Jewish poker professionals

[GreywolfNYC]

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Umm, how can he be a Jew and an atheist? Jew implies following the Jewish religion.

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Nation, what you says seems logical but it is historically
erroneous to think this way. Jew means your mother was
Jewish. In Germany in the 40's the Nazi stormtroopers
did not politely stop you on the street to ask you if you
fasted on Yom Kippur or had decided to become an atheist.
They threw you in the oven.

And so it has been for at least the last 2000 years.

Suerte,
Jonathan

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And everything always goes back to the nazis.

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As well it should. People tend to forget that Germany's Third Reich is very recent history. A little reminder is a good thing.

[LittleOldLady]

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I just found out that The Grinder is Israeli and it got me to thinking about how many other pros out there are fellow Jews that I wasn't aware of.

Help me complete this list. Forgive any misspellings.

Barry Greenstein
Howard Lederer
David Sklansky
Eli Elezera
Michael Mizrachi
Phil Gordon
Mike Matusow
Gabe Kaplan
Cory Zeidman

By the way, I'm refering to the ethnicity, not the religion, as I understand that a lot of these guys are atheists and such.

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Wow. I'm not offended by your post because I don't think you meant any malice at all, but if you have no idea what you're talking about, you really should just refrain from making posts like this.

Anyway, Jewish people are not a race. If they are, what "race" do you think they belong to? I suppose the "Jewish" race, right?? First cousin's to the "Christian" race, the "Muslim" race, the "Hindu" race, and the other races.....

Judiasm is a religion. I'm not going to try to "prove" this is correct, but let's just say that if anyone cares, 5 minutes of internet research will prove this.

With that being said, I did not know that the Grinder was Israeli. However, even if he is, it doesn't mean he's Jewish. Many Israeli citizens are not Jewish. Many of them are Christians, many of them are Muslims. Most of them are in fact Jewish, but a good percent of them are not. I don't know what the % breakdown is, but my point is that he may very well not be Jewish....I really don't know.

Anyway, ignoring all that, onto what I think was the point of your post, there are many many Jewish people playing poker professionally and I'm always surprised when I watch television how many Jewish people I *suspect* are Jewish (as a Jew, I think I do this naturally [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] )

At any rate, I'm nobody's biographer, so I don't really know, but I think it's safe to say that Stu Unger was (although never practiced). I think it's safe to say that Matusow is by the "Chai" necklace he often wears on television. I *suspect* Jeff Schulman is. I *suspect* 2 of the guys on this past week's final WPT table were Jewish, but I'm not sure, they're just guesses based on last names. I *suspect* David Singer is Jewish. I know there are others, but none that come to mind off-hand.

Are you sure about your list? Howard Lederer?? Eli Elezra?? I know Elezra is from Israel, but again, he may very well not be Jewish.

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"Race" is not an accurate term to apply to Jews. Tribe is probably a little closer. Jews are Jews by birth as long as their mothers were Jewish. It does not matter what they do or do not believe or do or do not practice. It is also possible to become a Jew by conversion, but few do, because there is little reason to. Being a Jew is not analogous to being a Christian or a Muslim, since being a Jew is a matter of birth, and no particular religious belief is required of those who are born Jews. There is also of course a body of religious practices which are called Judaism, and it is possible for those who are not born Jews to adopt them and to become Jews (converted Jews are accepted on the same footing as those who are born Jews, and the children of women who converted to Judaism are born Jews).

[DespotInExile]

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(BTW it is possible to be both a Jew and Texan [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img])

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Right. Thus Kinky Friedman [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

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Actually, I think the band is named Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys.

[RJT]

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Sorry to OP for this brief hijack.

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…To be a practicing Jew it is not necessary to believe in anything, including the existence of a divine creator(although probably most practicing Jews do so believe). To be an observant Jew it is only necessary to obey the laws of Judaism and to guide one's life by its ethical principles. The various forms of Judaism differ as to how the laws are to be observed, but all adhere to the Jewish system of ethics. Technically Judaism can be described as ethical monotheism.

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LittleOldLady (since you are an English Professor, i.e. good with the written word, I am sure you have already noticed that your initials are LOL. Talk about a misnomer.),

RJT

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What? You think I am not funny???? LOL

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Lol (as in laughing out loud). You're good.

[TomCollins]

Wouldn't it be easier to make a list of non-Jewish Poker Pros?

As long as we are going with the list, Perry Friedman?

[Black winter day]

Andy Bloch

And Matusow is Jewish???
Had no idea.

[cwsiggy]

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And Matusow is Jewish???
Had no idea.

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http://www.atlantajewish.com/content...kematusow.html

[ed8383]

I just realized something. JEWS ARE THE BEST POKER PLAYERS!

Blacks rule basketball, football and the music industry, whites rule hockey, Jews rule Poker and the American/international media.

What about asians? what is their domain of PWnership?

[Courtesy Flush]

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Wow. I'm not offended by your post because I don't think you meant any malice at all, but if you have no idea what you're talking about, you really should just refrain from making posts like this.

Anyway, Jewish people are not a race. If they are, what "race" do you think they belong to? I suppose the "Jewish" race, right?? First cousin's to the "Christian" race, the "Muslim" race, the "Hindu" race, and the other races.....

Judiasm is a religion. I'm not going to try to "prove" this is correct, but let's just say that if anyone cares, 5 minutes of internet research will prove this.

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Obviously you ARE offended. But that's ok, because I used to run around spreading the same misinformation you're posting, but then I learned the truth. That a Jew is in fact both a label for ones ethnicity AND ones religion. I guess you missed it when I posted the definition for the word which clearly describes ethnic descent as a qualifier. I never said Jews were a race, because they're not. Like little old lady said, they are better described as a tribe. Anyone who is a Jew by blood and not only by religion can be traced back to middle eastern ancestory. Why do you think Jews share similar physical features common to Arabs, despite being dispersed all throughout the world. Coincidence? Think again.

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With that being said, I did not know that the Grinder was Israeli. However, even if he is, it doesn't mean he's Jewish. Many Israeli citizens are not Jewish. Many of them are Christians, many of them are Muslims. Most of them are in fact Jewish, but a good percent of them are not. I don't know what the % breakdown is, but my point is that he may very well not be Jewish....I really don't know.

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Again, I'm not refering to "Jew" as merely a person practicing the religion. I know that not everyone living in Israel is a Jew by religion OR ethnicity. I was refering to blood lines.

Israelite ( P ) Pronunciation Key (zr--lt)
n.
1 - A native or inhabitant of the ancient Northern Kingdom of Israel.
2 - A descendant of Jacob; a Jew.
3 - A member of a people regarded as the chosen people of God.
4 - A Jew not descended from the tribe of Levi and not a priest.

Do us all a favor and realize the truth of this matter. The "your only a Jew if you practice the religion" philosophy is propaganda created by self-hating Jews trying to prove that they are gentile (not saying that is your motive).

[LittleOldLady]

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I just realized something. JEWS ARE THE BEST POKER PLAYERS!

Blacks rule basketball, football and the music industry, whites rule hockey, Jews rule Poker and the American/international media.

What about asians? what is their domain of PWnership?

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As they will be the very first to tell you, African-Americans PLAY basketball, football, and music. They do NOT rule the industries associated with these endeavors. This is a sore spot, to say the least. The influence of Jews on the international media has been vastly overstated. An hour watching CNN in Europe will demonstrate that. As for Jews and poker, Dolly Brunson bet otherwise, but he lost--at least according to Alvarez. I don't know about online and in the live games around the world, but the poker players on tv look like the UN to me.