"Phil Ivey is the Tiger Woods of Poker"

[fat_nutz]

So I'm watching a WPT rerun (I think) recently when the ubiqitous "Phil Ivey is the Tiger Woods of poker" comment arose during an interview with Ivey himself, and Ivey explained that he thinks he attained that title because he shares some of the same traits as Tiger (aggressiveness, early success, etc.)...

Somehow, he (and all other commentators I've ever heard) have left out the true, one and only reason why he's called the TWOP... he physically resembles Tiger, especially because he's young and black! I feel like Mugatu at the end of Zoolander, where he's the only one who realizes Magnum, Blue Steel, and the rest are all the same look. Does anyone else think it's hilarious that this truth is staring everyone RIGHT in the face but no commentator will acknowledge it presumably for fear of being branded a racist?! Scores mighty high on the unintentional comedy scale...

[Bill Murphy]

This topic was done to death on RGP. Google for it.

[ArchAngel71857]

Am I taking crazy pills? I invented keyboard necktie!

-AA

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

he physically resembles Tiger, especially because he's young and black!

I doubt if Phil, like Tiger, is actually Thai.

[Duke]

Nah Phil just has this look like he could care less, and Tiger looks like he's crying half the time, but not as bad as Tim Duncan who looks like he's crying all the time.

I think it's because of the black thing, and the young thing, and the better than pretty much everyone else thing all rolled together.

Tiger woods has way more money than Phil, though, as far as I can tell. You'd have to run pretty damn well at poker for a long time to make 500M or whatever Tiger has.

Since we're comparing cards and golf, I wonder if you gave Tiger a 7 iron and gave Ferguson a deck of cards who'd win in a fight? Think Jesus could cut Tiger in half like he did those bananas on TV? Sounds like one of those claymation MTV fight things.

~D

[CCass]

If there is an IQ test involved, my money is on Ferguson!

[ArchAngel71857]

Yes, I do think Jesus can. I don't think Ferguson could do it.


-AA

[Greg (FossilMan)]

My wife was watching me play during day 1 of the WPT event at Foxwoods. Phil Ivey was at a nearby table, which had a big crowd around it. A couple of the spectators wandered over by my table, and were telling the people that "Tiger Woods is playing at that other table."

As far as we could tell, they just thought he LOOKED like Tiger Woods. They had no idea who he was, or if he was any good, or anything like that.

I just found it amusing.

Later, Greg Raymer (FossilMan)

[Yeknom58]

Tiger and phil look like eachother. They both have big eyes and puffy cheeks. What does tiger being thai have to do with anything, he sure as hell don't look thai.

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

What does tiger being thai have to do with anything

When Tiger was a rookie on the tour he more than once lashed out at reporters who referred to him as a "blak golfer." His angry retort was always, "I'm not black, I'm Asian." Tiger himself would probably bristle at the comparison, which is solely race-based. Phil Ivey does not dominate poker as Tiger dominates golf.

Jesse Jackson had a sit-down with him and that response stopped.

he sure as hell don't look thai.

Really? Look closely at his face, particularly his eyes.

[Duke]

Ferguson is surely more edumacated, but I wouldn't even start to make assumptions about any top players' intelligence.

Or was this meant as a joke given all the complaints about IQ tests and SAT's being culturally biased?

~D

[Nottom]

Not to take anything away from Chris, but Phil is supposed to be a pretty bright guy as well.

[CCass]

No social commentary was intended. I was merely trying to compare the fact that Ferguson has a PHD in Mathematics / Computer Science to the fact that Tiger was "only" educated at Stanford.

[Zele]

You don't hear that, do you?

Yes, I have also found the unintentional comedy to be very amusing. It's nice when everybody can have a good laugh at America's national obsession.