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  1. #1
    Is it in you? hateraid's Avatar
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    Default Poker Players: Have ever played against a pro?

    I played a smaller tourney of 40 a few weeks ago. At this tourney there were 2 ranked WSOP players. One I sat at the starting table with. The other played at a different table. I got to say, I didn't find these players intimidating at all. In fact, they seemed a bit overrated. One got knocked out early. Which surprised me because she bought in twice and this was an open tournament with even novice players. The other managed to get to the final table and played me for first. You'd expect him too right? But he bought in 3 times throughout. I made the final but I never rebought the whole night. I ended up coming second but had a 3 card bad beat for this guy to win

    Bottom line, I didn't find him intimidating at all. In fact he often got bullied by weaker players. Which lends me to believe the majority of players on tour are no more dangerous than the loose cannon at every table. Anyone else have experience?

  2. #2
    Decent playground baller
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    Default Re: Poker Players: Have ever played against a pro?

    I'm sure I'd be stomped.

  3. #3
    Decent college freshman Vragrant's Avatar
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    Default Re: Poker Players: Have ever played against a pro?

    Well how good of a pro was he? Because there differing levels/tiers, to how good a pro is at anything. Remember Matthew Dellavedova is a pro in the NBA.

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    Default Re: Poker Players: Have ever played against a pro?

    Poker is a game of variance. No one is going to kill it every time they play, not even pros.

    Bottom line, you got to the final but lost vs the pro. The pro may have bought back in 3 times but he ultimately won. Did his prize payout make up for his 3 buy-ins?

    You could probably go pro if you wanted to. It just requires lots of travel and grinding.

  5. #5
    NBA sixth man of the year NugzFan's Avatar
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    Default Re: Poker Players: Have ever played against a pro?

    you cant tell anything from such a small sample

    I could sit down and bust a top pro. its poker

  6. #6
    Is it in you? hateraid's Avatar
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    Default Re: Poker Players: Have ever played against a pro?

    Quote Originally Posted by Nick Young
    Poker is a game of variance. No one is going to kill it every time they play, not even pros.

    Bottom line, you got to the final but lost vs the pro. The pro may have bought back in 3 times but he ultimately won. Did his prize payout make up for his 3 buy-ins?

    You could probably go pro if you wanted to. It just requires lots of travel and grinding.
    Buy in went towards the percentage if the pot.

    I don't find bankroll ing yourself to the finals a valiant performance. I'm sure he would have kept on going until he emptied his pockets.

    Point is it's not like in other sports/activities where "pro's" are distinctly better. The lady was ranked in the top 25 in the world apparently. But, yes he won. So I guess I shouldn't be criticizing. But moving forward I wouldn't be timid like everyone else that sits in these tourneys

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    Default Re: Poker Players: Have ever played against a pro?

    Quote Originally Posted by hateraid
    Buy in went towards the percentage if the pot.

    I don't find bankroll ing yourself to the finals a valiant performance. I'm sure he would have kept on going until he emptied his pockets.

    Point is it's not like in other sports/activities where "pro's" are distinctly better. The lady was ranked in the top 25 in the world apparently. But, yes he won. So I guess I shouldn't be criticizing. But moving forward I wouldn't be timid like everyone else that sits in these tourneys
    I don't know much about poker, only competitive magic cards (I'm a massive nerd), and if it's anything like that, if you have decent ability, aren't prone to tilting, grind a lot, and game the system as much as possible, you should be able to succeed.


    I would like to make it clear that I personally don't have anything wrong with people who game the system as much as possible IE the guy who had to buy in 3 times but ultimately won- but I can understand why a lot of people wouldn't be down for that.


    IMO if you want to be the very best, you have to do whatever it takes, including the gamey tactics of the people above you, but you can still be successful without being like that.

  8. #8
    Gov'n macmac's Avatar
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    Default Re: Poker Players: Have ever played against a pro?

    Quote Originally Posted by hateraid
    Buy in went towards the percentage if the pot.

    I don't find bankroll ing yourself to the finals a valiant performance. I'm sure he would have kept on going until he emptied his pockets.

    Point is it's not like in other sports/activities where "pro's" are distinctly better. The lady was ranked in the top 25 in the world apparently. But, yes he won. So I guess I shouldn't be criticizing. But moving forward I wouldn't be timid like everyone else that sits in these tourneys
    Lol unless the lady was Venessa Selbst she was definitely not ranked in the top 25, in fact there is no such ranking, it's not Tennis. There are rankings heavily weighed towards your recent tourney cashes and there are subjective lists but there is no official ranking.

