How Good Are The Poker Super Stars?
Have you ever wondered how much better the Poker “Super Stars” are compared to other players?
Yesterday I checked out pokerlistings.com and put some of the names of the top star players – Negreanu, Hansen, Lindgren, Hellmuth, and others. What I found was rather interesting. These stars may not be all that super. For some reason, my perception was that these players were winning a lot more often than they really were pkv games.
It’s the big payday wins that set these players apart. Winning a major poker event is a big deal financially. Winning a big two is even bigger. A third win is unreal. And TV is a huge opportunity to cash in.
Hansen’s three WPT wins are amazing. In fact, all these super stars had big paydays.
Embrace The Risk
That’s why when you play a poker tournament, I keep writing that you need to “embrace the risk” in the game. Because the game is about winning, not cashing. (Check out Hellmuth on Pokerlistings.com and you can see the difference in his many cashes versus a win.
There are some star players who have had a few cashes and never mind wins.
Many of the events they have entered and how often they failed to cash in. In baseball, if you get a hit three times in 10 at bats, you’ll probably be in the Hall of Fame. What is the hit rate in poker? 1 in 20? 1 in 40? (What about online? How many tables do online poker elite play every day, every week, every month?)
The Bad, The Good, & The Ugly
Overall, it has to be tougher to win today:
* The competition is better
* The fields are large
* There is more luck in the game or Hellmuth would win them all 🙂
On the other hand, there is less pressure because:
* The top stars get sponsored and risk no money in events
* The top stars are their own brand and can run and market a business like themselves
(Clearly Hellmuth, Negreanu and Hansen are great examples. While Lindgren, Flack and other star players may not be taking full advantage.)
* This stardom also leads to other deals or appearance fees (for example Annie Duke).
If you check out Chris Moneymaker’s poker record, you can see why the WSOP is broke every year. He has really done nothing since 2003 – that’s a lot of losing. Oh, the win was $ 2.5 million, but he only got half of that, and the IRS took at least another 30% … so he had over $ 800,000. And, everybody says he has or had other deals in place, so maybe he is not broke.
There are many players who see you win one event – and never see them win again. Is that because they just got lucky or is it because they don’t play all the time? I don’t know.
You Can Be The Next Poker Star!
My conclusion – and please let me know what you think – is that the top Poker Stars are better than you and me. They have an edge, they have more experience, play all the time, little or no money at risk, and therefore less risk in the game when they push. Other players understand the game as well as they do well. And they deserve credit for being in the right place at the right time.
However, I believe that you can win a big poker tournament if you study the game, get experience, and get lucky. These are big events – and that is why satellites are so important for so many players. Of course, satellites tend to be more difficult to win because they may or may not be more luck driven or require a different skill set.
Mitchell Cogert is the author of “Tournament Poker: 101 Winning Moves.” This is the only reference book to uncover. Daniel Negreanu, Erick Lindgren, David Pham and other top pros. The book is a highly rated 5 out of 5 stars on amazon.
For more information go to Tournament Poker.
Or my blog: How to Win a Poker Tournament
Twitter: Mitchell1969