Is pro poker as fake as pro wrestling?

Question

I have played a lot of online poker 10,000 + games and I finally realized poker really is a game of luck. however all you see on espn and travel channel are these so called pro poker players. they all have very memorable personalities ( kind of like pro wrestling). you got the old cowboy, jesus, tiger woods twin, the brat, the loud mouth it goes on and on. Are these people for real? I mean you can fake anything on TV. to me somthing smells fishy. the online poker rooms are making $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ by creating the myth that anyone can get rich if they play enough poker. So anyone else think its fixed? or it it really possible to be a true pro poker player?

by the way: I realized that I was addicted to online poker and I have stopped playing. I was not a poor player. I made money just not very much. I would have made more money if I got a second job.

Answer 1

I do not think the actual play is fake, but I do think that players do not have as much of their own money committed as they make you think. Many times their buy-in is paid for by backers or sponsors.

I also think that some of the prop bets they make at the tables are fabricated to boost their image. Like, they are living the good life, where they have so much money they can make these outrageous bets.

I will say this about luck. Yeah, winning a single tournament requires a great amount of luck. But when you enter tournaments week after week it becomes a skill. There is skill in most everything. Even if you think poker is 80% luck and 20% skill, it is 100% skill. You drop the 80% luck, because everyone has the same amount of luck, and you focus on the 20% that is skill. The 20% becomes 100% because that is the only thing you can control. I also think that pros try hard to avoid situations where they risk all their chips on coin flips.

Answer 2

Online poker is nothing like real poker.  It has some similarities but it is like comparing badminton to tennis.  They are different games, with some similar concepts.

Fact is, poker is a game of skill.  Just because you can't win, doesn't mean you can jump to the conclusion that the game is purely luck.  I've won a few thousand at it.  I have a friend who has won over $100,000 including a seat at the WSOP Main Event two years ago.  So I have first hand seen money being won.

There are also poker sites you can go to and see who is winning, and how much (see link).  I know the information on here is not made up because I have looked up myself and my friends and it pretty much ties in with the facts I have at hand.

So I hate to break it to you, but you simply suck at the game.  If you had really learned the game, studied hard, practiced hard, you would have never come to the conclusion it was a game of luck.

On any given day you can be lucky or unlucky, but it is skill that will ensure long term results, which is what poker is all about.

Answer 3

imho, i think your perception has just been clouded by online poker. in online poker, it's all about the all-in. however, in live poker, the blinds are much slower, and there's far more play. just read the pokerstars blog about the european poker tour to see how much skill makes a difference.

i watched a $1, non-turbo, 45 player sng the other night. It was just a series of all-ins until the final heads up. these two guys were awesome. they were betting, bluffing, counter-bluffing, calling down, etc. etc. etc.

usually, once the M's get into the single digits, it's all just a series of all-ins until you have a winner. but if not, you see some great poker being played.