Another poker wunderkind [Archive] - Two Plus Two Older Archives

PoBoy321

03-11-2005, 02:17 AM

What is it about Magic? Wasn't there a thing during the WSOP about how a bunch of the young guys at the final table had been great Magic players before they started playing poker?

It seems like to be a great poker player, you need to be either a Magic, Backgammon, Chess or Gin Rummy prodigy.

iMsoLucky0

03-11-2005, 02:49 AM

Yup. David Williams and Mattias Anderson were both good (to great) Magic players. Jordan Berkowitz was one of the best in the world at the game though (winning a few Pro Tour Tournaments if my memory serves me right).

There are definitely alot of aspects that carry over from Magic to Poker, and I can definitely see how these players could be successful at poker.

In case you didn't pick up on it, I used to play Magic quite a bit too /images/graemlins/smile.gif

NLSoldier

03-11-2005, 07:07 AM

This guy's got nothing on my little brother. Granted my bro hasn't won nearly that much (yet) but hes only 15 and is doing very well online /images/graemlins/laugh.gif

lighterjobs

03-11-2005, 07:33 AM

[ QUOTE ]
This guy's got nothing on my little brother. Granted my bro hasn't won nearly that much (yet) but hes only 15 and is doing very well online /images/graemlins/laugh.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

what's his name and where does he play?

BarronVangorToth

03-11-2005, 08:58 AM

[ QUOTE ]
What is it about Magic? Wasn't there a thing during the WSOP about how a bunch of the young guys at the final table had been great Magic players before they started playing poker?

It seems like to be a great poker player, you need to be either a Magic, Backgammon, Chess or Gin Rummy prodigy.

[/ QUOTE ]

Skill sets that will make you a winning player at one game will translate well into other games. Developing those skills and honing them is something many people have done -- and without the risk of losing your proverbial shirt -- in many other strategic and/or tactical games.

I just have to figure out a way to convince people that playing WWE Raw Deal will help your poker game and then, woooo boy -- bigger royalty checks ahoy!

Barron Vangor Toth
www.BarronVangorToth.com (http://www.BarronVangorToth.com)

NJchick

03-11-2005, 01:45 PM

Here's part 2 from today

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=14127279&BRD=1675&PAG=461&dept_id= 18171&rfi=8

Sponger15SB

03-11-2005, 01:57 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Here's part 2 from today

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=14127279&BRD=1675&PAG=461&dept_id= 18171&rfi=8

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow what a loser!

I think I just found an addition to Diablo's "what poster would you most like to go bust and their lives turn to complete crap" thread in OOT

NJchick

03-11-2005, 02:06 PM

Why anyone would want to go to great lengths to self promote themsevles like this F*** Tool is beyond me. I see him going broke, being disowned by is parents and basically stringing himself up in the shower in the future.

NJC

AlienCorpse

03-11-2005, 02:58 PM

"I wouldn't bet against him, Would you?"

Yes and give you good odds to.

J.A.Sucker

03-11-2005, 03:06 PM

Just another guy who will go broke eventually. It's hardly compelling to me anymore.

johnfromvirginia

03-11-2005, 04:45 PM

[ QUOTE ]
"A gut-shot jack for the straight," he says. "He knows what he did. He knows." Like he ought to be embarrassed. "I had him drawing almost dead. 11.5 to 1."

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm no expert, but isn't a 4-outer a 1 in 11.5 or "10.5 to 1." Maybe this kid dropped out of school a little early.

URMeowed

03-11-2005, 05:05 PM

I disagree. This kid comes from a strategy based card game, Magic the Gathering. It seems like these kids not only can process the complex situations that arise in poker quite easily, they are very discliplined so tilt usually isn't a factor. It's kind of like the few blackjack card counters I've met while playing online poker. Both seem to smart and discliplined, two good attributes to have in poker.

Now if it was a run of the mill kid that ran up a huge BR, I would agree that he will be shark food for many years to come.

Meow.

slickpoppa

03-11-2005, 05:17 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Here's part 2 from today

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=14127279&BRD=1675&PAG=461&dept_id= 18171&rfi=8

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow what a loser!

I think I just found an addition to Diablo's "what poster would you most like to go bust and their lives turn to complete crap" thread in OOT

[/ QUOTE ]

His name is Berkowitz. He must be just another niggardly jew.

Sponger15SB

03-11-2005, 05:19 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Here's part 2 from today

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=14127279&BRD=1675&PAG=461&dept_id= 18171&rfi=8

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow what a loser!

