Triathlon and Poker Game

Nobody wants to believe that poker is won by the same players.  Lately, we have more winners but the good ones stay on top of the finishers.  Why?  Is it poker a lucky game?  No game is 100% luck, the more we know about the less luck we need.  That is what science is all about.  It could be empirical science or “quantified” science.  Life and poker playing is not different.  I tell my patients:  “kids need to learn how to play chess.” I do not mention that they should know that playing poker is useful because they believe that poker is sheer luck.  Playing poker well says about our emotional intelligence (I do not agree with the term but I will use it).

Poker winners according to Wikipedia:

1970	Johnny Moss	N/A	N/A	7	N/A	N/A
1971	Johnny Moss	? ?	30,000	6	Walter "Puggy" Pearson	? ?
1972	Thomas "Amarillo Slim" Preston, Jr.	K♥ J♦	80,000	8	Walter "Puggy" Pearson	6  6
1973	Walter "Puggy" Pearson	A♠ 7♠	130,000	13	Johnny Moss	K♥ J♠
1974	Johnny Moss	3♥ 3♠	160,000	16	Crandell Addington	A♣ 2♣
1975	Brian "Sailor" Roberts	J♠ J♥	210,000	21	Bob Hooks	J♣ 9♣
1976	Doyle Brunson	10♠ 2♠	220,000	22	Jesse Alto	A♠ J♦
1977	Doyle Brunson	10♠ 2♥	340,000	34	Gary Berland	8♥ 5♣
1978	Bobby Baldwin	Q♦ Q♣	210,000	42	Crandell Addington	9♦ 9♣
1979	Hal Fowler	7♠ 6♦	270,000	54	Bobby Hoff	A♣ A♥
1980	Stu Ungar	5♠ 4♠	385,000	73	Doyle Brunson	A♥ 7♠
1981	Stu Ungar	A♥ Q♥	375,000	75	Perry Green	10♣ 9♦
1982	Jack Straus	A♥ 10♠	520,000	104	Dewey Tomko	A♦ 4♦
1983	Tom McEvoy	Q♦ Q♠	540,000	108	Rod Peate	K♦ J♦
1984	Jack Keller	10♥ 10♠	660,000	132	Byron Wolford	6♥ 4♥
1985	Bill Smith	3♠ 3♥	700,000	140	T. J. Cloutier	A♦ 3♣
1986	Berry Johnston	A♠ 10♥	570,000	141	Mike Harthcock	A♦ 8♦
1987	Johnny Chan	A♠ 9♣	625,000	152	Trent Harvey	A♦ A♣
1988	Johnny Chan	J♣ 9♣	700,000	167	Erik Seidel	Q♣ 7♥
1989	Phil Hellmuth, Jr.	9♠ 9♣	755,000	178	Johnny Chan	A♠ 7♠
1990	Mansour Matloubi	6♥ 6♠	895,000	194	Hans Lund	4♦ 4♣
1991	Brad Daugherty	K♠ J♠	1,000,000	215	Don Holt	7♥ 3♥
1992	Hamid Dastmalchi	8♥ 4♣	1,000,000	201	Tom Jacobs	J♦ 7♠
1993	Jim Bechtel	J♠ 6♠	1,000,000	220	Glenn Cozen	7♦ 4♥
1994	Russ Hamilton	K♠ 8♥	1,000,000	268	Hugh Vincent	8♣ 5♥
1995	Dan Harrington	9♦ 8♦	1,000,000	273	Howard Goldfarb	A♥ 7♣
1996	Huck Seed	9♦ 8♦	1,000,000	295	Bruce Van Horn	K♣ 8♣
1997	Stu Ungar	A♥ 4♣	1,000,000	312	John Strzemp	A♠ 8♣
1998	Scotty Nguyen	J♦ 9♣	1,000,000	350	Kevin McBride	Q♥ 10♥
1999	Noel Furlong	5♣ 5♦	1,000,000	393	Alan Goehring	6♥ 6♣
2000	Chris Ferguson	A♠ 9♣	1,500,000	512	T. J. Cloutier	A♦ Q♣
2001	Juan Carlos Mortensen	K♣ Q♣	1,500,000	613	Dewey Tomko	A♠ A♥
2002	Robert Varkonyi	Q♦ 10♠	2,000,000	631	Julian Gardner	J♣ 8♣
2003	Chris Moneymaker	5♦ 4♠	2,500,000	839	Sam Farha	J♥ 10♦
2004	Greg Raymer	8♠ 8♦	5,000,000	2,576	David Williams	A♥ 4♠
2005	Joe Hachem	7♣ 3♠	7,500,000	5,619	Steve Dannenmann	A♦ 3♣
2006	Jamie Gold	Q♠ 9♣	12,000,000	8,773	Paul Wasicka	10♥ 10♠
2007	Jerry Yang	8♦ 8♣	8,250,000	6,358	Tuan Lam	A♦ Q♦
2008	Peter Eastgate	A♦ 5♠	9,152,416	6,844	Ivan Demidov	4♥ 2♥
2009	Joe Cada	9♦ 9♣	8,547,042	6,494	Darvin Moon	Q♦ J♦
2010	Jonathan Duhamel	A♠ J♥	8,944,310	7,319	John Racener	K♦ 8♦
2011	Pius Heinz	A♠ K♣	8,715,638	6,865	Martin Staszko	10♣ 7♣
2012	Greg Merson	K♦ 5♦	8,531,853	6,598	Jesse Sylvia	Q♠ J♠
2013			8,359,531	6,352

Top 10 Poker Tips to Make You a Better Player & Improve Your Poker Game

From Toby Bochan, former About.com Guide

Want to become a better player, fast? Follow these 10 tips to boost your poker performance & profits. While geared to beginner players, there's poker tips that even seasoned pros should remind themselves of once in a while.

