It is very interesting. As an intellectual challenge, poker is to bridge as checkers is to chess (ok maybe that's an exaggeration, but you get the point). Yet there are still not all that many truly good poker players. Strange.

Must have a lot to do with the emotional aspects of gambling. Many highly intelligent people - including many excellent bridge players - just can't embrace the whole part about gambling. Emotional ups and downs associated with gambling causes brain to "short circuit" in some people.

But I do agree. When you get right down to the mathematics of it, and the tools you can employ to get accurate reads on your opponents, it really does make me scratch my head sometimes... Seems like it should be just too easy... So why isn't it??? Maybe it actually is... Most smart people who could be expert poker players just don't realize the opportunity is out there, or as I said before, gambling just doesn't interest them or suit their personality. You do have to be reasonably smart AND have a personality suited to successful gambling. Maybe it's this combination that makes it rarer. Because with online play, you really don't even need any "people skills" at all. You can employ readily availble software tools to get your reads on your opponents... To me, this is the mind blowing part. Used to be, poker playing required real talent in this area. Nowadays, all you need is pokertracker...