2013 Poker Hall of Fame nomination process has begun

Now is your chance to get involved in the nomination process for the Poker Hall of Fame. For the past three years the Poker Hall of Fame has opened the nomination process up to the general public, allowing fans to vote for the people they feel are the most deserving to join the ranks of the Poker Hall of Fame.

While you can conceivably nominate anyone you like, there are certain restrictions on who can eventually become one of the official nominees –who will then be voted on by a preselected panel that includes poker media and the living Hall of Fame members. The criterion for selection includes:

• A player must have played poker against acknowledged top competition
• Played for high stakes
• Be a minimum of 40 years old at time of nomination
• Played consistently well, gaining the respect of peers
• Stood the test of time
• Or, for non-players, contributed to the overall growth and success of the game of poker, with indelible positive and lasting results.

You can make your nomination for the 2013 Poker Hall of Fame here: http://www.wsop.com/phof/

Last year saw the induction of Eric Drache and Sailor Roberts made the cut, and the recent trend has been toward older players and pioneers, with Linda Johnson and Mike Sexton added to the Poker Hall of Fame rolls in 2011.

My list hasn’t changed very much from last year (since none of my choices were inducted) but I have removed some of the younger players who are eligible that I feel can wait their turn, so here are my Top 10 picks for the 2013 Poker Hall of Fame:

1. Barry Shulman
2. Terry Rogers
3. Marcel Luske
4. Nolan Dalla
5. Jack McClelland
6. John Duthie
7. Mike Caro
8. Titanic Thompson
9. Andy Glazer
10. James McManus

Some other deserving people include Carlos Mortensen, Jennifer Harman, Ted Forrest, David Sklansky, Antanas “Tony G” Guoga, Gabe Kaplan, Lucy Rockah, Lee Jones, Al Alvarez, Bob Stupak, Bruno Fitoussi, and David Chiu.

And here is a look at the current members of the Poker Hall of Fame:

• Johnny Moss
• Nick “The Greek” Dandolos
• Felton “Corky” McCorquodale
• Red Winn
• Sid Wyman
• James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok
• Edmond Hoyle
• Blondie Forbes
• Bill Boyd
• Tom Abdo
• Joe Bernstein
• Murph Harrold
• Red Hodges
• Henry Green
• Walter Clyde “Puggy” Pearson
• Doyle “Texas Dolly” Brunson
• Jack “Treetop” Straus
• Fred “Sarge” Ferris
• Benny Binion
• David “Chip” Reese
• Thomas “Amarillo Slim” Preston
• Jack Keller
• Julius Oral Popwell
• Roger Moore
• Stu “The Kid” Ungar
• Lyle Berman
• Johnny “The Orient Express” Chan
• Bobby “The Owl” Baldwin
• Berry Johnston
• Jack Binion
• Crandell “Dandy” Addington
• T.J. Cloutier
• Billy Baxter
• Barbara Enright
• Phil Hellmuth
• Dewey Tomko
• Henry Orenstein
• Mike Sexton
• Dan Harrington
• Erik Seidel
• Linda Johnson
• Barry Greenstein
• Eric Drache
• Brian “Sailor” Roberts