[TrueBritt]

I disagree with DN's categories. The fundamental distinction that I see in poker players is between the gamblers and the grinders.

Gamblers are a dime a dozen. They love action. They play pit games. They gamble on sports. They play too many hands and go too far with them. They don't know what money management is. 99% of them are losing players. If they just play for recreation, that's fine...they can just go back to their job and make back the money they lose. If they are trying to play poker for a living, they are in trouble. They are deluded. To paraphrase Dan Harrington, they think they are Phil Ivey, Barry Greenstein or Doyle Brunson, but in reality they are Larry, Curly or Moe.

As I said, virtually all of these players are losing players. However, perhaps 1% of them are winning players, presumably on account of a gift for hand-reading. These few players crush the game. But there is a good chance they lose it all in the pit or the sportsbook anyway, so it doesn't do them much good. Even if they avoid those leaks, they are probably still doomed on account of the Peter Principle. That is, they might be the proverbial 5th best player in the world, but since they play against the best 4 in the world, they are destined to go broke. They are in a boom-and-bust cycle and constantly in and out of debt.

Players I would tentatively put in this category are DN, Eric Lindgren, and TJ Cloutier.

Juxtaposed with these gamblers are the grinders (I realize that techically grinders gamble too, but they only gamble with the best of it.) Grinders have a deep commitment to positive expectation. They never gamble in the pits or the sports-book. They play very few hands and readily let go of them. They fold for hours on end. They have the patience of a saint.

A negative word for a grinder is a "nit," just as a negative word for a lesbian is "dyke," and a negative word for a black person is a "[censored]". These negative words add judgement to a description, and therefore also add inaccuracy.

I am a grinder myself, and I would never not take a shot at a bigger game if I had the bankroll for it. In fact, I don't know of a single other grinder that wouldn't take a shot if they had the bankroll for it. That's why I think DN's breakdown isn't very accurate.

Players I would tentatively put in the grinder category are John Juanda, DS, Barry Greenstein, Chip Reese (except when he first started out), and David Grey.