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Grrr.... just as I was about to post this originally my internet browser crashed so I had to retype everything so I'm sorry for being so brief.
I was wondering why there is such a connection between starcraft and poker. I was just watching an interview with IdrA and he mentioned at one point he was thinking about quiting starcraft and was going to start playing poker and that sparked a quite a few other random memories when I have seen the two sports together. I don't know THAT much about poker but I understand the game and in Starcraft 2 I am a Mid Diamond level player so I am comfortable saying I am knowledgeable enough in that area.
Maybe it is that they are both quite strategic and people who love the strategy part of starcraft can't get enough, or maybe after becoming used to dealing with such intense strategy, starcraft players are generally successful in poker so they figure "hey, why not play a game where I can make a ton of money without having to be the top pros". I am not sure.
If you have any insight as to why there is a connection between the two please enlighten me because I am quite curious.
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It's because poker makes you lots of money, and because if you are good at games, you are good at games. You need quick thinking and the ability to read your opponent, those skills are universal.
There are plenty of top fps players who dropped their games to make a living playing poker and the same is true of mtg players.
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That's what (elky?) did and now he is a millionaire im jealous
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They have a well-trained and agile mind. It's what is required for most high level games in any strategy game.
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because both starcraft and poker requires a high level of intellect and experience. very decision-heavy activities with neither emphasizing on skill or any other physical demands.
there is really no "special" connection if thats what your wondering about.
Its as connected as basketball is to soccer both requires skill and teamwork with little emphasis on intelligence.
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Tillerman quit sc and went to poker as well
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If you have the discipline to reach a high level at BW you have the discipline to do pretty much anything and poker happens to be something you really only need discipline and dedication to reach a high skill level at. There's not much else to it, sure both are games of imperfect information but there aren't that many skills that just instantly carry over.
On August 14 2010 17:10 storm44 wrote:
That's what (elky?) did and now he is a millionaire im jealous
ElkY, Rekrul, Grrrr, FishEye.. the list goes on. ElkY being the most successful.
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Honestly? I think it's almost exclusively because of Elky and Tillerman. The stories that they quit SC / WC3 to become rich with poker is just something that everybody in the SC/SC2/WC3 communiy knows, so it's probably something most people phantasize about during one point or another. At least elky's stories is also very known in the poker community of course (since he is part of Team Pokerstars Pro)
As with the relation from Starcraft to Poker... there is really none. I mean, obviously both are games, but they have quite different skillsets. But it doesn't matter, if you became good at Starcraft you probably are good at improving yourself in a game if you put the time and effort into it, which is why you'll probably be successfull in poker with lots of patience.
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I guess a few high profile players making the switch helped spread the word, but many of the top "poker pros" nowadays have a background in gaming of some sort, not just RTS but FPS or card games like Magic (Brock Parker, David Williams, Haxton, Bonomo etc). Hell, even a number of chess players and actual athletes have made the switch.
If you have the mindset to become good at one competitive game, then it's easy to apply that in a a different field such as poker.
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On August 14 2010 18:04 FuRong wrote:
I guess a few high profile players making the switch helped spread the word, but many of the top "poker pros" nowadays have a background in gaming of some sort, not just RTS but FPS or card games like Magic (Brock Parker, David Williams, Haxton, Bonomo etc). Hell, even a number of chess players and actual athletes have made the switch.
If you have the mindset to become good at one competitive game, then it's easy to apply that in a a different field such as poker.
well, pretty much all pros have some background of that sort. You're only very rarely going to find new players who have a business background or something.
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RTS and hold em have a lot of similar thinking. I would even argue the only major difference is APM (you don't need any in poker obviously).
Early on, you are trying to minimize damage to your money while you get into a position to take out your opponent.
As you transition into mid-game, you can see everybodies relative strength, but they may have a trick or two that can flip the game around, so you can't just go in swinging.
There is a lot of emphasis on passive-aggressive play, deception and general game sense, knowing when you can get away with wild plays and when you can't, even though you have limited knowledge of what your opponent actually has at the moment along with having the patience to wait for the right opportunity.
In the end game, one of the two is clearly in the lead, but that still doesn't give him enough power to tread lightly, a skilled player can rally from virtually nothing and win the match even when it seems impossible.
In the end, StarCraft is a lot of fun, but poker is where the money is at. You can make a great living being the 10,000th best person in the world at poker because people will sit down at a table and throw money at you because its fun. Not so much in starcraft.
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I find the Starcraft and Poker discussion very intresting.
Well to put it simple, the reason why they are so tied together is because both games have pretty much the same strategic elements, such as deception, decision making, reading your opponent, adaption, to know when your the underdog and so fourth. (there are probobly many more you can name but you get the point)
What i've discovered lately aswell is the mindset when you sit down and play a game of Starcraft. Because mindset is a huge factor in Starcraft. Being focused, having a plan, no distractions. This applies to Poker aswell, because when your not focused, you'll end up making bad decisions which leads to your loss.
