Murph Harrold: 1984 Poker Hall of Fame Inductee and Lowball Great
POKER HALL OF FAME
Inducted 1984
Murph Harrold was an American poker player remembered primarily for his exceptional reputation in deuce-to-seven draw lowball. His standing among the strongest players of his era led to his induction into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1984.
Unlike many later Poker Hall of Fame members whose careers can be reconstructed through extensive tournament databases, televised events and World Series of Poker records, much of Harrold's reputation was established before modern poker developed those forms of documentation. The surviving record is therefore more focused on how highly his lowball ability was regarded than on a long list of publicly recorded tournament results.
The World Series of Poker Hall of Fame directory identifies Harrold as a United States player and a member of the 1984 Hall of Fame class. The current Poker Hall of Fame inductee directory also lists Harrold among the game's historic members and identifies him as deceased.
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Who Was Murph Harrold?
Murph Harrold was an American poker player whose legacy rests on his standing as an elite deuce-to-seven draw lowball competitor.
The WSOP has described Harrold as one of the best deuce-to-seven draw lowball players in poker history. That distinction is particularly important because his reputation was built during an era when a player's standing among high-stakes peers could matter more than publicly recorded tournament statistics.
Harrold belongs to an early generation of Hall of Fame poker figures whose careers predated the modern tournament circuit, online databases and continuous media coverage. As a result, reliable public information about his personal background, exact years active and individual high-stakes games is limited.
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Murph Harrold and Deuce-to-Seven Draw Lowball
Deuce-to-seven draw lowball, sometimes historically called Kansas City lowball, reverses many of the objectives familiar to players of standard high-hand poker. The goal is to make the lowest qualifying five-card hand, with straights and flushes counting against the player and aces playing high.
The best possible hand is 7-5-4-3-2 with no flush.
Harrold became particularly associated with this form of poker. The significance of that reputation goes beyond simply being known as a specialist. Poker Hall of Fame recognition has historically emphasized performance against respected competition, high-stakes experience, consistency and the ability to stand the test of time.
Being remembered decades later specifically for excellence in a difficult draw game helps explain why Harrold occupies a place in poker history despite the relatively limited statistical record available today.
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Murph Harrold's Poker Hall of Fame Induction
Murph Harrold was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1984.
His induction came during the Hall's early years, shortly after players including Bill Boyd, Tom Abdo and Joe Bernstein entered in the preceding classes. Harrold was followed by Red Hodges in 1985 and Henry Green in 1986.
That sequence places Harrold among the early group of professional gamblers and poker specialists recognized before the Hall expanded to include many of the tournament champions familiar to modern audiences.
Other players from that generation eventually joined him in the Hall, including Doyle Brunson, who was inducted in 1988, and Johnny Moss, one of the Hall's original 1979 members.
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Did Murph Harrold Win a WSOP Bracelet?
Reliable current sources confirm Harrold's Poker Hall of Fame membership and his reputation in deuce-to-seven lowball, but the authoritative sources reviewed for this profile do not establish a verified WSOP bracelet total for him.
For that reason, no bracelet count should be attributed to Harrold without additional primary documentation.
The same caution applies to WSOP Circuit rings, World Poker Tour titles and other modern tour statistics. Harrold's recognized poker career came from an earlier period, and his historical significance should not be reconstructed using unsupported tournament claims.
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How Much Did Murph Harrold Win in Poker?
A reliable career live-tournament earnings total could not be verified for Murph Harrold.
Modern tournament databases provide extensive records for players from recent decades, but those databases do not fully represent the high-stakes cash games and private poker action that shaped the reputations of many earlier professionals.
Harrold's Hall of Fame standing therefore provides a more meaningful measure of his historical importance than an incomplete modern earnings figure.
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Murph Harrold's Place in Poker History
Harrold's lasting importance comes from specialization and peer recognition.
Poker history contains many champions whose careers are defined by bracelets, Main Event victories or seven-figure tournament scores. Harrold represents a different part of the game's history: the era when elite players often built their reputations in high-stakes games long before tournament poker became the industry's dominant public record.
His association with deuce-to-seven draw lowball also preserves the history of a form of poker that has remained an important test of all-around skill. Draw games demand different strategic judgments from community-card games, including decisions about hand selection, drawing patterns, betting ranges and interpreting how many cards an opponent chooses to replace.
Harrold's reputation in that environment was strong enough to endure long after his playing career.
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Murph Harrold's Legacy
Murph Harrold remains part of the official Poker Hall of Fame record more than four decades after his 1984 induction.
The historical record available to modern readers is much thinner than it is for contemporary professionals, and responsible coverage requires recognizing those limits rather than filling them with assumptions. What can be established is significant on its own: Harrold was an American player, became renowned for deuce-to-seven draw lowball and earned one of poker's highest honors during the Hall of Fame's early era.
His career is a reminder that poker history was shaped not only by famous tournament champions, but also by specialists whose reputations were established directly against respected high-stakes competition.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Murph Harrold?
Murph Harrold was an American poker player best known for his reputation as an exceptional deuce-to-seven draw lowball player. He was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1984.
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When was Murph Harrold inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame?
Murph Harrold was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1984.
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What poker game was Murph Harrold known for?
Harrold was best known for deuce-to-seven draw lowball, a form of poker in which players compete to make the lowest qualifying five-card hand.
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Was Murph Harrold considered one of the best lowball players?
Yes. The World Series of Poker has described Harrold as one of the best deuce-to-seven draw lowball players in poker history.
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How many WSOP bracelets did Murph Harrold win?
The authoritative sources reviewed for this profile do not establish a verified WSOP bracelet count for Murph Harrold, so no bracelet total is attributed to him here.
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How much did Murph Harrold win in live poker tournaments?
A reliable career live-tournament earnings figure could not be verified. Much of Harrold's reputation was established during an era in which high-stakes cash-game results were not comprehensively recorded in modern tournament databases.
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Is Murph Harrold still alive?
No. The current Poker Hall of Fame directory identifies Murph Harrold as deceased. A reliable death date was not established from the authoritative sources reviewed for this profile.
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Why is Murph Harrold important to poker history?
Harrold is important because of his reputation as an elite deuce-to-seven draw lowball player and his 1984 induction into the Poker Hall of Fame. His career represents an earlier period of professional poker when peer respect and high-stakes cash-game ability often established a player's legacy before comprehensive tournament records existed.