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This Player Won A WSOP Bracelet In An Entry Field Of 1

What do Thomas Austin Preston Jr. also known as Amarillo Slim, Huck Seed, Eli Elezra, and Brian Rast have in common? They are all legendary poker players with multiple World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets to their name. However, among these big names there is one that not many have heard about. That is the four-time WSOP bracelet winner Bill Boyd. The Poker Hall of Famer is most well-known for being the best Five Card Stud player. In fact, he was so good that WSOP had to stop hosting the event altogether!

Who is Bill Boyd?

Born on 27th January, 1906 Boyd began to travel across America via train when he was just a teenager. It was during this time when he walked into a saloon in Montana with only $13 to his name and walked out $1,300 richer. After working in the National Guard, he then began operating cardrooms in San Francisco by 1946. He was soon the manager of the Golden Nugget cardroom.

Bill Boyd’s WSOP Journey

When WSOP started in 1970 and Johnny Moss was being voted the best all-round player, there were several other categories that were being voted on. For example, Best All-Round Hold’em Player and Deuce-to-Seven Lowball Champion.

While the voting phase of WSOP was going on, Boyd was voted as ‘the most respected poker player’ by his peers. He then returned to WSOP the next year which now had four official events along with the Main Event.

Out of these was the $1,000 No-Limit Five Card Stud event which was soon shipped by Boyd for $10,000. He came out victorious after defeating 10 players. He defended his title by shipping the same event the following year. He defeated an unknown player in heads-up and walked home with $20,000.

The winning streak continued in 1973 when the $10,000 buy-in No-Limit Five Card Stud had only one entry – Bill Boyd. He then ‘won’ the event for $10,000 and took his third WSOP bracelet. This was the only case of a one-player bracelet event in WSOP history. In 1974, the buy-in for the No-Limit Five Card Stud was brought down to $5,000 and drew in eight entries. Boyd won that event again for $40,000 which then became the largest cash of his career.

After this, the Five Card Stud event no longer appeared on the WSOP schedule again. This was allegedly because Boyd couldn’t be beaten. Poker maestro Slim once commented on Boyd saying, “I’d rather catch frost on my winter peaches than play stud with Bill Boyd.”

Making History

Boyd is one of only four players in WSOP history to win bracelets in four consecutive years. The others are Doyle Brunson between 1976 – 1979 and Loren Klein between 2016 – 2019.

When he was not playing on the poker tables, he was managing the Golden Nugget cardroom from the day it opened its doors in 1946 till its closing in 1988. He was given the ceremonial first hand at both the Golden Nugget in 1946 and the Mirage in 1989. He was then inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1981 and retired from poker in 1982.

Boyd passed away on 21st November 1997 in Las Vegas at the old age of 91 due to complications from a stroke. 

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Photo Credits: Cardplayer.com

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