Bill Boyd, a professional poker player from McNeil, Arkansas, and was born in 1906. Originally christened William Walter Boyd, he is more popularly known as Bill Boyd. He is considered to be the greatest five card stud player of all time and has had many victories playing this game throughout his poker career. Five card stud was one of the preliminary events for the World Series of Poker from 1971 to 1974, and Bill Boyd holds the rare distinction of winning this event during each of these four years. He was regarded as the most dominant player in this event, and during one particular tournament, not a single player challenged him for the championship.
In 1971, five card stud was included in the World Series of Poker tournament for the first time. Bill Boyd went on to win the event, earning $10,000 and a gold bracelet. In 1972, during the 3rd Annual World Series of Poker, he won the same event and took home $20,000, which was twice the amount he had won the previous year. In the next season of the World Series of Poker, he won the event for the third time in a row and bagged $10,000, along with another gold bracelet. History repeated itself once more in 1974 when Bill Boyd claimed his fourth gold bracelet and a whopping $40,000, his largest tournament earnings during his professional poker career. Overall, he had four wins and made $80,000 from playing these five card stud events at the World Series of Poker tournaments, making him the undisputed champion in this event. In the year 1981, Bill Boyd was officially recognized and inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame. The fact that he consistently played well against top competitors in high stake games earned him the respect of his peers and paved the way for his entry into the Hall of Fame.
Bill Boyd became such a sensation during his career that, as a tribute to him, he was dealt the first poker hands ever at the Golden Nugget and The Mirage casinos. He is also credited for spreading the popularity of the game Omaha Hold’em. In 1983, Robert Turner, the creator of Omaha Hold’em, approached Bill Boyd with the game. Bill Boyd was then working as the Director of Operations at the Golden Nugget casino. Initially, the game was named Nugget Hold’em, but after some time, it was renamed Omaha Hold’em. Bill Boyd lived in Las Vegas, Nevada until his death on November 21, 1997.
