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Greg Raymer

Dunno if you heard, but a few days ago some men answered a prostitution ad. “Why is this newsworthy?” you may find yourself asking. After all, this is, has been, and will continue to be a common occurrence in the Western world. Well, it turned out that one of the men to respond to the ad was 2004 WSOP Champion Greg Raymer. “Oh!”, you say, “Now I understand why it’s newsworthy…”. Um, no! Sorry, but you couldn’t be more wrong. The only people who should care about “news” like this are those directly affected by the incident, namely Greg’s wife Cheryl Raymer and other members of his family.

Neither the poker media, nor the mainstream media should have made an issue out of this non-issue, but in this day and age of sensationalized headlines, Raymer’s exploits, sadly, were plastered all over the Internet for voyeuristic consumers to gawk at and make a mockery of.

To be sure, Greg Raymer is one of the good guys in the poker world. Ever since his landmark bracelet victory almost a decade ago, the former patent attorney has not only become a household poker name but also has become a tireless advocate for the game of poker. “What does all Raymer’s done for poker have to do with him answering a prostitution ad?” you may ask? Nothing!  Precisely. And that’s exactly how the “news” should’ve been handled. It should’ve remained private despite his being a public poker figure.

While there’s definitely validity to other opinions – Bill Rini’s comes to mind – the fact is that Raymer’s misstep didn’t have anything to do with poker; what he’s best known for. It’s not like he cheated while playing online or at the live felt – THAT would actually have been newsworthy.

Greg Raymer isn’t the first “public figure”, and won’t be the last, to err as far as his private married life is concerned. Everyone knows what former President Bill Clinton was accused of, and that, too, was all over the news, but Greg Raymer is neither the leader of the free world nor is he accountable to tens of millions of people who voted him into office. Going a step further, Raymer’s isn’t a Tiger Woods either, in that to the best of this poker writer’s knowledge he doesn’t endorse or represent any brands; so there’s no “corporate responsibility” or loss of face “towards consumers” either.

Tiger’s issues ended up in his wife Elin leaving him, but he was eventually able to move on and put it all behind him. By the same token, the Linda Tripp, Jennifer Flowers, and Monica Lewinsky scandals that plagued the Clinton presidency eventually landed him an impeachment, but retrospectively in no other tangible way did that affect his presidency or overall legacy. We can only imagine the stresses that Tiger Woods, President Clinton, and their families went through in their personal lives. Yet in both cases, the passage of times seems to have enabled all parties involved to move on, each in their respective ways. And the media have moved on too – choosing to refocus on all the positives that each of those public figures continues to bring to the fore.

Im about to make the most obvious statement ever but during the last few days it has never been emphasized more for me. When you get dealt Aces in a tournament, when the hand is over, you will either be really happy or really mad. You’re gonna lose with them or get no action with them, or win with them. And anytime you lose with them preflop, it’s pretty disheartening.

In last sunday’s 200k, the 3rd hand of the tournament I get dealt AA, and manage to somehow have my 5 bet shove called by AK at 300 Big Blinds deep. The flop was 10JQ and I couldnt hit my chop outs. I was left with 320 chips. I grinded for 4 hours to get deep in the money, down to 50 players and was dealt AA again. The money gets in preflop and I’m against K8. Again I lose and Im out of the tournament. Im not here to wine about bad beats. But I almost dread getting aces. Don’t get me wrong, it’s the best hand in poker and I love getting them, but getting them late in tournaments you will often be putting your whole stack in the middle and risking your tournament life. I know, I know, I am a huge favorite and I’ll take them any day. It’s just there is really something to be said about not being all in and at risk of being knocked out. Think back to the times you have won tournaments or done really well in them. I can guarantee you, you somehow found a way to avoid as many showdowns as possible, while winning uncontested pots. Of course running well at the same time:)

Getting AA early in tournaments is also a tricky situation in my opinion. You start with 300 bbs in UB tournaments. 3k starting stack and 5-10 blinds. Say you raise to 30 and get called once out of the BB and the flop comes 1062. How much do you love your aces? I like them, but about 10x less than I liked them preflop. How many times can you justify getting 300bbs in, on a flop with 1 pair? Again, its safer to find a way to get the money in preflop, in turn making you play pots for your tournament life.

Aces are a great thing, but you win huge pots or loose huge pots with them and sometimes they happen at the worst times. I can still remember some of my bad beats with AA for huge amounts of equity that happened 5 years ago. Here is to better luck with AA for everyone!!