 295 | Huck Seed | United States | $1,000,000 |
| 1995 | 273 | Dan Harrington | United States | $1,000,000 |
| 1994 | 268 | Russ Hamilton | United States | $1,000,000 |
| 1993 | 220 | Jim Bechtel | United States | $1,000,000 |
| 1992 | 201 | Hamid Dastmalchi | Iran | $1,000,000 |
| 1991 | 215 | Brad Daugherty | United States | $1,000,000 |
| 1990 | 194 | Mansour Matloubi | Iran | $895,000 |
| 1989 | 178 | Phil Hellmuth | United States | $755,000 |
| 1988 | 167 | Johnny Chan | United States | $700,000 |
| 1987 | 152 | Johnny Chan | United States | $625,000 |
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