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A very clever Soviet satire is written about a con artist set out to win a bunch of money from a small town chess club. He convinces the avid members that he is a traveling master of the game and wishes to organize a tournament for the assembled group. He, of course, charges an entrance fee from all the players and proceeds to play “twelve identical matches” without a clue as to what he is doing. This is the second chess match he has ever played, but he manages to place the pieces somewhat correctly and makes his moves to the awe of those surrounding the board. Like lots of folks when in the presence of greatness, they read a lot into the moves and pay close attention. Soon after beginning the games, he loses all of them but still keeps his sense of humor. The town is utterly amazed, but by then he has had the required time to run off with the entry fees. So, our traveling maestro may be a lousy player, but he is a winning one.

The novel is The Twelve Chairs of which there are both English translations and film adaptation DVDs actually available from Amazon.com. The first film adaptation of the book was actually a Mel Brooks comedy, which is a loose adaptation, recommended only for Brooks fans. The best Russian adaptation is the 1976 mini-series by Mark Zaharov, one of the greatest Russian directors of all time, though he may not sound as familiar as Tarkovsky.

The point is that the definition of a good player, in poker or otherwise, depends on what that player’s purpose is. As far the fictional con artist was concerned, he was an effective player since his strategy precisely achieved his goals – quick money. It is a subtler point, however, that he was a good player also because he knew he couldn’t play solid chess for more than the first five or so moves and because he prepared an escape route.

A large group of poker players in this world are in denial as to their true poker prowess. Egos can be very large in this game of bullying and risk taking. They have never understood the delightful complexity of the game and spend no time in educating themselves as to its nuances and the skill required to play it successfully. The fun of the game is its very complexity, and that it takes a lifetime to really learn it well, and even then new insights remain to be discovered. The player that understands this will have a profitable career at the poker table.

Some players play the game by rote and come out winners in the long run. They do not see the game as an ever-enlightening process of learning and growing. But they do win and if that is their purpose for playing the game, then they are good poker players.

For those players to whom poker is an art, the above types are not true poker players, not really bad, just not real. They are in the clubs but are not the stars. The good player is looking for growth and more and more insight to improve his already good game. He or she understands that the game is a complicated mix of skill, theater, and perception. They know their weaknesses and work hard on improving their good points while lessening their bad ones.

The author of this article plays online poker and gets Rakeback at Interpoker where they offer the highest Interpoker Rakeback.

Tags: card games, Gambling, games, holdem, Poker, recreation, sport

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