[CrisBrown]

Hi betgo,

An interesting (perhaps) corollary question: when will the next (true) "Tiger Woods" figure appear in poker, and is it even possible?

I'm not talking about Phil Ivey (who is commonly referred to as the Tiger Woods of poker). I'm talking about a player who will raise the bar of performance in such a way that: (a) he'll win a bunch of tournaments at first; and, (b) everyone else will be forced to adjust their games to compete.

In the 1980s and early 90s, commentators were saying there would never be another Hogan-Palmer-Nicklaus sort of dominant player, because the fields were bigger and the average skill level in the field had risen. Greg Norman and a handful of others won often, but on any given week, in the PGA Tour, just about any of the players could win.

Then along came Tiger Woods. He not only had the mechanics but also the athleticism to raise the bar for golf. He hit the ball farther, straighter, and more accurately than just about anyone else on tour, and for several years all of the other pros were having to play catch-up. They had to go to the weight room, develop their athleticism, and fit it into their overall games in order to compete. Now many of them have, and while Tiger is still very good, he's not going to win as often as he did, simply because the rest of the field has caught up and can compete again.

Is it possible for a "Tiger Woods" like figure to emerge in poker? What additional skills/abilities -- over and above those the top tournament pros already typically possess -- would such a player need in order to dominate and force everyone else to adjust their games in order to compete? Or is the nature of poker so inherently different from golf that this is not possible?

Cris