Hoyt Corkins, aka "Mr. Move All-In", "Cowboy" and "Nightmare", was born in 1960 in Glenwood, Alabama. As a young boy he learned to play poker from his father, who gave him after-school lessons. His father used to host weekly cash games, and the teenager Hoys Corkins got to play in some of them. There he learned that it's not the hand that matters most, but the reactions of the players to their cards and the moves on the poker table. Hoyt Corkins learned to read his opponents' faces, a very useful ability indeed in the field of professional poker. During his career his opponents learned they were facing an aggressive and fierce player, and for that he got the nickname "Nightmare" – for few are the opponents, they say, who played with him at the same table without suffering from nightmares after the game was over.
Through the years Hoyt Corkins acquired a habit of wearing earplugs while playing live poker tournaments, so that other players' chatters won't affect his game. So far it seems to work quite well for him.
The first successful tournament Hoyt Corkins took part in was back in 1989, when he finished in 4th place in the WSOP $2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha event. Ever since then he'd earned three more cashes in other events, all still before his big break.
In the 1992 WSOP championship in Pot Limit Omaha, Hoyt Corkins proved he can indeed read his opponents' faces, and won $96,000 and a WSOP bracelet. After the win in 1992, he disappeared from the world of professional poker, due to his rough divorce. His fiancée, Natalie, was the one who encouraged him to start playing professional poker once again in 2003.
In the 2003 World Poker Tour, after getting "back to business", Hoyt Corkins won the first prize, with a then record-breaking amount of $1,089,200.
In 2004, at the PokerStars Caribbean Poker Adventure, he won $290,065 and took the second prize, beaten only by Gus Hansen. Hoyt Corkins was with the flu back then, but later claimed the sickness didn't affect his play.
The next major tournament Hoyt Corkins took part in was the United States Poker Championship in 2004, where he made it to the final table, but not to the money.
The 2005 WSOP tournament of champions was also a good game for Hoyt Corkins: He finished second only to Mike Matusow, winning $325,000. In 2006, in the fifth season Legends of Poker event, he made it to another WPT final table and won 3rd place.
2007 was a good year for Hoyt Corkins, as he won the WSOP 6 Handed No Limit Hold'em tournament and got his second WSOP bracelet, along with $515,000.
The sixth season of World Poker Open WPT, in 2008, brought Hoyt Corkins to the 2nd place, with $458,267.
Aside from playing poker, Hoyt Corkins is the proud owner of a cattle herd in Alabama, and owns a house in Las Vegas. When playing, he mostly participates in WSOP and WPT events.
Hoyt Corkins Quick Facts
Cashes: 35
Total Winnings: $3,843,978
First place finishes: 4
WSOP bracelets: 2