1. Don't Play Every Hand / Do Fold More

Probably the number one mistake beginning poker players make is that they play far too many hands. When you're just starting out playing poker, you want to play poker, and that means staying in hands that aren't very good just to be part of the action. But playing more doesn't mean winning more, it usually means losing more. If you find you're staying in half or more the hands you're dealt, you need to upgrade your starting hand requirements.

2. Don't Play Drunk

Countless nights have I sat across a table from someone & watched them get plastered silly and throw away their entire stack of chips. I've been that person too - and there are nights where you're just playing with friends for low stakes and it's more about the fun than the poker - but if you're in a casino, watch the alcohol. The truth is, while you may be more relaxed after 2 drinks, it may lead to you playing looser and less sharply, even if one's not 'drunk.'
Related: Vote: Should Poker Players be Allowed to Drink at Tournaments?

3. Don't Bluff Just For Bluffing's Sake

A lot of beginner's understand that bluffing is a part of poker, but not exactly how. There's is NO rule that one must bluff a certain amount or at all during a poker game, but many players don't feel like they've won unless they've tried a poker bluff. Bluffs only work in certain situations & against certain people, and if you know a player always calls to the showdown, it is literally impossible to bluff that player. It's better never to bluff than to bluff "just to bluff."

4. Don't Stay in a Hand Just Because You're Already In ItAnother common mistake beginners make is to think that "Well, I've already put that much in the pot, I have to stay in now." Nope. You can't win a pot just by throwing money at it. There may be cases when pot odds warrant a call, but if you're sure you're beaten, and there's no way your hand can improve to be the best hand, you should fold right away. The money you've already put in the pot isn't yours anymore, and you can't get it back just by playing a hand all the way to the end.

5. Don't Call at the End of a Hand to "Keep Someone Honest"

This one follows the last tip. I see a lot of players look at another player's final bet, look at the hand, & say "I know you've got me, but I have to keep you honest," as they throw in a final call. It may be worth it to see if a player really has the hand if you're not sure & you're gaining information that will help you later on, but if you really feel a player has the hand he's representing & you're beat, why give him another pile of your money? Those bets will add up over an evening.

6. Don't Play When Mad, Sad, or in a Generally Bad Mood

When you play poker, you shouldn't do it to escape from being depressed or having a really bad day. You start out on tilt -- playing emotionally, not rationally -- and you won't play your best. Likewise, if during a poker game, you lose a big hand or get sucked out on and feel yourself going on tilt, stand up & take a break until you feel calm later on. Fellow players will sense your mood & take advantage of it.

7. Do Pay Attention to the Cards on the Table

When you first start playing, it's enough just to remember how to play and pay attention to your own hand. But once you've got that down, it's incredibly important to look at what's going on at the table. In Texas Hold'em, figure out what the best possible hand would be to fit the flop. Make sure you notice flush & straight possibilities. In 7-card stud, pay attention to what's showing & what people have folded when you consider calling opponents.

8. Do Pay Attention to the Other Players

As you play, one of the single best things you can do is observe your opponents, even when you're not in a hand. If you know if one player always raises in a certain position, & another has a poker tell when he bluffs, & a 3rd folds to every re-raise, you can use that information to help you decide how to play against them. Once you know that player 3 always folds to a re-raise on a river, that's when you can bluff & steal a pot.

9. Don't Play at too High Limits

There are many reasons people move up to a higher limit game than they usually play. Good reasons like they've been winning consistently at a lower lever & are ready to move up, & bad reasons like the line is shorter for higher limits or you want to impress someone. Don't play at stakes that make you think about the actual money in terms of day-to-day life or with money you can't lose. Even if you had one super-good night at $2/4, resist the urge to play $5/10. The next tip explains more why.

10. Do Pick the Right Game for Your Skill Level & Bankroll

One of the reasons you shouldn't jump into a $5/10 game after winning a huge bunch of money at $2/4 is because as the stakes rise, so does the average skill level of the players sitting there. You want to be one of the best at the table, not the fish who sits down with sharks. If you're making stacks of money at a lower level game, why move? You're winning stacks of money. The swings up & down at higher limits are much bigger, and one big night's win won't last long at a high-stakes game.

When I hear in triathlon and other sports that they did not have luck, that tells me how far they are from knowing science and the sport they practice.  Our posts are meant to help you to understand that any sport is not about luck but knowledge of everything that surrounds the sport