A - Z of Poker: Day 7

From London to Vegas in 26 Letters

Day7: G is for ...

G is for Gutshot. Where to start? Well, that is where it all started for me. I came to the old Gutshot club in November 2004 as the guest at a corporate event. I hadn't played before (except for a dabble online at Ladbrokes.com). It was a £50 rebuy and - although I could certainly afford the stakes - I didn't want to be throwing money away.

So it was that I eked out my dwindling stack so I just made it to the end of the rebuy where I could get the extra value add-on without having needed any rebuys. I think I had less than one blind left at that stage. Do you recognise this thriftiness in my current rebuy approach ? No ?

Well, after the break I went on a mini heater and after reaching the final table with the chip-lead I eventually went on to finish 2nd (A3 losing to J6 - I still remember the hand).

The rest, as they say, is history and I hosted many a corporate event myself at the Gutshot before it finally shut its doors for the last time.


G is for Gamble. I am firmly in the school that argues poker is a game of skill. I don't deny the role that lady luck plays, but her part is played on the stage of skillful foundations. As such, I will tend to resist the assertion that poker is gambling at all.

The good player, I would argue, can wrestle control away from the luck fairy and his enterprise is more akin to investment than speculation.

On the whole, I think not nearly enough research has been done in an attempt to support the skill hypothesis. I have generally been underwhelmed by the evidence and arguments marshaled in defence of poker as a skill game whenever it has come to legal proceedings.

Of course, even if you accept this line of reasoning, you should realise that I apply it to "other players". Myself, I like a gamble !