. . .But they love the money that the novices add to tournaments. Would Hellmuth, et al, really rather go back to the WSOP of 10-15 years ago, where they played the same pros each year, but the winnings were relative peanuts? If so, there's nothing stopping them from starting their own, exclusively pro tournament. But who can turn down the winnings of the main event?

Instead of berating players for bad moves, they should be happy that donks contribute to the purse they are trying to win. It is tremendously frustrating to lose to bad beats, but as others have pointed out, they are part of poker. A pro should shrug it off, and take the long view, confident that the donks, as a category of player, overall pay him far more than they take.

Cheers, Carl.