Yang: WSOP Chump... I mean Champ

Who the hell is this guy and when did the best damn poker tournament in history turn into sunday f-ing service. Don't get me wrong, if you're religious I have all the respect for you, but at the poker table?

When Watkinson was all-in against Yang, and what looked like watkinson's mother-in-law starting praying "lord, show Lee your power, make him a believer" (what by improving his king high? Do you have any idea how complex the circulatory system is?) And then Yang as if he feared this mother-in-law would out-pray him came over the top with "Lord Jesus Christ, I have a purpose, let it be seen today?" Are you fricking kidding me?

Again, I'm all for religion and support those who practice, but I absolutely detest when it comes out in a public place such as this. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. These people border on the ridiculous as the
hypocrisy is so thick I want to gag. All major religions forbid gambling, and these ninnys are at the main event reciting scripture with one breath and with the next check raising Johnny Tran.

Freaking freakers.

Ahahaha yeah, that was funny!

She prolly got some of the money....

You hate mother-in-laws too?

Truthfully, I prefered the prayer and supplication to the "kONGDOZER" antics of Hevad Khan..

Excellent post! I 100% agree. I think many of the religious folks are the ones who want to outlaw poker. But I guess they think it's not so bad when they win.

I actually haven't even seen the final table of the WSOP yet (), but I don't get why people get so offended just because someone prays in public. What, is his faith something he should be ashamed of? What difference does it make if he chooses to say a prayer aloud? Big deal.

Haven't seen it, so really hard to make a steadfast comment. If it was just a prayer, as juiceeQ implies, then it's likely not much different than asking the poker Gods for a little help before the river. Poker God or Heavenly God, who's to say...?

Sounds like it was more similar to Humberto praying to his sharks. In that case, expect more theatrics of ANY kind in the future from more and more players. It's the only way some of these folks can get any attention. Much like the squeeky wheel getting the grease, the most outrageous poker-joker gets the photo opps (and likely the overpriced endorsement packages).

Also wondering what would happen if I walked into their church during the silent prayer, rattled some dice and threw them against the pulpit shouting aloud "ROLL DEM BONES !!!...Daddy needs new SHOES !!!"

It appears to me that most people don't get offended by the praying itself. I think it is because it is commonly believed that "gambling is a sin" and Yang shouldn't be playing poker if he is as religious as he makes himself out to be. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think that is the gist.

I thonl Jerru Uang is truly a man with strong beliefs. He certainly pledged a very fair % of his winnings to worthy causes. As did Tuan Lam. Personally, I applaud them both. I found this years Final Table refreshing , if somewhat lackluster once Khan went out.

that is great religions are against gambling, and gamblers pray for help to win gambling haha, i liked that part of the post.

"One meelion."

OP, did you really think any good was going to come of this thread?

It's arguable that Christianity in itself is somewhat of a gamble in several ways, creating quite the amusing paradox if it forbids gambling.

Anyway, who would you rather win, a pleasant, well-mannered, humble guy with morals (albeit judged on the basis of a few hours of highlights and interviews) who just happens to be slightly religiously overzealous, or a complete douchebag like Jamie Gold (who is a douchebag whatever basis you judge him on tbh)?

Finally, welcome to, what is it now, 7 months ago?

Yeah, I'm a little late, it's just that most people around me don't really care about poker enough to listen to me vent. I just found you guys so I thought I'd post anyway.

This is true and he should be given credit for this. 10% of over 8 million? Very nice contribution. Way more than most people would ever dream of giving.