I think I just found an addition to Diablo's "what poster would you most like to go bust and their lives turn to complete crap" thread in OOT

[/ QUOTE ]

His name is Berkowitz. He must be just another niggardly jew.

[/ QUOTE ]

I doubt a niggardly jew would drop $40,000 on a car before he got his license.

Greg (FossilMan)

03-11-2005, 05:50 PM

Even if this kid has tons of talent (which I'm not saying he has or doesn't have), I don't like his long-term chances in the poker world. His ego and his lack of understanding of money virtually guarantee that he's going to go broke repeatedly. And I don't like his chances of having the emotional control or maturity to overcome those setbacks.

Of course, this is all based upon what the reporter wrote. And as I have learned, what they write doesn't always correlate that well with reality.

Later, Greg Raymer (FossilMan)

Beerfund

03-11-2005, 07:45 PM

His pokerstars name is PagonaB if anyone gives a shyt.

Blackjack

03-11-2005, 10:00 PM

This is from some magazine.. Wired? I saw it awhile ago

Blackjack

03-11-2005, 10:02 PM

I sense so much jealously and hate in this thread. Seriously.. yes he spends way too much but immense skill can make up for that. Just because he's not 2+2 everyone jumps the hatred bandwagon

BTW.. he kinda looks like Zeejustin

ClaytonN

03-12-2005, 02:29 AM

He's a self-absorbed punk. Having no correlation with 2+2 has nothing to do with it

Daliman

03-12-2005, 04:29 AM

[ QUOTE ]
This is from some magazine.. Wired? I saw it awhile ago

[/ QUOTE ]

Sync Magazine. Methinks a fair amount is crap though. 200k is nothing for someone who is supposed to be "the best player on the internet". It also said I believe that he took down a 78k pot or so, which, unless he plays at UB, i think would be impossible anywhere else. I don;t think there has ever even BEEN a pot bigger than 62K on UB, but I could be wrong about that.

Anyways, in the second article he says he has played 300-600, which would require about a 200K roll to play SOMEWHAT safely...which he doesn't have. It also seems he plays SNG's too. I'd love to know if he plays on party.

Daliman

03-12-2005, 04:31 AM

ZeeJustin

03-12-2005, 08:15 AM

Jordan Berkowitz is no poker prodigy. He is in debt a great deal of money to a lot of people. He went on a hot tournament run, and got very lucky. He is the type of guy that has a huge chance of going broke over and over through his career.

Don't get me wrong, he's *good* at card games, and maybe he'll be great at poker one day, but he certainly isn't anything special now. He certainly was FAR better at magic than he is at poker.

Edit: In case it wasn't already clear, I knew Jordan very well through magic. He lived 2 hours away from me, so I saw him at tournaments all the time.

CCx

03-12-2005, 09:53 AM

"Jordan says he never had much regard for a dollar."

Cant wait til the kid goes broke. Of course it'll hurt less because mommy and daddy have money, but hopefully they cut him off too and he has to dig ditches to earn money.

Boltsfan1992

03-12-2005, 11:03 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Here's part 2 from today

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=14127279&BRD=1675&PAG=461&dept_id= 18171&rfi=8

[/ QUOTE ]

What really disturbs me the most is not his lack of financial acumen, his ability to figure odds (it's just a point...is it that big of a difference /images/graemlins/smile.gif), or the fact he's so young...

What disturbs me is his total lack of respect for his opponents. I think a player is in real danger when the guy he sits across from does not get some modicum of respect because that one player could be the one who breaks him - and that player could be a total novice. I don't really much care what background the player has, but I what I do know is that this game is humbling. We all think we can win (why do we play, anyway?), but this player's ego is SO out of check that I think he will eventually tilt away his money. If he pulled himself to a moderate view of the players he plays against, he might survive longer. Chances are, from this article's perspective, he won't.

I don't know - I run into many kids his age that are so full of themselves; they don't have a healthy perspective of who they are, and think they are greater than what reality shows them. There are worse players out there, however, there will always be someone better - hopefully someday he will recognize that fact.

PB

Sponger15SB

03-12-2005, 01:12 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Don't get me wrong, he's *good* at card games, and maybe he'll be great at poker one day, but he certainly isn't anything special now. He certainly was FAR better at magic than he is at poker.

[/ QUOTE ]

He has played a million hands of poker (well, at least he claims) and maybe one day he will be good at poker.

hahaha

awsome.

