Bad pros

We all have our favourite players but I was wondering who If any of the well know pros do you think make questionable plays that almost have us thinking how the hell are these ppl pros

Ian mcdonough said:

We all have our favourite players but I was wondering who If any of the well know pros do you think make questionable plays that almost have us thinking how the hell are these ppl pros

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Well after my humble oppinion there are many pro players about whom i wondered how the hell they get there but in the end what matters is they are there and I'm not.

I had a high stakes dealer tell me most "pro" poker players are broke and self designated as pros.

mariuspoker1 said:

Well after my humble oppinion there are many pro players about whom i wondered how the hell they get there but in the end what matters is they are there and I'm not.

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Marius this is so true they are where lots of us wish we were but saying that I bet lots of the high stakes pros are under pressure to make a living probably being staked and not making a big profit

Phil Helmuth. I get back then. But anything semi-recent I have no idea how he ever makes money.

Many pros are backed and in debt or in deep make up. I’ve read many stories of degenerate behavior. There’s a reason there’s so many scammers and people not paying back loans etc. Clearly theses “pros” have issues. Some are good players but can’t keep life together.

playinggameswithu said:

I had a high stakes dealer tell me most "pro" poker players are broke and self designated as pros.

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Well that's interesting. I think I'll turn pro. Cool I'm a pro. Now, do I get to deduct my loses from my winnings on my taxes. Hmm What about my expenses? Seriously is that all you have to do is "designate" yourself as a pro?

PackinPat said:

Well that's interesting. I think I'll turn pro. Cool I'm a pro. Now, do I get to deduct my loses from my winnings on my taxes. Hmm What about my expenses? Seriously is that all you have to do is "designate" yourself as a pro?

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pay 15% self-employment tax in addition
Though realistically what I was saying is a "pro" player is usually just a self designation.

MikeCarasone said:

Many pros are backed and in debt or in deep make up. I’ve read many stories of degenerate behavior. There’s a reason there’s so many scammers and people not paying back loans etc. Clearly theses “pros” have issues. Some are good players but can’t keep life together.

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Point me to some degenerate stories, you piqued my interest.

Daniel Negreanu wrote a good piece about turning pro in a blog at cardplayer.com. It's not all glory it needs to be treated as a business and a job

Riomaa said:

Phil Helmuth. I get back then. But anything semi-recent I have no idea how he ever makes money.

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Apparently Helmuth is a nice guy and his antics are mostly reserved for the TV cameras.

The Floyd Mayweather of poker.

MikeCarasone said:

Many pros are backed and in debt or in deep make up. I’ve read many stories of degenerate behavior. There’s a reason there’s so many scammers and people not paying back loans etc. Clearly theses “pros” have issues. Some are good players but can’t keep life together.

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I have read articles where this seems to be true where pros are deep in debt to a backer. Definitely not as glamorous as it seems being a pro who struggles to make a living

How can we judge the lines of pros? Only if we are pros. So wait until the time comes.

panost said:

How can we judge the lines of pros? Only if we are pros. So wait until the time comes.

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I agree that while we are far from pro we can all recognise some of the bad plays that some players make even if it is the occasional bad move. Sometimes pros are willing to gamble it up which can be judged as a bad play while overall these players probably aren't as bad as some of videos that we have access to show

The original question was asking about bad play but I guess there are a number of other ways that pros can be bad including bad BM for one

Gus Hanson didn't look too good for a while. Negreanu played bad and was unlucky on high stakes poker years ago.

maras213 said:

Apparently Helmuth is a nice guy and his antics are mostly reserved for the TV cameras.

The Floyd Mayweather of poker.

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Uh, that's not an accurate analogy. Floyd is a woman beating p.o.s.
Hellmuth, from what I have read, is mostly just doing that for entertainment as you stated.
hes a good guy

Phil Hellmuth, the guy just waits and waits for big hands, then eventually gets sucked out on and busts. You have to take advantage of different spots this day and age and play hard even if you don't have a bid hand.

havealittlefaith said:

Phil Hellmuth, the guy just waits and waits for big hands, then eventually gets sucked out on and busts. You have to take advantage of different spots this day and age and play hard even if you don't have a bid hand.

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Hellmuth is obviously still a great player but I have always found his rants annoying but like someone said earlier it's all for the cameras

Does Aussie Matt count as a "pro?"

bigbird said:

Point me to some degenerate stories, you piqued my interest.

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https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/54/poker-beats-brags-variance/degen-stories-447948/

Some of these are cringe worthy others are too funny.

I think sometimes anyone can make a questionable play once in awhile...what you consider a questionable play might be a good gamble to another man...just how someone might want to play their game ya know

mariuspoker1 said:

Well after my humble oppinion there are many pro players about whom i wondered how the hell they get there but in the end what matters is they are there and I'm not.

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The way I see it poker broadcasts tend to only show the best and worst moves of any given player. For pros when they make what appears to be a bad move it gets exemplified out of proportion even though it is likely something they do a lot less than your typical player as everyone makes mistakes. For example Negreanu is my favorite to match and arguably one of the best but I have seen him make plenty of bad plays as well. In the long run if they are a pro those bad plays are likely far and in between...OR they have a trust fund

Ian mcdonough said:

We all have our favourite players but I was wondering who If any of the well know pros do you think make questionable plays that almost have us thinking how the hell are these ppl pros

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you do not understand that friend because those players have everything studied and are mostly strategies that would be impossible to apply in micro boundaries where there are so many recreasional players, that is why many of us are surprised to see these plays of the professionals