Huck
- or Huckleberry - Seed is just such a player. By all accounts, the
World Champion and top No-Limit Hold'em player is quiet and
unassuming - but simultaneously lethal on the felt.
Earlier
in life, however, the Montana native had designs on becoming an
electrical engineer, and put his natural math proficiency to the test
at the California Institute of Technology upon graduating from high
school. But like many a gambler before him, Seed wouldn't last in the
hallowed halls of academia.
Instead,
he opted for the decidedly less revered gambling halls of California
and Nevada. The pairing was near perfect. Huck Seed won
regularly, and on his first visit to the World Series of Poker
in 1990, he placed fourth in Limit Hold'em and Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo
events. Steadily, Seed cashed in tournament after tournament the
following years, pocketing what would have been his annual salary as
an engineer several times over.
Then
came the 1994 World Series. The event would mark Huck Seed's
first gold bracelet in Pot-Limit Omaha and more than $240,000 in
tournament winnings. If the 1995 series' Main Event was a
disappointment - he placed 265th overall - then his performance at
the 1996 championship more than made up for it.
That
year, in honor of his $1 million Main Event win, Seed's picture
joined those of poker's legends on Binion's Wall of Champions. Just
27 at the time, Seed brought years of professional poker
experience, a composed demeanor and unforgiving card play to the
final table where he defeated runner-up Bruce Van Horn.
In
what would be the ultimate hand of the game, Van Horn raised
pre-flop with a suited K-8; Seed said he'd be his Huckleberry
and called with the 8-9 of diamonds. When the board came down 9-8-4
he bet, Van Horn re-raised and Seed pushed. With both men all-in, the
turn brought a worrisome ace that added a flush draw to Van Horn's
list of outs. A blank on the river, however, awarded Seed instant
millionaire status and assured him a place in poker history.
At
that time, the game didn't enjoy its current popularity and the win
was a coup for Seed, who said poker players were just
considered gamblers trying to make names for themselves.
"Back
then you couldn't even tell people you were a professional poker
player, because they would just give you a weird look and stop
talking to you," Huck Seed said "Now you're
a giant celebrity, everyone's chasing you, and you're on TV."
Indeed,
today it would be hard for him to remain incognito. In poker
rooms filled with hard-earned pot bellies parked on laps, he stands a
gangly 6'7" tall. Add to that an unusual name (he prefers to be
called Huckleberry, thank you) paired with a furtive table presence
and Seed makes for a distinctive player.
His
eccentric and well-documented proposition bets with fellow poker
players have only raised his profile.
Among
the most lively is a wager Huck Seed made with Phil Hellmuth. With
$50,000 at stake, Seed bet he could stand in the ocean for 18 hours,
but lasted only three. Other endeavors were more successful;Huck
Seed bet he could master a standing back flip within six months
and, true to his word, he went backside over tea kettle half a year
later.
He
also cleaned up on a bet he couldn't break 100 on a desert golf
course five times in one day using just a five iron, sand wedge and
putter. Even though Seed had to complete the feat on a blistering 120
degree day, he won the bet after six rounds.
Less
physically taxing was Huck Seed's bet that he wouldn't shave
his beard for a full year. But, approaching jungle-man proportions
following several months without putting cheek to razor, one of
Seed's relatives died, and he sheared the beard to look respectable
for the funeral.
Though
his presence on the tournament trail wasn't as dominating as it was
earlier in his career, Seed still made a comfortable living at the
poker table following his Main Event win. For taking first at
the 1998 Carnivale of Poker in Las Vegas championship event he cashed
$306,000. In 1999 he made more poker and prop bet money at the WSOP;
Seed final tabled in the Main Event but busted out in sixth, earning
$167,000. At the 2000 series, he won a third gold bracelet and
$77,400 in the Razz event.
Despite
his reputation for being one of the top No-Limit Hold'em players in
the world, Seed's fourth bracelet once again came in the Razz event
in 2003 - a year that saw Seed hunkered over five WSOP final tables.
In
2004, Huck Seed earned his most recent notable first-place
finish on the tournament circuit, a $135,000 win at Festa al Lago in
Las Vegas. Though his profile is lower than those of his media-hungry
counterparts, Seed has maintained a presence on the felt at World
Series events where he regularly cashes, at high-stakes casino games
in Vegas, and online at his sponsor site, Full Tilt Poker.
"I
just rise to the occasion," he said. "The bigger the
money, the more pressure, that's when I can focus the best and be
more calm and relaxed. That's a good way to be in poker; the more
pressure there is, the more you relax."
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