    And poker is not a game of physical skills like a sport, or pure mental dominance like chess because there is a lot of variance, psychology, meta game on top of odds and game theory.

    The fact that these tourney pros didn't impress you means nothing because you dont actually know anything about poker so you wouldn't even know what to look for.

    However, many tourney grinders are kind of weak when it comes to their game despite their results, they often get whooped by random regulars at mid stakes cash games because their post flop game is so weak. Anyone can call themselves a pro if they're living off their earnings. Depends what kind of quality of lifestyle those earnings give you though

  9. #9
    Is it in you? hateraid's Avatar
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    Default Re: Poker Players: Have ever played against a pro?

    Quote Originally Posted by Nick Young
    I don't know much about poker, only competitive magic cards (I'm a massive nerd), and if it's anything like that, if you have decent ability, aren't prone to tilting, grind a lot, and game the system as much as possible, you should be able to succeed.


    I would like to make it clear that I personally don't have anything wrong with people who game the system as much as possible IE the guy who had to buy in 3 times but ultimately won- but I can understand why a lot of people wouldn't be down for that.


    IMO if you want to be the very best, you have to do whatever it takes, including the gamey tactics of the people above you, but you can still be successful without being like that.
    I have no problem with bankrolling your way to a win. I just don't think it makes you a "pro" player. You're not relying on skill. You're relying on the bankroll to bail you out. Having said that I would too if put in the position.

  10. #10
    Gov'n macmac's Avatar
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    Default Re: Poker Players: Have ever played against a pro?

    Quote Originally Posted by hateraid
    I have no problem with bankrolling your way to a win. I just don't think it makes you a "pro" player. You're not relying on skill. You're relying on the bankroll to bail you out. Having said that I would too if put in the position.
    Some tournaments allow you a certain time to re-enter (say 6 levels), some tourneys allow one re-buy, and some tournaments don't allow any rebuys. It depends what tournament you're playing, and then you're just playing by the rules of the tournament. If you don't like that format, then play a tournament without rebuys.

    That's definitely not what makes a pro a pro. there a lot More to poker than reentering tournaments until you win

  11. #11
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    Default Re: Poker Players: Have ever played against a pro?

    A shitty or average player can rebuy in 3 times and still lose and come away from the tournament with nothing. This pro dude won the tournament and ultimately profited.

  12. #12
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    Default Re: Poker Players: Have ever played against a pro?

    Quote Originally Posted by hateraid
    Buy in went towards the percentage if the pot.

    I don't find bankroll ing yourself to the finals a valiant performance. I'm sure he would have kept on going until he emptied his pockets.

    Point is it's not like in other sports/activities where "pro's" are distinctly better. The lady was ranked in the top 25 in the world apparently. But, yes he won. So I guess I shouldn't be criticizing. But moving forward I wouldn't be timid like everyone else that sits in these tourneys

    In tournament poker I think you're generally supposed to take big (calculated) risks early, and either build up an advantage or move onto the next tournament or re-buy. The odds of lasting all the way through while playing with a medium stack and passivity or mild aggression is pretty low. It can happen, but you need to get lucky, just like you would need to get lucky early in the round to get ahead. You want to play poker from a position of strength, but to get there you need luck. I believe it's slightly more efficient to take those chances early and either get a big stack, or bust and re-buy, or bust and go hit the slots. It's better to play for the win early, than to just try to hang around and get eliminated 14th out of 60. Obviously if you finished 2nd you've probably got good instincts along with the luck required. But technically the guy who bought back in a bunch was doing what he was supposed to be doing. It might not seem on the surface like that makes him a good poker player, but in fact it's kind of exactly what makes him a good poker player.

  13. #13
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    Default Re: Poker Players: Have ever played against a pro?

    I wonder how it's like for a pro player to play against a bunch of novices. Could it be more frustrating as the novices will do things that make no sense?

  14. #14
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    Default Re: Poker Players: Have ever played against a pro?

    Tournament and cash game styles are very different. Some pros are good at the former and suck at the latter. Some vice versa. Very few of them are good at both.

    The bottom line is that the best players know how to mix up the level of aggression they play at. It goes without saying that a good poker player keeps mental tabs on everyone at the table, especially if it comes to a river showdown. The more/most aggressive players tend generally do very well in tournament style poker. The "grinder" types at cash games generally don't do that well at tournament style poker.

    I regularly play cash games against some people who regularly play 1 to 5k buy in events on the WPT. What distinguishes a truly good player isn't being able to bluff people off their hands, it's being able to fold really good hands.
    Last edited by greymatter; 06-27-2016 at 10:24 PM.

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