We can’t quit Dan Colman (pictured), can we? The $15 million winner of the 2014 World Series of Poker’s Big One for One Drop is on a tear we haven’t seen in a quite some time. Since his big win, he placed third in the Aria $100,000 Super High Roller, second in the EPT Barcelona Super High Roller, and won the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open.

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Before the WSOP, he won the EPT Grand Final Super High Roller and his Big One victory obscured a third place finish in a $10,000 WSOP event. Those five finishes before and after the Big One were worth a combined $5.6 million. The man is living most of our dreams.

And therein lies the problem that some people have had with Colman: he appears to be living the dream reluctantly. You probably know the story by now. Colman had to be coaxed into posing for a winner’s photo after the Big One and almost did not grant a post-game interview. He posted on Two Plus Two about how he doesn’t owe poker anything, how gambling is the root of many problems, and how he is just playing for money. He called poker a “distraction” and a “very dark game.”

Everything has pretty much been said about the subject, but on Saturday, poker pro Sam TheSquidGrafton (pictured) posted a lengthy article entitled “Poker and Silence” on RunItOnce about his thoughts on the poker community’s reaction to Colman’s lack of enthusiasm.

Grafton’s article centered on two main subjects: the relationship between poker pros and the media and how today’s pros have grown in the industry. To the first point, he made a cogent observation that poker is portrayed to the non-poker public in two very contradictory ways. On the one hand, poker has been billed as a game that anyone can win. Without that spin, Grafton said, it would be hard to attract the casual players the poker economy needs to survive.

At the same time, though, we are always reading about how poker is a game of skill, and it is for this reason that governments should keep the game legal. Poker pros, in turn, are held as shining examples of the skill argument.

Grafton then moved into a discussion on how poker pros have changed over the years. During the poker boom that started with the convergence of Chris Moneymaker‘s WSOP Main Event win and the growth of online poker, pros saw loads of monetary benefits away from the tables.

Said Grafton, “The generation that preceded the online players were invested in poker and the success of poker platforms in a very literal way. They were either effectively paid a wage by them through sponsorship or in the case of Full Tilt they were actual shareholders in the company. When this is the case, of course you are naturally more willing to partake in the hype and excess that helps to either grow the game or a specific company.”

Many poker pros who had found celebrity status during the poker boom are now out of the spotlight. The internet pros are the ones who now have the floor, but most are not all that quick to jump at the chance to be a “poker ambassador.” Grafton opined that the lack of sponsorships is one reason and high-profile robberies and attacks are another.

Grafton summed it up very well, writing, “The contemporary poker player has to deal with the distrust of banks and landlords, the antipathy of friends and family, and frequently a government who sees your income as illegitimate, but taxes it anyway.”

The current generation of pros “also had to deal with corporations such as Full Tilt and UB where fellow pros enriched themselves on our rake while demonstrating a criminal recklessness with our money and the community’s trust,” he added.

“Those poker pros who are emerging into the spotlight today have overcome all of this and built their bankrolls without the benefits of rakeback, deposit bonuses, and soft fields which eased the entry into poker six or seven years ago. Given these circumstances, it’s certainly understandable if they are happy to take their share of the money and are reluctant to do more.”

Grafton’s piece has been very well received among poker pros. A number have relayed their applause, including Dani Stern, who wrote, “Great piece by Sam on Dan Colman and 1 drop, and our relationship as players with poker media.” Olivier Busquet added, “I found your writing eloquent, thoughtful, and conscientious; our community needs more voices like yours.”

What do you think? Comment here and let us know.

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