If you have ever watched a televised Texas hold’em poker tournament, or played a little online, then you will have probably said to yourself at some time, how these people do it. You feel envy or you may even feel pity. After all, you can see the signs of pressure and impatience for their opponents during these online tournaments. OK there is lots of prize money at stake, but is there any reason them to be so uptight. And all these funny outfits they wear. And the tattoos and the dark glasses, the cowboy hats and the fringed jackets. Some of these people look that they might have been out too long in the sun.
Maybe its not so easy you say to yourself. After all these people are on the road all year long, staying in one luxury hotel after another. You might ask yourself what they are getting out of it. What makes an average man or woman stand apart from the crowd, and devote their life to playing Texas hold’em poker.
What makes a young man or woman give up a promising career in a bank, or put college on hold for a year or two, till they check out the possibilities of winning a tournament or two at Texas hold’em poker,
There are those in the know can answer you that question.
It’s the buzz, the unequalled excitement of competing on the poker circuit that fires their adrenalin. Because without the adrenalin they wouldn’t be able to play. And the various facades that they create are only a façade, to scare of and pressurize the more faint hearted of their opponents.
The average Texas hold’em poker professional is a cool and calculated human being, capable of sitting at Texas hold’em poker for hours and days on end if need be, to grind down the opposition to take home their share of the prize money. There are people who have been poker professionals for decades, and are still going strong.
Like any sports profession, Texas hold’em poker has more than its fair share of characters. That’s the nature of the game. There may even be a few that are more than a little eccentric. The question is, were they attracted to Texas hold’em poker because of their eccentricities, or did the Texas hold’em poker circuit help them on their way?