There are no Heroes in Poker: Another Reason the Boom is Over
 

There are no real heroic figures in poker, are there? Every sport has its list of heroes both living and dead. For example baseball has Babe Ruth, and many others. All sports have heroes who people can really look up to and admire.

But what about poker? Where are the heroes?

Phil Hellmuth, Mike Matusow, Tony G...are they heroic figures?

What about Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer and Joe Hachem? Are they heroes?

Then we have Antonio, Phil Laak and Freddy Deeb. No heroes there.

What about Daniel, Phil Ivey and Allen Cunningham? You may admire them as poker players, but heroic figures...no way.

And Stu Unger. The only person to ever win the WSOP Main Event 3 times. A hero? LOL!

Doyle, TJ, Bobby Baldwin, Johnny Moss. Great players...of course. But hardly heroes.

No need to list every top pro. Yes, some have reached minimal "celebrity status" but not a hero in the bunch.

The poker boom has in fact created no real heroes. Just a bunch of skilled (and lucky) gamblers. What parents can honestly want their kids to grow up and become pro poker players? Even Doyle has said he didn't want to teach Todd. Annie Duke has said she does not want her kids to become poker players. But most parents would love their children to become pro athletes.

If the poker boom had created a group of individuals that almost everyone could admire--Heroic Figures--then perhaps poker would have been viewed by lawmakers, and the population as a whole, as a real sport. As something mainstream and acceptable. Instead poker is still considered gambling--a game of chance--by the majority of the population. And thus we have UIGEA and the end of the poker boom.

Re: There are no Heroes in Poker: Another Reason the Boom is Over
 

pa

Re: There are no Heroes in Poker: Another Reason the Boom is Over
 

[ QUOTE ]
adam junglen

[/ QUOTE ]

Re: There are no Heroes in Poker: Another Reason the Boom is Over
 

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ING008_cov.jpg

I rest my case.

Re: There are no Heroes in Poker: Another Reason the Boom is Over
 

you know, i used to like poker, but man, without heroic figures i really have to ask myself what's the point of it all

Re: There are no Heroes in Poker: Another Reason the Boom is Over
 

Eff heroic figures.. Give them long enough, they will screw up sooner or later.

Re: There are no Heroes in Poker: Another Reason the Boom is Over
 

[ QUOTE ]
There are no real heroic figures in poker

[/ QUOTE ] http://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/pict...aulmagriel.jpg

I BEG TO DIFFER

Re: There are no Heroes in Poker: Another Reason the Boom is Over
 

Babe Ruth was a baseball hero because of the amount of home runs he hit and his outgoing lifestyle.

If somebody won a comparable % of their tourneys in this present time as Stu Ungar did with an outgoing personality such as Mike Matasow has, what's the difference between them and Babe Ruth?

Heroes don't need to be role models, do they? Jordan, Wilt, The Babe, Dimaggio, they were certainly far from perfect.

Re: There are no Heroes in Poker: Another Reason the Boom is Over
 

If anything poker is huge because of all the anti-heroes.

The Brandi's, Matisows, etc make it so much more fun then some guy who's all ethics and winning. Vegas certainly wasn't built on heroes and values, lol.

Re: There are no Heroes in Poker: Another Reason the Boom is Over
 

http://www.hainesworld.com/sketch/sktpoker.jpg

Re: There are no Heroes in Poker: Another Reason the Boom is Over
 

http://www.totalgambler.com/images/f...ler_1567_7.jpg

Re: There are no Heroes in Poker: Another Reason the Boom is Over
 

So we need someone who can call a huge bluff with King high and take down the pot AND stop terrorism? Your right, THIS is why the boom is dying.

Re: There are no Heroes in Poker: Another Reason the Boom is Over
 

if poker was proved to be a game of skill, wouldn't that make fish go away?

Re: There are no Heroes in Poker: Another Reason the Boom is Over
 

There aren't really 'heroes' in other sports either anymore. Who's a hero in basketball/baseball/hockey...no one.

Besides poker is a game for adults who aren't looking for heroes.

Re: There are no Heroes in Poker: Another Reason the Boom is Over
 

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y19...kaments005.jpg

Re: There are no Heroes in Poker: Another Reason the Boom is Over
 

nice call

Re: There are no Heroes in Poker: Another Reason the Boom is Over
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
There are no real heroic figures in poker

[/ QUOTE ] http://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/pict...aulmagriel.jpg

I BEG TO DIFFER

[/ QUOTE ]

+++++1 [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Re: There are no Heroes in Poker: Another Reason the Boom is Over
 

this thread is retarded

Re: There are no Heroes in Poker: Another Reason the Boom is Over
 

[ QUOTE ]
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ING008_cov.jpg

I rest my case.

[/ QUOTE ]

LOL, who's that blonde on the left? Bat-Girl?
Bat-Girl FTW

Re: There are no Heroes in Poker: Another Reason the Boom is Over
 

Babe Ruth drank beer, ate hot dogs, slept with groupies and had a knack for hitting home runs... what's so heroic about that???

Brunson dodged the hazards of being a road gambler for many years... got robbed & arrested chasing his passion & is every bit as pioneering in his trade (probably more so) than Babe Ruth... so who is more heroic???

Also,(with props to Ontario Troy) Greenstein has given millions in tournament winnings to children's charities...

This is a stupid premise for a thread!

Re: There are no Heroes in Poker: Another Reason the Boom is Over
 

[ QUOTE ]
http://www.totalgambler.com/images/f...ler_1567_7.jpg

[/ QUOTE ]

I am assuming the guy on the left is supposed to be Antonio E. but it looks like an artists rendition of him at 40.

