egthareal
07-16-2005, 12:13 AM
STAY IN SCHOOL OR BE A POKER PLAYER!
For years now grownups are always the first to pull a child aside and give him that brilliant advice, about staying in school and getting yourself a degree. Hey let’s face it, in the grand scheme of things, the percentages say that you will always be better off if you have that education to fall back on right? I mean we all want to live that mundane lifestyle, with the wife, three kids, two pets, house, mortgage and the same job for thirty five years.
Well had you had the opportunity to interview any of the 6,000 participants at the World Series of Poker this past week, you probably would have heard that plenty of these men and woman, chucked their chance at a degree in favor of the poker circuit. As of today that 6,000 has now been whittled down to nine and all of these players, have it they are not already, become instant millionaires.
The world parity is talked about constantly in the world of professional sports, as football, baseball, basketball and hockey, are always searching for ways to give every team an opportunity to win. In these sports they have draft lotteries every year and the worst teams are offered a shot at the best young players, in hopes that the losing club can be transformed into a winning franchise over night.
The professional poker league has the model for parity as a look at the nine finalists, will reveal not one past winner of this great event.
The final table will consist of:
Joe Hashem
Andy Black
Tex Barch
Daniel Bergsdorf
Mike Matusow
Aaron Kanter
Brad Koudrachi
Steve Dannenmann
Just when I was starting to get a handle on all the marquee players, these nine have to come along and force me to search for background material on them. Gone from the tournament are Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer, Phil Ivey and of course Canadian Daniel Negreanu, all who have become instant celebrities in North America.
For years now the word college dropout referred to a uninspired, lazy person, but in the case of 25-year old David Williams it means millionaire. The native Texan dropped out of Southern Methodist University just two semesters shy of a degree in economics, with a minor in math. He must be a real loser right? Wrong, the last two years have netted him $4 million on the circuit. How about Tuan Lee the son of Vietnamese immigrants, who dropped out of college before the first semester, ended.
The 26-year-old, who has won more than $4 million on the tour, was in his first semester at Cal State Northridge when he began playing poker in the student union between classes. He almost always dominated the players, who included his economics professor. One evening at the Hustler Casino in Gardena, Le staked his student loans and financial aid. He lost big time. But he quit school and kept on playing, sometimes as much as 70 hours a week.
You know come to think of it, maybe playing cards with Lee, was the best education that economics professor ever gave Lee!
For years now grownups are always the first to pull a child aside and give him that brilliant advice, about staying in school and getting yourself a degree. Hey let’s face it, in the grand scheme of things, the percentages say that you will always be better off if you have that education to fall back on right? I mean we all want to live that mundane lifestyle, with the wife, three kids, two pets, house, mortgage and the same job for thirty five years.
Well had you had the opportunity to interview any of the 6,000 participants at the World Series of Poker this past week, you probably would have heard that plenty of these men and woman, chucked their chance at a degree in favor of the poker circuit. As of today that 6,000 has now been whittled down to nine and all of these players, have it they are not already, become instant millionaires.
The world parity is talked about constantly in the world of professional sports, as football, baseball, basketball and hockey, are always searching for ways to give every team an opportunity to win. In these sports they have draft lotteries every year and the worst teams are offered a shot at the best young players, in hopes that the losing club can be transformed into a winning franchise over night.
The professional poker league has the model for parity as a look at the nine finalists, will reveal not one past winner of this great event.
The final table will consist of:
Joe Hashem
Andy Black
Tex Barch
Daniel Bergsdorf
Mike Matusow
Aaron Kanter
Brad Koudrachi
Steve Dannenmann
Just when I was starting to get a handle on all the marquee players, these nine have to come along and force me to search for background material on them. Gone from the tournament are Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer, Phil Ivey and of course Canadian Daniel Negreanu, all who have become instant celebrities in North America.
For years now the word college dropout referred to a uninspired, lazy person, but in the case of 25-year old David Williams it means millionaire. The native Texan dropped out of Southern Methodist University just two semesters shy of a degree in economics, with a minor in math. He must be a real loser right? Wrong, the last two years have netted him $4 million on the circuit. How about Tuan Lee the son of Vietnamese immigrants, who dropped out of college before the first semester, ended.
The 26-year-old, who has won more than $4 million on the tour, was in his first semester at Cal State Northridge when he began playing poker in the student union between classes. He almost always dominated the players, who included his economics professor. One evening at the Hustler Casino in Gardena, Le staked his student loans and financial aid. He lost big time. But he quit school and kept on playing, sometimes as much as 70 hours a week.
You know come to think of it, maybe playing cards with Lee, was the best education that economics professor ever gave Lee!