I've studied some poker during the past years (im not a player just a hobby player) and you can find alot of strategic similarity on both games. There is alot of psychological startegies you can apply from Poker to Starcraft, and vice versa.
Is there any interview where these past stracraft -> poker players that cover this subject? I would love to see/read one!
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Personally, ive been good at gaming in general ( not starcraft ) a couple of years ago, i wasnt ubergreat, but i made around 30.000 euros playing computer games (mostly unreal tournament and WC3).
I always was good at games, so when i watched the movie Rounders i wanted to try poker aswell, and when playing it online, it really feels just like playing some computer game.
I didnt make as much as Elky, but i still wont have to worry about work in the next couple of years, but i never realized it to be real money when i played for it until i tried playing poker live, which is fun but reaaaaaalllly slow 
So i guess, since the mind of a gamer is also very good for a poker player, it is clever for poker site affiliates to try and get those ppl to play through their sites, since they are most likely to become long term winning players and therefore make them alot of money.
Thats why alot of advertisements are linked on gaming sites that refer to poker.
Another reason might simple be: Everyone and their mum has tried poker or something similar in their life, and the average joe does it for a couple of times and loses on average 500$ (this is internet poker long term statistics) before he quits. That way he will never be recognized as a poker player, while a good gamer (read: starcraft player) will more likely be successful, like elky and partly Grrr and many more.
Actually, when i visited places to play poker like vegas, i always met alot of young ppl with gaming background, alot of them were superrich through poker. Fact is, most of them werent the best gamers, since ppl who are really good at one thing wont convert as easily as the talented players who never practised enough to make it to the top.
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Russian Federation81 Posts
i think connection of starcraft/chess/,insert your fav game> for success in poker is way overstimated
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On August 14 2010 19:51 chinaski.chinaski wrote:
i think connection of starcraft/chess/,insert your fav game> for success in poker is way overstimated
this.
There are some connections in terms of level of deductive reasoning and thinking in terms of efficiency or maximization, but they are pretty thin beyond that. Not a big correlation between a good poker player and a good gamer, and vice versa. Too many other variables involved.
A lot of poker players have gaming backgrounds/hobbies. That's pretty much it. People who are drawn to games for a living likely played them in their childhood/adolescence, but they are entirely different games.
Idra couldn't handle the SWONGS of poker with his current attitude. Would tilt massively, tap the glass, drive away fish and have people bring their best game against him.
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On August 14 2010 17:49 Puosu wrote:If you have the discipline to reach a high level at BW you have the discipline to do pretty much anything and poker happens to be something you really only need discipline and dedication to reach a high skill level at. There's not much else to it, sure both are games of imperfect information but there aren't that many skills that just instantly carry over. Show nested quote +On August 14 2010 17:10 storm44 wrote:
That's what (elky?) did and now he is a millionaire im jealous ElkY, Rekrul, Grrrr, FishEye.. the list goes on. ElkY being the most successful.
I have heard that Slayer has won even more than Elky but it was a couple of years ago before Elky got sponsored by PS.
Any updates on Slayer ? ( Guy seems quite low profile ).
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I just registered for THIS thread.
correlation between Starcraft and Poker is HUGE.
You won't become a better poker player by playing SC, but i noticed that every SC player with decent skills were doing well in Poker! And Why? That's pretty simple, to be successful at Starcraft mean to be disciplined and always focused! Trying to find the leaks to crush your opponent. I think it would be relevant to see the brain activity of a Progamer while playing Poker and SC. I'm sure the solicited parts are pretty much the same area.
I'm a good SC player , C on iccup(after a huge 5 years break). was Diamond in Sc2 Beta, and i'm doing FINE with Poker ! I will play for a living soon, I'm convinced.
I've also noticed a link between Poker, Starcraft and Students doing an Economic / Finance Degree.
I'm doing all the 3 !
Heres my graff for NL30 and NL50 , only 7k hands played, but its a start.
http://img835.imageshack.us/f/graff.jpg/
I think we are gifted people mentally strong enough to achieve great goals.
No doubt there's a link.
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10387 Posts
I think Idra would be a terrible poker player tbh, he tilts too much for one thing.
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On September 06 2010 07:33 nucky wrote:
I've also noticed a link between Poker, Starcraft and Students doing an Economic / Finance Degree.
they actually tried training korean progamers to become day traders. i didn't follow up on it but i'm curious to know the results. i personally thought they should be groomed to be air traffic controllers and macro the airports of the world so i don't have to wait forever just to begin a vacation.
http://kotaku.com/168440/starcraft-korean-pro gamers-and-day-trading
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Thx for your post Terranist , pretty interesting
I'm fascinated by Aircraft technology, Astronomy etc..
Slayer'sBoxer went in the Air Force when he retired i think..
We are Profiled as potentially good Poker Player 
I used Graphs and statistics combined into chart to find my weakness and step up my game.
The program is called Hold'em Manager.Professional. Crazy Stuff.
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EPT![[image loading]](http://img835.imageshack.us/f/graff.jpg/)
