PokerPaul
06-25-2004, 01:23 PM
In no way do i know him personnaly, and this is not about seed specifically, but in general how some well known poker pros could hit hard times:
there are tons of poker players over the years who have come and gone on the circuit. Many of them average compared to the overall pro field, some of them good, very, very few of them elite players, and only a handful of truly legendary greats.
However, due to the luck factor in poker for a single tournament, any given tournament, any day, any half decent player can win it all.
As such, if your timing is good and you catch a HOT streak during one of the VERY big tourneys (WSOP, WPT, Sands million, etc.), you or any decent poker player can win that one.
And recently, this is exactly what has happened.
However, with the big tourneys, not only do you win huge $$$, you also get much publicity, and status as a great player in the poker community.
So where previously a player may have been a regular 3/6 or 5/10 limit player, or only paying $40 towards a SS for a big tourney entry, they get lucky at right time and find themself all of a sudden millions richer, and admired for their poker skills, whether truly deserved or not.
So now all of a sudden, you have ample $$$ to play with, have experienced the thrill and excitement that goes with winning a big one, even more so now that they are all being televised internationally, so even non-poker people recognize them.
So guess what, you actually start to think you are one of really good pros, probably better than most on the circuit. Problem is, your skill level compared to the pro field may still only be average or good, or even less.
Yet now with all the BR you just got, you start playing in all the big tourneys and pay the big entry fees, maybe even quit your dayjob....you won it before, surely it can happen again.
Problem is, while your $$$$ and reputation have certainly risen dramatically, your skill level likely has not. Sure winning a big tourney adds valuable experience but your skill has not increased as much and as fast as your new surroundings would suggest.
So next thing you know is that you spend the next few years gambling at levels your skill doesn't warrant, and surely the $$$ will start to melt away at that BR.
Now even when you realize that maybe you are playing over your head consistantly, how exciting is it to go back to 3/6, 5/10 etc fighting for $25 pots. Its definitely not, so you continue playing the higher limits, also because at this stage your starting to regret losing so much since the big win, and you want to make it back.
Next thing you know.....your looking for backers, and try to leverage your big win reputation into getting people to help you out for a piece of your action.
Just my 2 cents on how a few former 'big' poker pros may end up in these situations.
there are tons of poker players over the years who have come and gone on the circuit. Many of them average compared to the overall pro field, some of them good, very, very few of them elite players, and only a handful of truly legendary greats.
However, due to the luck factor in poker for a single tournament, any given tournament, any day, any half decent player can win it all.
As such, if your timing is good and you catch a HOT streak during one of the VERY big tourneys (WSOP, WPT, Sands million, etc.), you or any decent poker player can win that one.
And recently, this is exactly what has happened.
However, with the big tourneys, not only do you win huge $$$, you also get much publicity, and status as a great player in the poker community.
So where previously a player may have been a regular 3/6 or 5/10 limit player, or only paying $40 towards a SS for a big tourney entry, they get lucky at right time and find themself all of a sudden millions richer, and admired for their poker skills, whether truly deserved or not.
So now all of a sudden, you have ample $$$ to play with, have experienced the thrill and excitement that goes with winning a big one, even more so now that they are all being televised internationally, so even non-poker people recognize them.
So guess what, you actually start to think you are one of really good pros, probably better than most on the circuit. Problem is, your skill level compared to the pro field may still only be average or good, or even less.
Yet now with all the BR you just got, you start playing in all the big tourneys and pay the big entry fees, maybe even quit your dayjob....you won it before, surely it can happen again.
Problem is, while your $$$$ and reputation have certainly risen dramatically, your skill level likely has not. Sure winning a big tourney adds valuable experience but your skill has not increased as much and as fast as your new surroundings would suggest.
So next thing you know is that you spend the next few years gambling at levels your skill doesn't warrant, and surely the $$$ will start to melt away at that BR.
Now even when you realize that maybe you are playing over your head consistantly, how exciting is it to go back to 3/6, 5/10 etc fighting for $25 pots. Its definitely not, so you continue playing the higher limits, also because at this stage your starting to regret losing so much since the big win, and you want to make it back.
Next thing you know.....your looking for backers, and try to leverage your big win reputation into getting people to help you out for a piece of your action.
Just my 2 cents on how a few former 'big' poker pros may end up in these situations.