Youth & Poker....

The average age at the poker table continues to get younger. I believe this trend will continue for a few more years as more Internet Players come to the live poker rooms.
There is much to be said for their strengths but I believe we do have three natural advantages over many of them.
Most of them think they are far better players then they are.
We “old guys” are invisible to most of them.
We have learned from “hard knocks” the value of patience in this game.

A few weeks ago I was playing 4/8 limit in seat 2. Seat 1, was a young man who looked very similar to the Jim Carey character “Cable guy” in the movie of the same name.

He wasn’t playing very premium hands and I took three pots away from him in about an hour. I hadn’t said anything at the table up to that point and he turns to me and snarls “you think you’re pretty smart don’t ya!” I smiled and stated “yes, I am very smart”.

He angrily responded “ I ought to bitch-slap you. I almost laughed but I just said. “Son, you sound like you have a little gender confusion.”
He jumps up and yells “you want to go outside”. I look him up and down and casually respond “you are not really my type” to muffled laughter at the table.
He storms away and comes back in about 30 seconds “steaming” and goes on tilt playing just awful. After he lost all the rest of his money in the next few hands of play he stood up, glared at me and left. Another player softly said, “there is a young man who probably shouldn’t play poker”. There were a number of nods around the table.

Of course most young men are nowhere near that extreme in there behavior. But, most of them are bringing fairly large egos with them to the poker table. That is something good players can take advantage of. And young players need to become aware of.

Of course younger players do have many strengths and are contributing to the poker world in a more positive way.

I have reproduced some material from another poker blogger, Dr. Pauley at www.lasvegasvegas.com/ that speaks to that very well.

"The poker scene in Las Vegas continues to thrive with rooms opening and expanding to accommodate the crowds of waiting poker players. Poker has been revitalized and re-invented in a new, bigger, better format. Long time Vegas poker players have been witness to the 'coming out' of the game. Poker players have long been the poor cousins to other casino game players probably because poker is the only game in the casino that allow players to wager among themselves, instead of the house, not the most profitable use of floorspace. Poker rooms were small, smokey and prone to sudden relocation.

Today, Las Vegas poker rooms have risen from the decay of yesterday's decline into some of the most comfortable, plush real estate in the casino. Equipped with pagers, digital info displays, plasma TV's and shufflemasters, these large smoke free rooms are professionally managed and offer players comfortable seating, central locations, easy parking, low-limit no-limit, comps, tables full of action and NLHE tournaments. The players that frequent these new rooms are more demanding, they want a quality poker experience.

So, how come poker has come so far? Legions of new players filling the seats in the poker rooms here in Las Vegas are the reason for the resurgence of the game. These new players are young, hard working, hard playing competitors that have made poker their game of choice. They come to play, they bring cash, they bring skill and they bring change. The game has definitely changed and for many of the experienced players it is a welcome change. Much more action in today's version of poker, much more cash and often much easier cash. A nice bonus for many of the Vegas poker room regulars, but only for the ones that retooled their game to take advantage of this new poker arena.

Some of the senior players I know have been complaining that the games have changed and not for the better since they can't even break even in the lower-limit games where they play. They haven't made the transition and probably won't. These new youthful players are packing more raw skill and aggression than the oldsters can handle.

I like what poker has become, and just in time, too. I once believed that poker in Las Vegas casinos was doomed to extinction. Rooms were downsizing, closing and moving closer to the door every day. Even the continued existence of the World Series of Poker was in jeopardy. Dark days had indeed descended upon the game, then...holy hole card camera! Poker is on prime time television and just in time to supplement the proliferation of Internet card rooms. Thousands and thousands of bored youth staring at computer monitors discovered and embraced poker, making poker their game of choice. Everybody could learn to play poker...male or female, big or small...that's why poker rooms are being remodeled, enlarged and improved, to attract these young, sophisticated players.

The casinos know today's young players will be filling poker rooms for decades to come. Poker has moved into the mainstream.

The next time you are in your favorite poker room enjoying amenities and comforts unheard of a few short years ago; then, thank the kids playing at your table. Even thank the kid that cracked your Aces with a one-outer case card on the river. They are the reason poker in Las Vegas has survived to become so nice and respectable.
I understand the complaints some of the older players have trying to adapt to this new digital generation. I talked to some of them and made a list of their complaints about playing at a table full of twenty-something's."

Top nine complaints about playing poker with young players.

9. Believes catching a one-outer is skill.
8. Two words...body piercing.
7. iPod makes hearing aids squeal.
6. Three words...Lime green hair.
5. Every sentence begins with, "In your day..."
4. Real teeth.
3. Blinding reflections from sunglasses.
2. Even the girls have tattoos.
1. They win!