Hellmuth has zero hero qualifications. And ten bracelets does not make one a hero. Petulant whining mamas boy.

TJ has a rep as a world class degenerate which may be worthy of some hero points but his reported habit of overselling pieces of himself (true or not) to feed his gambling habit is just low class enough to rule him out.

I really am stumped on the last guy -- Forrest Gump?

There should be no heroes in poker.

Re: There are no Heroes in Poker: Another Reason the Boom is Over
 

[ QUOTE ]
I'm not playing for the thrill of [censored] victory here. I owe rent, alimony, child support. I play for money. My kids eat. I got stones enough not to chase cards, action or [censored] pipe dreams of winning the World Series on ESPN...

[/ QUOTE ]

Re: There are no Heroes in Poker: Another Reason the Boom is Over
 

Everyone needs to keep in mind that there were TONS of poker heroes a few years ago. Guys who put out fires, women who rebuilt low-income neighborhoods, and I believe a poker player even freed Nelson Mandela. They were the main reason for the poker boom.

Now that they are all either dead or broke, poker is in deep trouble.

Re: There are no Heroes in Poker: Another Reason the Boom is Over
 

two things:
first, at its core, poker is one man against the world. personal enrichment is the bottom line for most poker players, not putting on a good show. as such, you won't get many "fans" of poker players as you will of sports figures. admirers, hangers on, groupies and wannabies, but not fans. without fans, it's hard to make heros.

second, there aren't many heros left in any aspect of life nowadays. i'm talking about larger than life, public figures. babe ruth was a hero because he was awesome on the field and his heroic exploits were trumpeted in the press while his negatives were hushed up/not considered negative. now, we have Extra, ET, Springer, Oprah and a host of other outlets designed to hunt out every aspect of celebrities' lives without regard to merit. gossip sells, so the bad stuff gets publicized.

sixty years ago, we idolized batman. now, we wonder what's going down in the batcave with the boy wonder.

Re: There are no Heroes in Poker: Another Reason the Boom is Over
 

[ QUOTE ]
this thread is retarded

[/ QUOTE ]

All of his threads are...also note this little tid bit...

[ QUOTE ]
Just a bunch of skilled <u>(and lucky)</u> gamblers.

[/ QUOTE ]

Is gaboonviper a losing player? I wonder...

Re: There are no Heroes in Poker: Another Reason the Boom is Over
 

OP,

The first response said it all.

Re: There are no Heroes in Poker: Another Reason the Boom is Over
 

Re: There are no Heroes in Poker: Another Reason the Boom is Over
 

[ QUOTE ]
pa

[/ QUOTE ]

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/3...tvision5hw.png

(thx pennpal)

Re: There are no Heroes in Poker: Another Reason the Boom is Over
 

people use poker more like they use porn or drinking then they do sports.

Re: There are no Heroes in Poker: Another Reason the Boom is Over
 

Calvin Ayre is my hero!

Re: There are no Heroes in Poker: Another Reason the Boom is Over
 

Worst Journeyman post ever.

Re: There are no Heroes in Poker: Another Reason the Boom is Over
 

Re: There are no Heroes in Poker: Another Reason the Boom is Over
 

Why exactly was Babe Ruth a hero? Last I checked, other than being a great baseball player he was a heavy drinker, a prodigious womanizer, and gluttonous.

Try to post better, please.

Re: There are no Heroes in Poker: Another Reason the Boom is Over
 

Ok Babe Ruth may not have been the best "moral" example but surely Ty Cobb suffices.

Re: There are no Heroes in Poker: Another Reason the Boom is Over
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ING008_cov.jpg

I rest my case.

[/ QUOTE ]

LOL, who's that blonde on the left? Bat-Girl?
Bat-Girl FTW

[/ QUOTE ]
Medusa?

chez

Re: There are no Heroes in Poker: Another Reason the Boom is Over
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ING008_cov.jpg

I rest my case.

[/ QUOTE ]

LOL, who's that blonde on the left? Bat-Girl?
Bat-Girl FTW

[/ QUOTE ]
Medusa?

chez

[/ QUOTE ]

Comic Book Geeks everywhere know that is Carol Danvers, A.K.A. Warbird, A.K.A. Ms. Marvel, A.K.A. I used to get laid before I knew who that was.

Re: There are no Heroes in Poker: Another Reason the Boom is Over
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ING008_cov.jpg

I rest my case.

[/ QUOTE ]

LOL, who's that blonde on the left? Bat-Girl?
Bat-Girl FTW

[/ QUOTE ]
Medusa?

chez

[/ QUOTE ]

Comic Book Geeks everywhere know that is Carol Danvers, A.K.A. Warbird, A.K.A. Ms. Marvel, A.K.A. I used to get laid before I knew who that was.

[/ QUOTE ]
Not this old one [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] I remember those Avengers with the Hulk.

Never heard of her, don't think she was big in those far off days before I got laid.

chez

Re: There are no Heroes in Poker: Another Reason the Boom is Over
 

Ted Forrest/Barry G ftw!

Re: There are no Heroes in Poker: Another Reason the Boom is Over
 

This thread is retarded. Great sports players are exaulted because sports are exaulted, not because the players themselves are amazing people in their personal lives. Poker and gambling in general isn't exaulted, it's frowned upon, so the people who play is professionally are as well.

Re: There are no Heroes in Poker: Another Reason the Boom is Over
 

Poker is not a gentlemans sport. It is a game for hustlers, shady characters, con artists, and rebells that don't want to work a 9 to 5 and do things the conventional way.