A young man’s game

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/11/2011 (5065 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

This week, a good friend of mine who is in his mid-50s asked me what I thought about the new 22-year-old World Series of Poker champion Pius Heinz. I told him to get used to it.

Now I know this might offend some people, but that is by no means my intention. The reality is the WSOP main event has truly become a young man’s game, and unless there is an amazing run by someone over 50, I really believe it has become nearly impossible for an older player to win the main event.

The young guns are fearless. They are constantly three- and four-betting, knowing the power of doing so, and they win so many pots old-school players would never win. Three-betting and C-betting are great ways to win pots with nothing. Your opponent will only flop a pair one out of three flops, so take advantage of this.

Although these players are young, they have actually played many more hands than the old-school players. Even the godfather of poker himself, Doyle Brunson, who is well into his 70s and a player his entire life, hasn’t played nearly as many hands as I or any other full-time Internet kid out there.

Again, this might upset some people, but it’s just the way it is. How can someone who has played live poker their entire life ever play as many hands as someone playing 24 tables at a time on the Internet? They can’t. The last time I checked, you can only play one table at a time live.

The WSOP main event goes on for about 14 days, not including the three-month delay for the final table. So physical and mental stamina are going to play a huge role in determining who becomes champion. Obviously, a young player will have a huge advantage here dealing with gruelling 12- to 15-hour days and maintaining focus for such long periods of time.

The other reason, and maybe my strongest argument in this debate, is these young guns have no clue as to the value of money. They feel if they go broke, it’s no big deal; they’ll simply grind it out online until they build up their bankroll. The older you get in life, the more you begin to realize money doesn’t come easy. Try telling that to a kid who has never worked a day in his life but already won and lost millions playing poker.

Do I really believe there will never be a champion over the age of 50? Well, yes and no. There are so many amazing poker players in their teens to mid-30s right now that it is impossible to tell what they will do when they pass the age of 50.

I’m guessing in 25 years we will be looking at a completely different dynamic at the poker table, but if no one aged from this day forward, I do in fact believe there would never again be a WSOP main event champ over the age of 50.

Follow Marco Carreira on Twitter @DontCryRebuy