....but not on video poker. Just poker. I've been wondering about
this for some time now, and because of the bursting popularity with
WSOP, it piques my interest nearly every time I turn on the TV and
scan the guide.
The first most noticeable issue is the fact that, even though it's
likely that many of the jokers who play in the poker tournaments
smoke and they game is played in some of the most yellow-ceiling'd
joints in town, it's not allowed. Does that mean casinos are finally
coming to their senses, or does TV dictate the rules and casinos
remain a pit of bad habits in every sense of the word? I.e., where's
the common sense originating from?
The other part of my question is more directed at those who actually
have played poker in one form or another (I've heard Chris Moneymaker
got in the tournament last year by winning some on-line play-off of
some sort). I have only played in college all-night affairs where it
begins with 25c bets, after 6 or 7 12-paks the twenty's start getting
tossed onto the table, and then following several fistfights the game
abruptly ends as the sun rises. What is the fascination with some of
these guys being called 'stone-cold professionals' and why do the
announcers glorify one or two of them at a table as 'pros' consisting
also of three or four so called 'amateurs'? Is the word 'pro' merely
used to describe someone who has played in one of the tournaments
before, to describe someone who has WON one or more of these
tournaments in the past, or is there some other reason for the label?
As I watch them play 7-card over and over again (whenever I can put
up with all the commercial breaks and corny skits in-between) all I
see it being is nothing but a 100% pure game of luck. I clearly don't
see the characterization of ANY of them at any time as being "masters
of the game" or "skilled pros" or any of the other seemingly made-for-
TV glory monikers we have to constantly listen to. I mean, the entire
game is made up of the luck of the draw--especially when someone
goes 'all-in'. So a table of any amount of pros can easily be beaten
by a single first-time player if the cards fall his way when they all
start out with similar bankrolls, no? Obviously, no one's doing the
math to any degree that it's accurate enough to be of any value at
the table, especially with all the hole cards dealt. If you review
the background of many past winners you'll see some with no education
whatsoever and others who are truck drivers, etc. along with a mix of
those who can handle a calculator with ease. It seems always to boil
down to who gets the lucky card. Even the bluff bet appears to affect
the outcome very slightly, because when the player who very
occasionally does so is lucky enough to be successful, winning on the
bluff is seldom experienced by the same player repetitively since the
others rapidly are easily onto his pattern like a fly on Minnesota
doggie doo. Anyone got answers?