Bobby had a bad stroke a few days ago. He is not doing well. The doctors, on learning that he was a professional poker player, said that he has played his last hand of poker. A sad time for Bobby, for poker, and for his friends.

I have played many times with Bobby over the years. He was always a gentleman and happy to talk. A nice guy. I learned a lot about no limit watching him play in the Lucky Chances game back in 2000-2001. He seemed well and sharp when we last played 20-40 at the Commerce together a year ago. I hope he recovers better than they think he will. He belongs in the hall of fame.

that is truly awful news.

bobby was my all time fav player to play with.
he was always a class act, and the only time he ever got upset at the table was when people took forever to act, or hollywooded.

he was also one of the only "old timers" to embrace online poker right away, playing under "da wiz" on UB.

he was extremely honest, open, and always willing to help out a friend and it was always a pleasure to play and talk with him.

in sum he was freaking awesome, and if anyone reading this is organizing any kind of effort to help him in any way he might need, please let me know if there was anything i can do to help, as he was truly someone that helped me tremendously, and i would love to be able to return the favor.

Sad news indeed.

He is one of the old timers who managed to adapt well and continue to win in aggressive games. Or at least this is the rumour.

Can you guys confirm/deny?

Is he only a poker player or business interests too?

This ****ing sucks. +1 to the fact that he should be in the HOF. Hope he gets well.

very sad - I only played with him a couple times but he was a boss.. Was probably the most aggressive player at the table while playing well - which isn't that common for an "old guy" Wish him the best

sad news, i just played with him 2 weeks ago at commerce and he seemed to be in good health

How old is he?

He's one of those players all the high stakes regs know/talk about but he was almost never on tv. Many people consider him a top authority in NLHE cash games.

I believe he is 72 or close to it.

He was a great and flexible player. Placed second in the main event one year on a bad beat if memory serves, but everyone who played him will remember him for his skill, longevity, and geniality in high-stakes cash games. He was a fixture in the 20-40 at the Commerce for years after he moved from San Francisco, where I knew him from the old 10-10-20 game at Lucky Chances.

Really sad, he did a cool podcast on DC not that long ago and sounded like he was optimistic he could continue playing at a high level for awhile.

Hal Fowler vs Bobby Hoff. Heads-up at the 1979 World Series of Poker Main Event. Fowler was an amateur that had somehow held his own at a final table full of phenomenal poker talent, including the likes of Bobby Baldwin and Johnny Moss. Fowler had been severely short-stacked, but had managed to scratch and claw his way to a chip lead.

In heads-up action, Bobby Hoff raised pre-flop holding pocket Aces. Fowler called in the big blind holding 7-6 offsuit, hoping to get lucky and hit the flop.

The flop came J-5-3 rainbow. Hoff made a big bet on the flop, committing nearly half of his remaining stack. Fowler called, holding nothing but a gutshot straight draw.

The turn? A 4, and the rest of the chips soon went into the middle of the table. Hoff was horrified to see that Fowler had turned the nut straight and that he was drawing dead. The river was meaningless, and Fowler took down the first place prize of $270,000.

+1

Very sad to hear. Dan Harrington has an interview with him in part 2 of Harrington on Cash games. He gives lots of insightful knowledge about poker history, present, and strategy.

Any update on his status?

+2, Hoff is a boss.

any updates?

only family is allowed to visit him from what ive heard, so getting updates is difficult. from what i understand he had a brain hemorrhage and needs brain surgery, but currently has pneumonia so brain surgery cant be performed. his weakened state is making it difficult to rid him of the pneumonia so they can perform the surgery.

great bobby hoff story told to me by gabe thaler: hoff and another player get 30k aipf in a 20-40 game, they both have AA, other guy suggests not running out a board and taking their money back, bobby says "no, i have the ace of spades." (apparently at commerce the extra chip in a split pot goes to the high card, so he was getting an overlay.) of course he makes a flush. bobby hoff = boss indeed

really sad. played a ton with "DaWiz" back on UB '04-'06. he was always very polite at the tables and was one of the first live pros to ever give me the same level of respect at the tables usually reserved for other longtime live pros who had "paid their dues." i hope he makes a recovery and would like to wish him the best if there is any way to do that.

-Green Plastic

from what ive heard hes currently in a nursing home and may not ever play poker again.

I was sitting directly across from bobby when this hand happened...it was during LAPC either this year or last year i forgot...it was against L.A. Rod

Bobby was and has been one of the most succesful and partially unknown players to ever play the game at the level he did. He stayed out of the spot light during the poker boom and the way he played cards for as long as he did and the amount of money he made is unreal. My only experience with Bobby was that he was an incredibly savvy and intelligent player who knew the right way to conduct himself at the poker table. He had pure raw natural talent.

My thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family.

Oh man, I really hope this isn't true. Get well, Wiz!

Impossible is nothing. I have hope for Bobby.

Ayyyah, Bobby is a true hero among heroes. He embodies all of the positive attributes that a human being could strive to possess. Never have I encountered a better winner, loser, gentleman, or storyteller than Bobby Hoff. May all of our healing energy and good vibes find you well Bobby. Your wisdom and honesty will never be forgotten!

one of his old buddies told me he was taken back to texas and not doing well. he will be missed by everyone except the players to his right.