This is actually tricky. It took me some time to figure out why exactly this bothered me so much. It's not the typical reason. It's not "we live in a secular world where church and state should be divided, and that's how it is and I want every rule followed to the T or else I will have nothing to hold onto and I might wake up and realize how empty my life really is." It's not that at all. You see, I am a very religious/spiritual person myself. I've gone through many stages and one of those stages was being very open and forthcoming with my spirituality. From that experience I began to realize how very closed off some people are to spirituality and how negatively they react to it. Now I figure that a fair majority of those watching the main event are not very religious, because gambling is outlawed by most religions. I then figure that out of these non-religious type there is a fair amount of people who react strongly when they hear it in a public forum. But in this case, it is not only the public/secular problem, it's also the blatant hypocrisy that most will immediately pick up on if not intuit. So you take these people who are not religious, who react strongly, and who are seeing a perfect example, at least in their minds, as to why they hate religion. Their beliefs are validated, and they are one step farther from experiencing the benefits of organized religion. As a spiritual person, I think this hurts the cause. Let's just play some cards, right?

This is fair enough, well-put, and should have been in the OP instead of the freaking freakers, ninnys, and sarcastic mother in law stuff imo.

I am anti-religion - thought id state this at the start, if you have faith thats fine by me its the people that tell everyone else they are wrong is what gets me

Although dont forget the church has millions/billions in its coffers already (several million paid out in lawsuits a couple of years ago ) not to mention all the land it owns - and yet it still pleads poverty


But long gone are the days where religious law is the law, sure they still have a voice but i always end up back at things like the Spanish Inquisition when it comes to Religious law


Wh..wha....what

"He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him" (Proverbs 28:22).

"He who oppresses the poor to get gain for himself, and he who gives to the rich will surely come to want" (Proverbs 22:16).

Proverbs 21:20 says, "There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up."

23. Are we seeking financial blessing instead of seeking God and His will? (Wanting God's benefits, but not God's ways.) Matthew 15:8: "This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me."


This is all I'll c/p here.

Here's my reply to that...

Matthew 6:6 "But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you."

What this guy did was loud, obnoxious because of the context and quite possibly extremely hypocritical given most Christians views on poker.

/for the record, I have nothing against Christianity but I have plenty against most of it's "participants"

Poker is a sin? I guess were all going to hell then.

lol at praying at the poker tables and lol at religion altogether.

JQ - Perhaps if you pray hard enough they may show it on tv again for you

i have no problem with religion but i have to admit the praying while in a hand thing was kind of discusting to watch.... i just thought to myseld is this guy for real? hes a donkey who caught cards at the right time big deal god had nothing to do with it

Clearly, we are upset because we all know there are POKER GODS (plural) not one overseeing, all powerful poker GOD.

We all grovel at the feet of Flora the Floozy of Flushes as she does battle with Trish, the Temptress of Trips, whilst Barry, the Barron of Boats chuckles quietly at their antics waiting his turn ................ muahahahahaha

If you haven't seen the final table its hard to understand why people (including myself) would be either pissed off, offended, confused or embarrased as to what Jerry Yang (mostly) and Lee Watkinson's wife were put on tape saying.

It was not like they said a little humble prayer and asked for gods help. They were up jumping around repeating quite audibly how jesus the lord savior would please show them they were believers and had purpose blah blah blah blah....

For me it was just annoying/embarrassing because I wanted to see some good card playing and as a poker fan I enjoy it if my friends or family can watch it and understand the complexities and entertainment of the game as well, even if they dislike poker.

Having people act widely jumping up and down, screaming for jesus and the lord's help only makes the beliefs stronger in those who think poker just gambling and takes all luck.

anyway god can't change those cards so its pretty pointless for anyone to yell out for his help after making a stupid decision.

My view is that their prayers are fine if that's what they believe. The producers of the show are the ones to blame for showing it. They should have kept the cameras on the people or the cards & not shown the families of the participants. I thoroughly agree with someone who said it was far better than showing donkeykong jump around like a monkey or having a db like Gold win it.

"ALL WISE MEN ARE OF THE SAME RELIGION, AND ALL WISE MEN KEEP IT TO THEMSELVES."

W. E. BUCKLEY

would have been more entertaining had he prayed to Allah

That's a very good point, regarding your scripture quote. As for that last statement, you're basing your opinion on the actions of a few (comparatively speaking) zealots who give other Christians a bad name. I am not at all "religious" in the fact that I don't go to church every Sunday. I do find that the hypocrisy that ensues is a bit disgusting.

