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There is a lot of uncertainty in how the voting for the 2011 Poker Hall of Fame will play out considering that no fewer than four have strong ties to two online poker sites that have yet to fully repay their players, Full Tilt poker and Absolute/UB Poker. When you factor in that the 35 Hall of Fame voters are either players or media figures (all of whom have been impacted by Black Friday) these affiliations could turn into something akin to players during the “Steroid Era” of baseball that have been having a difficult time getting elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame despite gaudy numbers.

One voter in particular, Dan Cypra, decided to talk about this aspect of the 2011 Hall of Fame class, and Cypra was quick to eliminate any player who has ties to these online poker rooms from consideration. Cypra wrote the following in an article at PocketFives.com: “I began my vote by discounting any poker pro associated with Full Tilt Poker, UB or Absolute Poker, none of which has paid back U. S. players following Black Friday,”

Cypra went on to explain how he divvied up his votes (each voter gets 10 points which he/she can spread around to as many players as they choose, so long as all 10 points are given). The primary recipient of Cypra’s points went to Linda Johnson (who Cypra gave 5 points), with the remainder of his points going to Barry Greenstein (3 points) and Tom McEvoy (2 points).

It will be interesting to see if other voters take a similar approach, which could lead to players from the older generation like Johnson, McEvoy, or Marcel Luske having a shot at the Poker Hall of Fame in 2011.