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he Guardian Poker Column |
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Victoria
Coren |
Friday April 28, 2006
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How to play poker (How to play has been running from issue 16) |
You might have read last week's Guardian obituary of poker
legend Puggy Pearson, who died in Las Vegas aged 77. A couple of weeks before
Puggy's death, the poker world lost a different sort of hero: Adam Lee, who
died in London aged 23.
Puggy Pearson was the epitome of the Old School.
Born in Depression-era Kentucky, he left school at 14 to be a pool hustler,
grifting and gambling his way across the dusty American south, making massive
golf bets and smoking Cuban cigars, using false names and dodging the police.
Adam Lee was New Breed, in the spirit of 21st-century poker: a fully educated
and brilliant kid, who roamed the world from behind a computer screen, tearing
up the internet games with enough mathematical skill and talent to make an
immediate living as "a professional poker player" (words that would have meant
nothing to the young Puggy). |
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Pearson was folksy and southern; he wore
colourful stripy trousers and a broad-brimmed straw hat. Lee was sharp and
urban; he wore glasses and a baseball cap. Puggy suffered a heart attack after
nearly eight decades of "good livin' ". Adam suffered a brain tumour, after a
cruelly short adventure in the world.
But these two were not so
different, really. The essence of Puggy Pearson was the combination of a
fearsomely aggressive poker style, with a personal manner described by the
great gambling writer Jon Bradshaw as "ease and affability . . . an air of
jauntiness and inexhaustible good spirits". Talking to fellow players about
Adam, exactly the same dynamic is remembered. He played a fearless and
super-aggressive tournament game; and yet he was always easygoing and friendly
whether he was winning or losing.
There is a nasty tendency among some
New Breed players to cheer rudely when they are knocking out an opponent, or to
turn unpleasant when they are knocked out themselves. This habit - harmless
enough when you are playing alone behind a computer screen - causes great
offence when brought into the live game. But Adam never did that. He set an
example of "ease and affability". His desire to win never prevented him from
enjoying the game or from behaving with class; he was capable of seeing
opponents simultaneously as obstacles to be defeated and people to be
respected.
It has made me think about the title of this column, "How to
Play Poker". I've talked about semi-bluffing flush draws, escaping weak aces,
and other small strategic matters. But I forgot to mention the most important
thing. How to play poker? Sportingly. Graciously. With dignity.
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