A few weeks ago, Jose Canseco got into the boxing ring. He had assured
everyone that he could fight and that he had a terrific punch. He
embarrassed himself, got his lunch handed to him, and got his butt
whipped.
Then, I just read where Gary Coleman, the little guy who was on the
“Different Strokes” t.v. show for several years, signed a minor-league
baseball contract to play in one regular season game. The results were,
again, unspectacular as Gary was unproductive, embarrassed and
ultimately thrown out of the game.
I could go on and on about celebrities trying their hand at someone else’s
game. Usually it’s like the examples above where it’s a publicity stunt
and, for all intents and purposes, a big joke.
Poker playing, for the most part, is not the same. We have all heard
many times how the average guy could never beat Tiger Woods at golf or
Michael Jordan at hoops, but could compete in the poker arena
In years gone by, as often as the statement was made, it was only a half-
truth. Yes, many amateur players could compete on the high levels, but
they were top amateurs and mostly regular players in the clubs and
casinos. I say it was a half-truth because the poker played then was
mostly limit games like seven-card stud, ace-to-five lowball, limit hold’em,
stud high-low eight-or-better and omaha high-low. These games
required many more varied skills than what most people in the world
think playing poker needs today.
So, to say that “anyone” could compete on a high level while playing all
those different games was, in most cases, unrealistic. Most people,
especially younger people today, think poker is only no-limit hold’em.
Back before poker became popular world-wide, no-limit hold’em was
mostly played in just two or three no-limit tournament events and then at
the final main tournament event.
In the last few years, we have seen no-limit poker explode on the poker
scene. Television and Internet exposure generated this explosion.. But
no-limit poker caught on fire because it was not rocket science and
looked simple to play. We have heard many times that no-limit hold‘em
takes only a short time to learn but a lifetime to master. That is very true.
That young players could become competitive in no-limit so quickly did not
come to me immediately. In fact, when the poker boom was in its infancy,
celebrity poker was on television. For the most part, it irritated me as it
seemed that most of the players didn’t have a clue on how to play. The
more I thought about it and analyzed it, the more I realized that these
players probably had about one hour of instruction before they sat down
to play. The producers probably wanted the viewers to see more a
comedy of errors than a game of skill. Before long, I saw more and more
good, young players who picked up the game in a few short months.
At the recently concluded WSOP, many times old poker-playing friends of
mine would comment to me on how the young kids were dominating and
winning a lot of tournaments. I tried to be the voice of reason and
explained that I agreed. I also explained that many of the tables I had
played at had six or seven young players. So, all things being equal,
young players could dominate and win. And all things being equal,
getting a good grasp on no-limit hold’em doesn’t take that long. Give me
a bright, 21-year-old with just a high-school diploma, let me tutor him for
a few days, then let him play on the Internet or in live games for a couple
of months, and I will bet you he will be very competitive at that stage. Of
course, he must have an interest in playing and have some youthful
exuberance and some willingness to gamble.
Throw in a couple of poker books, Poker Player Newspaper, a poker
seminar, poker boot camp, and some free, unsolicited poker lessons from
that ever-present table captain, and watch out poker world. On second
thought, maybe listening to that table captain’s free lessons might not
always be that wise.
In past days I think it was somewhat a phony lure by the players who
said anyone could compete. Maybe it was a sneaky way of saying “come
join us; you can do it.” Now no doubt it is accurate, especially noting the
past few winners of the WSOP. Before, becoming competitive took a lot
more time, energy and money. With no books and no Internet on which
to play thousands of hands quickly, it took a lot more time to get the
experience to compete at a high level, especially if you wanted to
compete in all the different types of poker. In the present poker world,
you really only have to concentrate on just one game, no-limit hold’em,
and learning how to play it well doesn’t take that long.
This more competitive poker world brings the chance to be rich and
famous to a lot more people. On the other hand, I don’t see as many
dominant players emerging as in years gone by. Certain players will
always have “good runs” as that is just a statistical fact. Plus, certain
players with more than adequate funds and time will be able to certainly
have better results over the long run.
Poker players who play all the games shouldn’t despair about no-limit
taking over tournaments because many new players now want to play
H.O.R.S.E. They are being told that the true test of a poker player is not
just playing no-limit hold’em but playing all the games. Thankfully many
of the newbie’s are listening and seem to be buying into that line of
thinking. And now we are seeing an emergence of H.O.R.S.E.
tournaments.
I am being a little selfish hoping that tournament directors add more “old”
poker games to tournament schedules. I love no-limit hold’em but I also
really enjoy playing those “old” games. However, I don’t see those “old”
games being added in the near future as the clubs and casinos love no-
limit tournaments, love the huge turnouts, and love watching those seats
emptying at a much higher rate than any limit tournament that they
would spread.
