One of my favorite Shakespearian lines is 'Beware young Cassius. He has a lean and hungry look.'
This famous piece of literature might be used to describe today's young poker players who are making a full frontal assault on the better established older players starting with Doyle Brunson and going down to players from Vietnam, the Mideast and other far-off countries where survival is the name of the game.
Young players have nothing going for them except youth, guts, money and a touch of skill. Older players have experience, courage, money and a few moves that the younger people have never seen.
Hey, these kids are tough. No question about that. They are unpredictable, they can go all-in with nothing, and their games are as varied as snowflakes falling in a blizzard.
But they can be beaten.
Take Phil Ivey. He has developed a reputation as a fearless stone-faced opponent who eats up his competition like the Texas chainsaw massacre. If you happen to find yourself seated at the same table as Ivey, don't let his reputation and demeanor intimidate you. Instead tell yourself with a smile 'da meaner they are, the harder they fall' -- and then make it happen.
Poker is poker. Cards are cards. The same proportion of good cards will come to you as will be dealt to Ivey, Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negraneau and the rest of the young monsters who are trying to win their slice of the international poker pie.
One thing I like about poker tournaments is that they are democratic. Everybody has an equal chance of going busted or of busting another player.
When you sit down at that table, only you know what you are going to do. Make up your mind before hand what your actions will be and then deliver. You may be amazed and even delighted with the results.
Don't forget where these young players came from. Some were dishwashers, some were $8-an-hour employees at Burger King or Taco Bell, some are displaced war refugees from Vietnam and Cambodia. They all learned their poker skills the hard way, by grinding through limit games until they knew what the hell they were doing.
Some got lucky. They impressed somebody with money and the person backed them in a major cash game or tournament. Suddenly they had a bankroll. They felt they had arrived.
There is only so many seats on the poker gravy train. Somewhere along the way even the good ones will be bumped off by another passenger. Former winners will find themselves at desolate way stations waiting for another train to arrive.
Poker players will go busted and will have boom times. The better ones will have more boom times than busts and the games will go on.
Arm yourself with a sword, a shield and a crossbow and arrows and take on the young monsters. You will discover they are not bullet proof. They can be beaten. It's up to you to do the beating.
I for one am looking forward to returning to the Valley of the Sun, Las Vegas, and Reno. This is my country and when I get there, I will go monster hunting. Wish me luck. I may need it.
Author: Geno Lawrenzi Jr.
(Geno Lawrenzi Jr. is an international journalist, magazine author and ghostwriter and poker player who lives in Phoenx, AZ. He has published 2,000 articles in 50 magazines and 125 newspapers. If you want to share a gambling story or book idea with him, send an email to glawrenzi@gmail.com ).
