Ever since the dawn of online poker, there has been friction between the online and live poker camps about the relative ability of the players in each. One poker TV show capitalized on this with a “Nets vs. Vets” episode. More recently, the run-up to this year’s WSOP was marred with an unfortunate Twitter-driven dust-up between two people who are arguably the poster children for the vets and nets respectively: Doyle Brunson and Annette Obrestad. But in all honesty, it was only a matter of time before the online kids began to make their presence known. Live poker is certainly a different beast than its online cousin and it takes some time to adapt to the differences. Many of the younger players have now made it through that adaptation and are fully vetted live players.

In fact, some of them apparently didn’t need much of an on-ramp for live poker. Consider the $25K buy-in six-max no-limit hold’em event at the WSOP. This tournament could easily be considered the ultimate test of No-Limit Hold’em expertise – there was nary a soft spot in the field. Nobody was going to give away his or her starting stack (as will happen on occasion in the Main Event); you had to pry every chip out of very capable hands. And yet when the dust cleared, the last man standing was djk123 Dan Kelly (pictured), playing in his first WSOP because, well, it was the first year he was old enough to set foot in a Las Vegas casino. This was Dan’s fourth cash in his inaugural WSOP; so much for his need to find his feet in live play.

Even Hoyt Corkins, whose cowboy hat and sunglasses make him one of the most recognizable vets, is getting lessons from the nets. He told me, “I’m learning from the kids – I pick up new moves from them all the time.”

Doyle Brunson himself has been quick to acknowledge Kelly’s accomplishment; Kelly was wearing Doyle’s Room gear as part of a contest to see who could join the “Brunson 10”. We’ll assume that he passed that test with flying colors. It was heartening to see the grandfather of modern poker give props to a kid who could be his grandson – maybe everybody will now understand that the kids are all right.

Of course, as time goes on, this whole “net versus vet” issue will go away. Virtually every serious poker player coming onto the scene now has gotten his start online. Those who don’t will be at a distinct disadvantage; consider that Dan Kelly and his kind had literally millions of hands under their belts before they first sat down at the beef jerky-sponsored green felts of the WSOP. A player who doesn’t avail himself of the online discussions (for theory) and online play (for experience) before stepping into the ring at any major tournament will be at a crippling disadvantage; poker is unforgiving of such disparities. A few years from now, the Vets will be the Nets. The silly discussion will be over.

Until then, though, the younger generation may have to tolerate a certain amount of anonymity unless they get their Warholian 15 minutes on ESPN. During the aforementioned $25K event, I was prowling the tables looking for stories and photos – the opportunities abounded. I was standing just inside the rail when I noticed a wide-eyed couple near me. They were clutching WSOP programs and reminded me, of well, me, when I was 11 years old and went to my first major league baseball game. They were awed by the seas of tables, the buzz of chips, and mountains of money. Scanning the tables near the stanchions, they looked for faces they recognized from TV. Then they saw my press badge and tentatively approached me. “Are there are any famous people in this one?” I glanced over to where Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo and Isaac “iluvtheWNBA” Haxton were sitting not ten feet from the visitors. Two legitimate legends of Team Nets. But not yet household names.

“Well, there’s Erik Seidel, a few tables over.”
“The fellow from Rounders?”
“Um, yeah, that – and a cabinet full of WSOP bracelets.”
“Wow – that’s great.”

Memo to Dan Kelly: don’t be upset if it’s a while before they’re clamoring for your autograph.

Lee Jonesis the cardroom manager of Cake Pokerand has been in the online poker business for over six years. He is also the author of Winning Low Limit Hold’em, which has been in publication for over 15 years.

*Opinions expressed in this article and all member-submitted content belong solely to the author, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of PocketFives.com, its staff, or administration.

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