[pokernicus]

[ QUOTE ]
I would wager that all the players you are thinking of are part of a poker community. I am sure they discuss hands with other poker players on a regular basis.

[/ QUOTE ]

A couple of examples have already come up in this thread. Here's another one from an interview with Daniel Negreanu:

[ QUOTE ]

Daniel: I thought it was funny. I saw “The Crew” on TV saying that they were going to take over the poker world. And I said, you know what? Before you guys decide you want to take over the poker world, you better check with my crew. When I grew up in my 20s, it was me, John Juanda, Phil Ivey, and Allen Cunningham. I thought, before you all want to take over the poker world, you might want to check with us first.


[/ QUOTE ]

I mention this because Phil Ivey's name came up earlier in the thread as one of the naturals who didn't read poker books. Maybe he didn't read so much, but he definitely had people to discuss hands with (and I'm sure some of them read books...)