For what it's worth …
everyone that he could fight and that he had a terrific punch. He
embarrassed himself, got his lunch handed to him, and got his butt
whipped.
Then, I just read where Gary Coleman, the little guy who was on the
“Different Strokes” t.v. show for several years, signed a minor-league
baseball contract to play in one regular season game. The results were,
again, unspectacular as Gary was unproductive, embarrassed and
ultimately thrown out of the game.
I could go on and on about celebrities trying their hand at someone else’s
game. Usually it’s like the examples above where it’s a publicity stunt
and, for all intents and purposes, a big joke.
Poker playing, for the most part, is not the same. We have all heard
many times how the average guy could never beat Tiger Woods at golf or
Michael Jordan at hoops, but could compete in the poker arena
In years gone by, as often as the statement was made, it was only a half-
truth. Yes, many amateur players could compete on the high levels, but
they were top amateurs and mostly regular players in the clubs and
casinos. I say it was a half-truth because the poker played then was
mostly limit games like seven-card stud, ace-to-five lowball, limit hold’em,
stud high-low eight-or-better and omaha high-low. These games
required many more varied skills than what most people in the world
think playing poker needs today.
So, to say that “anyone” could compete on a high level while playing all
those different games was, in most cases, unrealistic. Most people,
especially younger people today, think poker is only no-limit hold’em.
Back before poker became popular world-wide, no-limit hold’em was
mostly played in just two or three no-limit tournament events and then at
the final main tournament event.
In the last few years, we have seen no-limit poker explode on the poker
scene. Television and Internet exposure generated this explosion.. But
no-limit poker caught on fire because it was not rocket science and
looked simple to play. We have heard many times that no-limit hold‘em
takes only a short time to learn but a lifetime to master. That is very true.
That young players could become competitive in no-limit so quickly did not
come to me immediately. In fact, when the poker boom was in its infancy,
celebrity poker was on television. For the most part, it irritated me as it
seemed that most of the players didn’t have a clue on how to play. The
more I thought about it and analyzed it, the more I realized that these
players probably had about one hour of instruction before they sat down
to play. The producers probably wanted the viewers to see more a
comedy of errors than a game of skill. Before long, I saw more and more
good, young players who picked up the game in a few short months.
At the recently concluded WSOP, many times old poker-playing friends of
mine would comment to me on how the young kids were dominating and
winning a lot of tournaments. I tried to be the voice of reason and
explained that I agreed. I also explained that many of the tables I had
played at had six or seven young players. So, all things being equal,
young players could dominate and win. And all things being equal,
getting a good grasp on no-limit hold’em doesn’t take that long. Give me
a bright, 21-year-old with just a high-school diploma, let me tutor him for
a few days, then let him play on the Internet or in live games for a couple
of months, and I will bet you he will be very competitive at that stage. Of
course, he must have an interest in playing and have some youthful
exuberance and some willingness to gamble.
Throw in a couple of poker books, Poker Player Newspaper, a poker
seminar, poker boot camp, and some free, unsolicited poker lessons from
that ever-present table captain, and watch out poker world. On second
thought, maybe listening to that table captain’s free lessons might not
always be that wise.
In past days I think it was somewhat a phony lure by the players who
said anyone could compete. Maybe it was a sneaky way of saying “come
join us; you can do it.” Now no doubt it is accurate, especially noting the
past few winners of the WSOP. Before, becoming competitive took a lot
more time, energy and money. With no books and no Internet on which
to play thousands of hands quickly, it took a lot more time to get the
experience to compete at a high level, especially if you wanted to
compete in all the different types of poker. In the present poker world,
you really only have to concentrate on just one game, no-limit hold’em,
and learning how to play it well doesn’t take that long.
This more competitive poker world brings the chance to be rich and
famous to a lot more people. On the other hand, I don’t see as many
dominant players emerging as in years gone by. Certain players will
always have “good runs” as that is just a statistical fact. Plus, certain
players with more than adequate funds and time will be able to certainly
have better results over the long run.
Poker players who play all the games shouldn’t despair about no-limit
taking over tournaments because many new players now want to play
H.O.R.S.E. They are being told that the true test of a poker player is not
just playing no-limit hold’em but playing all the games. Thankfully many
of the newbie’s are listening and seem to be buying into that line of
thinking. And now we are seeing an emergence of H.O.R.S.E.
tournaments.
I am being a little selfish hoping that tournament directors add more “old”
poker games to tournament schedules. I love no-limit hold’em but I also
really enjoy playing those “old” games. However, I don’t see those “old”
games being added in the near future as the clubs and casinos love no-
limit tournaments, love the huge turnouts, and love watching those seats
emptying at a much higher rate than any limit tournament that they
would spread.
For what it's worth …
It's Not Rocket Science
By Vince Burgio
By Vince Burgio
