Bobby
R.I.P. Bobby Hoff

1979 World Series of Poker runner up passed away, but his strategies will live on

Professional poker player Bobby Hoff has passed away aged 73, it has been reported. Famous for his high stakes games, Hoff kick started his pro career back in the ‘60’s but famously lost all his money and got a job as a dealer in a Nevada casino. It was at this time he started playing, and Winning at blackjack.

The only problem with this came about when Nevada banned him from entering their casinos. He had devised a card counting system that pretty much guaranteed him a win, so he returned to the world of poker.

Hoff learned to play poker during his time at Texas University, and looking back during a 2008 interview, he reminisced: “I was a winning player from the start in that game, because my opponents were so poor. If you were a bad player in that game, you were dead. I won 40 times in a row and thought I was not only the best poker player in the world, but one of the richest ones. I soon discovered I was not.”

Hoff’s best pro finish was runner up at the 1979 World Series of Poker finals. Despite three other finals appearances, he never managed to get his hands on a WSOP bracelet. Yet his casino strategies will live on, even outside of the sphere of poker.