This post was written by Daniel Smith, a fellow baseball fan and poker
player.
This past October saw something that has never happened in history. The champions of both major World Series were crowned during October. Most of you that follow sports are award of the San Francisco Giants winning the baseball World Series however, but they were not the only World Champion crowned
The World Series of Poker was devised by Benny Binion back in 1970 as a way to determine who was the real world champion of poker. The first time the event was held, a series of cash games was followed by a popular vote. Johnny Moss was the first ever World Series of Poker champion and the only one to be voted that honor.
Starting in 1971, a freeze out tournament was held to determine poker's world champion. Now known as the WSOP Main Event, the event literally draws thousands of players from around the world to take their shot at Millions and the WSOP Championship bracelet. Greg Merson won this year's WSOP Main Event and a staggering $8.5 Million for first.
Most of us know the history of baseball at least in some rudimentary fashion. Baseball's World Series is essentially the finals of baseball's playoff season and has determined the game's champion for over 100 years.
Both baseball and poker are very different games, yet they still have some interesting similarities. The first being that both games are somewhat of a long grind. Baseball in the fact that the season is 162 games long and poker in the aspect that players will many times go for long periods of time without making a single significant action at the tables.
Also, both games require a great amount of mental focus by players and both are incredibly skillful games. Granted, baseball relies more on the physical skill than poker does. However, both do require a good amount of mental strategy to be successful.
The great thing about both poker and baseball is that they are games that can be enjoyed by people throughout their lives. When we are past the age of playing baseball competitively, we can coach others and enjoy the game as a spectator. With poker, as long as our minds are still sharp, we can still be competitive in the game.
The election year was partially to blame for both baseball and poker's World Series crowning their champions in the same month. Normally poker crowns their champion in November. This rare occurrence may not have had any real significant historical significance in the world of sports, but it did give us a chance to briefly look at the two World Series' in major sports.
player.
This past October saw something that has never happened in history. The champions of both major World Series were crowned during October. Most of you that follow sports are award of the San Francisco Giants winning the baseball World Series however, but they were not the only World Champion crowned
The World Series of Poker was devised by Benny Binion back in 1970 as a way to determine who was the real world champion of poker. The first time the event was held, a series of cash games was followed by a popular vote. Johnny Moss was the first ever World Series of Poker champion and the only one to be voted that honor.
Starting in 1971, a freeze out tournament was held to determine poker's world champion. Now known as the WSOP Main Event, the event literally draws thousands of players from around the world to take their shot at Millions and the WSOP Championship bracelet. Greg Merson won this year's WSOP Main Event and a staggering $8.5 Million for first.
Most of us know the history of baseball at least in some rudimentary fashion. Baseball's World Series is essentially the finals of baseball's playoff season and has determined the game's champion for over 100 years.
Both baseball and poker are very different games, yet they still have some interesting similarities. The first being that both games are somewhat of a long grind. Baseball in the fact that the season is 162 games long and poker in the aspect that players will many times go for long periods of time without making a single significant action at the tables.
Also, both games require a great amount of mental focus by players and both are incredibly skillful games. Granted, baseball relies more on the physical skill than poker does. However, both do require a good amount of mental strategy to be successful.
The great thing about both poker and baseball is that they are games that can be enjoyed by people throughout their lives. When we are past the age of playing baseball competitively, we can coach others and enjoy the game as a spectator. With poker, as long as our minds are still sharp, we can still be competitive in the game.
The election year was partially to blame for both baseball and poker's World Series crowning their champions in the same month. Normally poker crowns their champion in November. This rare occurrence may not have had any real significant historical significance in the world of sports, but it did give us a chance to briefly look at the two World Series' in major sports.
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