Wednesday, September 15, 2004
It's Not Just for Pros Anymore
Last night, ESPN showed the 2004 World Series of Poker No Limit Hold'Em finals, the grandaddy of all poker events. For the third year in a row, an amateur won the WSOP.
Technically, after you win $5,000,000, you are not an amateur anymore, but these three champions entered the event as amateurs. The last two winners actually got into the WSOP by winning internet-based tournaments.
It is pretty fun to watch the so-called expert players get cleaned out by beginners. It is becoming obvious that the pros are tired of being embarrassed on TV. It is also obvious that luck and guts play a larger role than experience in poker.
In high school during a band trip in Tennessee, a student teacher approached a game I had started. I warned him several times not to join the game, but the insisted on playing. After I took every cent he had, he begged money from students for the rest of the trip just to eat. Maybe I need to go out to Vegas in 2005 and enter the WSOP.
Technically, after you win $5,000,000, you are not an amateur anymore, but these three champions entered the event as amateurs. The last two winners actually got into the WSOP by winning internet-based tournaments.
It is pretty fun to watch the so-called expert players get cleaned out by beginners. It is becoming obvious that the pros are tired of being embarrassed on TV. It is also obvious that luck and guts play a larger role than experience in poker.
In high school during a band trip in Tennessee, a student teacher approached a game I had started. I warned him several times not to join the game, but the insisted on playing. After I took every cent he had, he begged money from students for the rest of the trip just to eat. Maybe I need to go out to Vegas in 2005 and enter the WSOP.
