Hold 'Em

Barry Greenstein is a professional Texas Hold 'Em poker player from Chicago, IL. A large amount of his tournament winnings he donates to charity - primarily children's charities - so I guess I can't dog the guy too much. However, tonight I saw something that struck me as really odd...

Dustin was flipping back and forth between two different shows tonight - World Series of Poker 2008 and High Stakes Poker. Barry Greenstein happened to be on both. (In two places at once?! Hardly.)

Anyhoo. On High Stakes Poker, pros compete - using their OWN money - and are able to "re-buy" if they get knocked out early. These guys (and gals) sit at the table with stacks of chips...AND bricks of money. Bricks of $100's, to be exact.

Greenstein seemed to be doing alright; however, I did see several hands in which Daniel Negreanu (love that guy - quite possibly THE BEST, and smartest, poker player I've ever watched) completely outplayed and beat him. Greenstein was VISIBLY on tilt; the disgust and disappointment was written all over his face. I remember thinking, "Daniel's just going to wipe the table with this guy...HE's a PRO???"

On WSOP, I watched the hand in which Greenstein was eliminated from the tournament. I can't remember now exactly what the hand was (it's way past my bedtime for a work night), but as the River card (and Greenstein's losing fate) was revealed, he slid his chair back from the table and I saw him scribbling in what I thought was a notebook. "Does this guy keep track of the hands that beat him? Is this some sort of weird study tactic?? What the HELL is he doing???" As I was wondering, Dustin answered, "Every time he gets knocked out from a tournament, he signs and gives a copy of his book to the person who eliminated him."

WHAT?!?! Let me get this straight. He signs. And gives. A copy of HIS book. To. The. Person. Who. Eliminates. Him. From. The. Tournament.

Barry Greenstein writes a book on how to play poker and, presumably, how to play it well. I'm sure, as all the other pros' books do, it contains the "secrets" on how to win, beat the odds. And the guy who kicks his ass at the poker table gets a copy of it. Does this seem really freakin' weird to anyone else??? I'm not sure, but I'd venture to say the person who knocks him out already knows what they're doing - and has the right amount of luck on their side. I don't think they need a book.