Dan Mezick

03-12-2005, 01:51 PM

what would be interesting to learn is, is he a 2+2er? what of his poker education generally? is he a natural with no clue about 2+2 et al ??

why do you think this guy has no friends, because of his unique money++ situation, or for some other reason?

i would bet this kid is a poker-playing INTJ personality type (http://www.pokercoaching.com/poker_coach_resources_article003.asp) ...if so, he definitely does not need people around him.

Which might explain how he can play poker for 60 hours at a stretch.

ZeeJustin

03-12-2005, 03:57 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Cant wait til the kid goes broke

[/ QUOTE ]

Maybe you didn't read my post carefully. Not only is he broke, but his in debt. I'm not talking about chump change either.

CCx

03-12-2005, 04:38 PM

Sorry, didn't read your post before I posted my reply - had just woke up /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

ShawnHoo

03-12-2005, 05:11 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Cant wait til the kid goes broke

[/ QUOTE ]

Maybe you didn't read my post carefully. Not only is he broke, but his in debt. I'm not talking about chump change either.

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you talking $10 or $20K, or do you mean "Michael Jackson" levels of debt?

slickpoppa

03-12-2005, 05:31 PM

it sounds like the debt is actually his parents'. what idiots.

johnfromvirginia

03-12-2005, 05:50 PM

I think if I even suggested to my father that I was dropping out of school to play cards and that I needed his credit card so I could fuel my NetTeller account he'd beat me to within an inch of my life... I can't even imagine my mother's reaction to such a request. What planet was this kid raised on?

jedi

03-15-2005, 05:16 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I sense so much jealously and hate in this thread. Seriously.. yes he spends way too much but immense skill can make up for that. Just because he's not 2+2 everyone jumps the hatred bandwagon

[/ QUOTE ]

What's to like about this kid based on the articles? He drops out of school, starts out playing 20/40 after "learning the ropes," has no concept for a dollar, has complete disrespect for his opponents, and can't even manage a bankroll properly.

This kid needs to work at McDonalds for a week.

GreywolfNYC

03-15-2005, 05:43 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I sense so much jealously and hate in this thread. Seriously.. yes he spends way too much but immense skill can make up for that. Just because he's not 2+2 everyone jumps the hatred bandwagon

[/ QUOTE ]

What's to like about this kid based on the articles? He drops out of school, starts out playing 20/40 after "learning the ropes," has no concept for a dollar, has complete disrespect for his opponents, and can't even manage a bankroll properly.

This kid needs to work at McDonalds for a week.

[/ QUOTE ]

Don't worry. He'll be working there eventually.

Zoelef

03-16-2005, 08:23 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Here's part 2 from today

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=14127279&BRD=1675&PAG=461&dept_id= 18171&rfi=8

[/ QUOTE ]

Am I the only person who is reminded of the "internet poker whiz" from Tilt? Just saying...

pfkaok

03-20-2005, 09:54 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Am I the only person who is reminded of the "internet poker whiz" from Tilt? Just saying...

[/ QUOTE ]

If I was the writers of Tilt, and had seen this article, I'm pretty sure I would have written that whiz kid character exactly as they did.

cianosheehan

03-20-2005, 10:54 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I run into many kids his age that are so full of themselves; they don't have a healthy perspective of who they are, and think they are greater than what reality shows them. There are worse players out there, however, there will always be someone better - hopefully someday he will recognize that fact.

[/ QUOTE ]

Wouldnt that be any kid, anywhere? Guys remember, he is only young. You cannot EXPECT him to have solid mature traits JUST because he is portrayed as a great poker player? I'm sure Beethoven still wet the bed after composing a couple of tunes /images/graemlins/grin.gif .

Give the guy a chance, if he busts out via tiltland or lack-of-good-luck, well there you go. But dont jump to conclusions about a person based on a short news report.

pfkaok

03-20-2005, 11:23 PM

[ QUOTE ]
You cannot EXPECT him to have solid mature traits JUST because he is portrayed as a great poker player?

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, part of being a great poker player is good bankroll management. Also having at least some respect for your opponents, esp at higher levels is necessary for being able to be a top player.

cianosheehan

03-21-2005, 07:37 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Well, part of being a great poker player is good bankroll management. Also having at least some respect for your opponents, esp at higher levels is necessary for being able to be a top player.

[/ QUOTE ]

You dont have to have good bankroll management to be a good poker player. Having good bankroll management is part of how to be a good long term winner. Its got nothing to do with your skill in the game.