Poker Articles

When Adam came to me and asked me to write an article, I really wasn’t sure what to write about. I’m not that great at talking strategy, and although I’ve had a few successes live, I’m no Devin Porter. So I decided to make a few bold statements and elaborate on those.

My entire life I’ve always been extremely observant, and over the past couple of years, I’ve observed a lot about society and pop culture. I’ve seemed to pick up a knack for noticing trends. I was really into hip-hop and I told my friends that one day hip-hop and sports would be intertwined because they both targeted the same groups of people. Sure enough, a few months later, Sportscenter was marketing new hip-hop songs in a weekly clip called “the Ultimate Highlight.” Another example was after David Williams made his run in the 2004 WSOP, I predicted poker would open up the door for Magic. And sure enough, it has. Now just about every poker player knows about Magic, and some have even decided to give it a shot.

I’ll get it out right now and say that this WSOP is going to be the year of the online poker player. Everyone knows in 2003 Chris Moneymaker played in a $40 satellite and went on a super hot run to take home a cool $2.5 million. He really was the start of the online poker player boom, but I don’t even consider him an "online poker player." He definitely played a part in getting the snowball rolling though. 2004 was huge for online players, as Greg Raymer and David Williams catapulted themselves to 1st and 2nd place finishes. Even after their 1-2 finishes, online poker players still didn’t get respect. They were labeled “internet donkeys,” but I think it was more done out of fear than disrespect. With the “internet donkeys” playing four times as many hands as people who played mostly live, they were gaining quickly, and the poker pros were getting a little scared that they might one day be dethroned. Although I can’t back up that the pros will be dethroned, I do know that the online players will make their presence known.

Last year was huge for the online player.   Shaniac made an appearance at a WSOP final table in the 1000 rebuy event. And of course some guy named JohnnyBax won a bracelet the first time he ever played in a 7-card stud tourney. Then, the main event had plenty of online players who went pretty deep. The end of the WSOP was just the start for online players. The Takeover won a $500 on PokerStars for over $100k, and then two weeks later, he steamrolled the Foxwoods WPT for more than $2 million. Talk about a good month!

Nordberg got 7th in the same WPT as well, and Colson10 got 7th in the WPT at Reno. As I'm writing this article, Nordberg is in 2nd out of 10 at the final table of the WSOP New Orleans circuit event. (Editors Note: Nordberg, whose real name is Peter Feldman, went on to win that event for more than half a million dollars!) But the most impressive feat was by Devin Porter, who played in only two WPT events all year and final tabled BOTH of them. One was in Aruba for a 4th place finish, and the other at the Mirage for a 3rd place finish. Want me to go on? What about Ozzy at the PCA? Or MrSmokey at the Conquest?

With all these amazing finishes, the top online pros aren’t even close to finished. I think there’s a good shot that more than one online poker player will win a bracelet at this year's World Series. Whether it will be SamENole, Bax (well he doesn’t really need another one), or Ari, someone is going to have some killer finishes. I'd say at least 2 known online players will win bracelets, and dozens will break through to the final table. It's inevitable. The gap has has closed. Gone are the days of looking up to the pros in hopes of one day being like Doyle or Johnny. Most of the top ranked players fear no one, except for maybe Phil Ivey, but that's a given. They plan on making themselves into legends over the next few years. The pros who were once cocky about their edge on internet donkeys better humble their ego, or else they will find themselves on the rail all too often. With Ozzy, ActionJeff, Jordan Berkowitz, and plenty of others still underage, the stream of great online players isn't ending either. I'd say by 2008, the face of poker will have changed dramatically, with tons of online pros populating the poker landscape.

Well, this was fun writing my first article for PocketFives.com. For now, that's all. Just a heads up, but I'll be gone for the month of June. I decided to be a counselor at a sleep-away camp for a month. It's a well-needed break after not taking a break from poker for longer than a week in over two years. It will really get me in tune for the WSOP, and come July 1st, I'll be the freshest I've ever been, so you all better bring it :-) . Until then, peace.