Hoyt Bricken Corkins (born December 20, 1959 in Glenwood, Alabama) is an American professional

poker Poker is a family of Card game#Comparing games, comparing card games in which Card player, players betting (poker), wager over which poker hand, hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, with varying rules i ...

player. Known for his softly-spoken voice and his aggressive style, Corkins has two

World Series of Poker bracelet The World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet is considered the most coveted non-monetary prize a poker player can win. Since 1976, a bracelet has been awarded to the winner of every event at the annual WSOP. Even if the victory occurred before 1976 ...

s and two

World Poker Tour The World Poker Tour (WPT) is an internationally televised gaming and entertainment brand. Since 2002, the World Poker Tour has operated a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting playdown and the ...

titles.

Early life

He started playing at the age of 19 after receiving lessons from his

father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. A biological fat ...

. He is often known by his nickname "

Cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the ''vaquero'' ...

" as he always wears a cowboy hat and boots to the table. However, he has been given other

nickname A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...

s, including "Mr. Move All-In" by Phil Hellmuth Jr. Many players also call him "Nightmare". He often wears a pair of

ear plugs An earplug is a device that is inserted in the ear canal to protect the user's ears from loud noises, intrusion of water, foreign bodies, dust or excessive wind. Earplugs may be used as well to improve sleep quality or focus in noisy environments ...

while playing in live poker tournaments in order to prevent other players' chatter from affecting his game.

World Series of Poker

Corkins won a

World Series of Poker The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Paradise, Nevada, and since 2004, sponsored by Eldorado Resorts, Caesars Entertainment. It dates its origins to 1970, when Benny Binion invited seven of the best ...

bracelet and $96,000 for winning the

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

$5,000

Pot Limit In the game of poker, the play largely centers on the act of betting, and as such, a protocol has been developed to speed up play, lessen confusion, and increase security while playing. Different games are played using different types of bets, ...

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

tournament. In November 2005, Corkins finished second to

Mike Matusow Michael Matusow (born April 30, 1968) is an American professional poker player residing in Henderson, Nevada. Matusow's nickname of "the Mouth" reflects his reputation for trash-talking at the poker table. Matusow began playing poker seriously ...

in the

World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions The World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions (WSOP ToC) is an invitational freeroll poker event. The WSOP ToC has been played intermittently five times in the 21st Century with different formats. The four WSOP ToC events held from 2004-20 ...

freeroll, receiving $325,000. In the

2007 World Series of Poker The 2007 World Series of Poker (WSOP) began on June 1, 2007. The $10,000 ( US) no-limit Texas hold 'em Main Event began on July 6 and was completed on the morning of July 18th. All events were held at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las ...

, Corkins won the $2,500 6 Handed No Limit Hold Em event, defeating Terrence Chan and winning over $515,000, in addition to the championship bracelet. At the

2008 World Series of Poker The 2008 World Series of Poker was the 39th annual World Series of Poker (WSOP). Held in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino, the series began on May 30, 2008, and featured 55 poker championships in List of poker variants, s ...

Main Event, Corkins finished in 162nd place out of 6,844 entries, earning him $41,816.

World Series of Poker bracelets

Reappearance into poker

After the win in 1992, Corkins disappeared from the game for 11 years whilst going through a

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...

. He was encouraged to return to poker by his ex-

fiancée An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...

Natalie, and resurfaced in 2003, taking a then record-breaking first prize ($1,089,200) in the

2003 World Poker Finals. He had a second-place finish to

Gus Hansen Gustav Hansen (born 13 February 1974) is a Danish professional poker player from Copenhagen, Denmark who has lived in Monaco since 2003. In his poker career, Hansen has won three World Poker Tour open titles, one WSOP bracelet and the 2007 Auss ...

in early 2004 at the PokerStars Caribbean Poker Adventure, which earned him $290,065. Corkins was sick from

flu Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These sympto ...

during the event, but he says it did not affect his play. Also in 2004, he made the final table at the United States Poker Championship main event held at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, NJ. Away from the poker circuit, Corkins has sixty head of

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

to tend in Alabama and also has a home in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

World Poker Tour

In 2006, he made another

(WPT) final table in the Season V Legends of Poker event, finishing 3rd. In 2008, in the Season VI of the WPT's World Poker Open WPT Corkins finished second winning $458,267. In December 2008, during Season VII of the WPT, Corkins made the final table of the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic and finished in 6th place, earning $216,175. In January 2010, Hoyt made another World Poker Tour final table at the Southern Poker Championship, and took home the first place prize of $713,986. As of 2019, his live tournament winnings exceed $6,000,000. His 26 cashes at the WSOP account for $1,017,074 of those winnings.

References

External links

Card Player profileGlobal Poker Index profile

Hendon Mob profileWPT profileWSOP profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Corkins, Hoyt American poker players Living people People from Crenshaw County, Alabama World Poker Tour winners World Series of Poker bracelet winners Super Bowl of Poker event winners 1959 births