Re: \"They\'d be drawing dead.\" Barry G on tournament pros...
 

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[/ QUOTE ] At the risk of semi-hijacking your thread, I think it's worth noting that Steve Rosenbloom, who wrote this article, is clearly the best poker journalist working today. Indeed he might be the ONLY poker journalist working today. His story several weeks back about sponsored logos was also interesting.

...And no, I'm not related to the author


Rosenbloom is a great writer. He used to write a hilarious column for the Chicago Tribune sports section. He does some poker stuff for them, but it doesn't let him be creative as they used to.

Re: \"They\'d be drawing dead.\" Barry G on tournament pros...
 

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Well, how could a minor player like me, ever question a player like Barry? I probably can't even discuss his play without embarrasing myself. He's probably right.

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nh. Its a world no one in this forum can really understand, so most opinions on the truth behind this article are pretty much just wild guesses.

I do think his point about TV pros making money off DVDs and other crap is wrong. I think even if a pro can make millions in the biggest cash games it is always smart to put your name on a good product(something that would sell) and make extra income. Barry makes it seem like he never could run bad for a year and lose all those millions. When Hellmuth puts his name on every piece of stupid crap he endorses he is being a smart business man. Why grind it out when you could make a decent amount of money from DVDs, books, or endorsing a website(i.e. UB, FT)? Barry isnt making much sense when he says TV pros are wasting their time with these side projects. He also contradicts himself because Chau and Chip are the only two of the five people he mentions who dont have some sort of side project.

Re: \"They\'d be drawing dead.\" Barry G on tournament pros...
 

Very interesting.

Just ranting at a friend today over lunch that so much of poker nowadays is all about image.

People (kids) see these tournament players on TV, and figure, yeah, I want to be a bad azz dood like that, lookin' all cool with my shades and poker outfit.

And thus, poker comes to be redefined as meaning only "Hold 'Em" in the public eye, and we're innundated by "specialist" players, which means kids who think that Hold 'Em is the only form of poker, and who are a lot more interested in obtaining the image of looking like a cool bad azz poker dood on TV than actually learning the game.

Not that this deprives any real poker player of an opportunity to make money, but in general, I think the trend is pretty laughable.

Re: \"They\'d be drawing dead.\" Barry G on tournament pros...
 

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Apologies...

Here is the logo article I mentioned:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/poker...amp;id=2036285

You should also check out his poker columns at the Chicago Tribune:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/search...target=article

My real point is that what passes for "poker journalism" is usually breathless recounting of tourney play (AJ Shulman in CP) or shameless reprinting of PR Materials (Sexton in CP). Rosenbloom is doing what reporters should do: identifying interesting issues and exploring them.

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I agree that this guy is the best poker journalist.Thanks for the link. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Re: \"They\'d be drawing dead.\" Barry G on tournament pros...
 

So if I were to start talking about how terrible I thought all the other players were in the games I play and that I'm making tons of money off them and they were losing players, you guys would all tell me to shut the [censored] up.

Of course when Barry does it he is so cool.

I have no idea why he'd want to come out and tell everyone that if they play with him they are going to lose.

Re: \"They\'d be drawing dead.\" Barry G on tournament pros...
 

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I do think his point about TV pros making money off DVDs and other crap is wrong. I think even if a pro can make millions in the biggest cash games it is always smart to put your name on a good product(something that would sell) and make extra income.

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I don't think it is the extra income he is opposed to. I think it is the cost of time spent. Why spend 25% of the year earning $250,000 doing one thing when you could be doing a much more enjoyable thing and earning $500,000 with that time?

Re: \"They\'d be drawing dead.\" Barry G on tournament pros...
 

Totally irrelevant analogy. The bloated egos at his level are impervious to such insults. Plus, if you want to play that high, there are few alternatives other than Barry's game.

P.S. PM me with the time and place that you play with all these losers [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Re: \"They\'d be drawing dead.\" Barry G on tournament pros...
 

First, I must say how nice it is to read a civilized thread.
Barry is "grumpy" for good reasons. To say the guy has payed his "dues" would be an understatement. Naturally the "old lions" would be disturbed by all the attention given the "young tigers". If you check out Barry's website, you can see he really is a pretty cool dude. The hyperbole in poker is running pretty high right now. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Re: \"They\'d be drawing dead.\" Barry G on tournament pros...
 

Thanks OP for the link.

I think it's absolutely fantastic whenever barryg1 speaks his mind, because you know his opinions are honest and come first hand from a player that has BEEN there.

There is something about his overall demeanor and attitude that really cuts through all the bullcrap and gets down to what is real. Of all the pro players, I would have to respect barryg1 the most.

I really am anticipating his book, and hopefully his autobiography.

Re: \"They\'d be drawing dead.\" Barry G on tournament pros...
 

I don't know if I'll buy his book.

Maybe I'll wait for his personalized poker chip sets to come out. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Seriously, I do like barryg. Seems like a straight up guy, and I enjoyed reading that article.