As for poker/gambling being a sin, someone please show me where this is written. (No really, I have no idea if it is or isn't. I somehow doubt it though.)

Maybe I should cover all the bases...where should I start?

On a slight tangent...

Q. How do you seperate the men from the boys at a bishops convention?
A. With a crowbar.

Might be in trouble for this one.

Snowman

hehee.

Yeah, I was kind of heated when I first posted, sorry if it came of too strong. And thanks for challenging me to clarify my thoughts.

ps - I love saying "freaking freakers"

At this years WSOP I want to see Phil Hemuth pray to the Jedi knights...or maybe Jamie Gold could have a quick request: may the farce be with him.

I think, hopefully wothout intending to, that posters in this thread are arguing at cross purposes. I don't care a fig for how "religious" people view any of this. I'm a PK, grew up in churches, and wanna hear my take? Tuff, you're gonna anyway. ORGANIZED RELIGION, WHATEVER DENOMINATION, IS BUNK! Those who proclaim their piety the loudest are the biggest hypocrites of all. Churches are 1.) social gatherings (good thing) and 2.) crutches for people too wishy washy and weak minded to form and foster their own beliefs and convictions. Why should we mind that J Yang and Lee Watkinsons mom pray to God for the nuts? You think God cares? Unless he had a props bet on either one or the other, I'd be very surprised.

So religions are anti-gambling, eh? I feel sure that some of you at least are Catholic. Your parish never has Bingo night? For that matter, seems to me the whole idea of praying and paying you or your loved ones out of Purgatory is nothing but a shell game or a crapshoot.

I judge a persons "Christianity" by their deeds and actions, not by who professes theirChristianity the loudest. "Blessed are the meek". " About time they got something, 'cause they have a helluxa time"*

Jerry Yang pledged 10% of his winnings to charity. Coincidently, that is a traditional "tithe" in many religions. By my lights, and though he'd probably deny it, Barry Greernstein is the most "Christian" of them all, and don't even THINK of making Antisemitic slurs.

My.02, now I'll don my flame retardent suit, and y'all can have at me.

*somewhat paraphrased from Life of Brian.

First off Jerry Yang is an idiot, just felt like saying that... secondly, I believe and respect in religion and anyone that has their own I think that's awesome but keep it to yourself, I mean Jesus did say to go out speak his word but honestly if you are to a certain age you are going to have the message in your head about whats going on and whatever religion you choose is pretty much laid out for you by your family either way. I think that Jerry Yang is an idiot for the mere spite that I have never seen him place in anything or do anything other then that, don't get me wrong I haven't had that much money before so... 1-0 Jerry Yang on me, but it doesn't mean that he's not an idiot...

I think this hits the nail on the head. The producers of the show keep showing the antics of a few loud mouths like Kahn and umberto and others at the expense of good poker for the sake of ratings. More and more people will start acting like idiots to get TV time while a quiet solid poker player will be ignored no mater how well they are playing/doing. The whole way the broadcast is focused is sickening to me.

As for Yang, I found his praying the way he was bothersome. I didn't know exactly why until now. He was not just praying for something good for himself but for something bad (losing the hand or busting out) to hapoen to someone else. Praying for your good fortune at the expense of someone else is I believe totally wrong and certainly not in the sprit of Christianity. It's why I don't like all the antics by some when someone wins a big pot or busts someone out. To me it's rubbing it in and the player that lost feels bad enough without the winner rubbing it in his face which is what excesive celebration is. Show some class and shut up.

(Tongue in cheek) Maybe we are all doing it wrong. Maybe Jerry Yang's win goes to show that none of us have been praying loud enough at the poker table. Maybe we should all start doing that. Could you imagine all 10 people at a poker table all praying loudly at the same time during an all-in showdown? "Please God Almighty, NO Aces! Give my Kings your strength, oh Lord!" "Please God above, I need a Jack or a Ten!!" "One more Club, one more Club. Please Lord, one more Club!!"

For the people who though Jamie Gold can't get worse: ha!