RammerJammer
Visionary
Silver Level
I am forever amused by the cult following amassed by the current gurus of poker as paraded across today's television screens and around the internet. Anybody who ever won a tournament, or got their mug on ESPN, has a website, endorsement contracts, book deals, appearance fees, et al. Their followers will defend to the last gasp, with great passion, their hero's espoused poker philosophy as if that pro gave birth to the game itself. Book passages are quoted, mathematical theorums are haggled, hand histories are broken down for every possible nuance, real or imagined. Forums are filled with, "Sklansky says..." or "But Howard did this..." and "Phil would never...".
Are these guys fantastic poker players? Sure. Are some of them worthy of being included in the list of "greatest ever"? Probably. Do any of them have it all figured out? Absolutely not. Because no one does. So when I observe a heated sparring match between advocates of two differing poker styles, I have to chuckle. Each acolyte is so completely convinced that they are enlightened and their opponent is still wandering in the dark. And neither one of them gets it.
There is no right or wrong. There is no better or best. poker hands are like fingerprints. Each one is subtly different. Different cards, different players, different positions, different stack sizes, different environments, different physical & mental stressors. Poker cannot be broken down on a slide rule or figured out on a calculator. The stone tablets containing winning hand percentages are stymied every minute of every day on some table, somewhere. What worked today may not work tomorrow. What failed miserably last session may take down the pot of a lifetime in the next.
Read, study, observe, absorb various techniques and approaches to the game, dig into the numbers, delve into the psychology of it all. But never think that the game itself can truly be "figured out" or packaged in the latest set of DVD instructionals for $19.99. So, whenever you feel your blood pressure rising because someone tells you that you "didn't play it right", and you're equally convinced that he is the biggest idiot to ever pick up a chip, stop and listen.
That sound you hear is Poker...laughing.
Are these guys fantastic poker players? Sure. Are some of them worthy of being included in the list of "greatest ever"? Probably. Do any of them have it all figured out? Absolutely not. Because no one does. So when I observe a heated sparring match between advocates of two differing poker styles, I have to chuckle. Each acolyte is so completely convinced that they are enlightened and their opponent is still wandering in the dark. And neither one of them gets it.
There is no right or wrong. There is no better or best. poker hands are like fingerprints. Each one is subtly different. Different cards, different players, different positions, different stack sizes, different environments, different physical & mental stressors. Poker cannot be broken down on a slide rule or figured out on a calculator. The stone tablets containing winning hand percentages are stymied every minute of every day on some table, somewhere. What worked today may not work tomorrow. What failed miserably last session may take down the pot of a lifetime in the next.
Read, study, observe, absorb various techniques and approaches to the game, dig into the numbers, delve into the psychology of it all. But never think that the game itself can truly be "figured out" or packaged in the latest set of DVD instructionals for $19.99. So, whenever you feel your blood pressure rising because someone tells you that you "didn't play it right", and you're equally convinced that he is the biggest idiot to ever pick up a chip, stop and listen.
That sound you hear is Poker...laughing.
