What in the Word? (vol. 1)
March 20th, 2024 Newsletter
Cold Deck Quote:
"Life is like a game of cards. The hand that is dealt to you is determinism; though the way you play it is free will." - Jawaharlal Nehru
The News... A new series on Poker Jargon...
If you play live poker long enough, you will hear all sorts of wild and weird phrases that don't make a ton of sense unless you understand the jargon of the game. (sometimes even when you do, these things still don't make sense).
I thought it would be fun to go over some of this lingo in an ongoing series named "What in the word?". We will be going over some often misunderstood phrases that you may hear around the poker table. If you have one you would like to add are curious about, let me know at mikieculpepper@gmail.com.
What in the word? - Levels -
I'm so old, this is what i learned to type on.
When discussing poker, it is often beneficial to label an opponent (or field) to a "level" on which you believe that person plays. To be sure, there are plenty of tags out there, some of which carry a negative connotation, that describes a particular player's tendancies such as 'fish', 'donkey', 'manic', 'station', 'nit', 'gto bot', or 'killer'. These monikers label the type of play a person believes another player exhibits and maybe we will go over these terms in another installment.
However, the terms I would like to discuss today aren't a player type per se, but rather the level on which he or she plays (or so it is believed).
Like a lot of jargon, some terms fall out of fashion only to be brought back as ok. As an example, the term "crippled" (as in a person) is rarely used anymore and has been deemed antiquated and offensive. The word's replacement: "handicapped" fell out of favor for "disabled" which some then got push back in favor of "differently abled" and so forth and so on. Well much as this is, so goes poker levels.
What the current accepted words for poker levels seem to be is "Rec" (recreational), "Reg" (regualar), "Pro" (professional).
The term "Rec" tends to be used to describe a player who knows the rules and likes to play and may even play often. However, there is a connotation that this type of player is unsophisticated in terms of knowledge of strategy. This player is likely to play with money that is not dedicated to his game but rather with funds that are budgeted to leisure and entertainment.
A "Reg" is usually a term that describes a player who has a bit more strategy and a deeper thought and attention to detail while she is playing. This player may have a bankroll that she dedicates to only playing the game.
A "Pro", usually refers to a player who spends a large portion of his time and efforts into studying and playing poker. A "pro" puts a lot of emphasis on game selection, seat selection, number of big blinds sitting with (in cash games), and other intangibles of the game. He will always have a dedicated bankroll.
These terms do a good enough job to have a general idea of what the user is trying to convey once you have heard them used in context enough. However, in general, they suck.
First, trying to pin all of the poker players into 3 levels is the equivalent of separating baseball players into tee ball, high school, and the major leagues. Obviously there is much more nuance to this and every other group.
Secondly, the terms don't make a whole lot of sense. "Recreational players"? By the word, that is everyone except professionals. Which by the way, many "pros" don't make it as their source of income. Can you really be a pro at something and be losing money? I have also heard the term "pro" to describe someone who makes a living outside poker which kind of defies the term pro. If every retired person in Florida who happens to turn a profit for the year is a pro, that really puts the definition of the term on its head. The term "Reg" is the most bizarre of them all because it rhymes with "Rec" and just because a person plays "regularly" doesn't make him a tougher opponent.
Back in the day, recreational players were called amateurs. However, some people took that as a derogatory so the "Rec" was born.
Amateurs make up the olympics. Amateurs are the people out there learning. Amateurs are playing for the love of the game. I am going to start calling myself an amateur.
That is, at least, until I retire and go pro. 😏
This week's Tip of the Cap goes to.... Chris McNees for finishing 6th in a daily at Ceasars Palace in Las Vegas. Great Job Chris!
We will be doing a facebook live stream on our channel on May 2nd from the Galveston VFW. What could this be all about? More to come in the next newsletter!
Zoom with Joe! Joe hosts a free zoom meetup during our Tuesday Freezeout games. Give it a try if that sounds like fun.
The ZOOM password is 432777
2023-2024 Points Leaders
- Michael Culpepper 33
- Joe Schwenk 26
- Marty Kunz 23
- Rey Martinez 21
- Adrienne Culpepper 21
- Stan Blazyk 17
- Tommy Harken 15
- Moody Freunberg 14
Recent Results
- March 12th, 2024
- 1st - Jeff J
- 2nd - Adrienne C.
- 3rd - Marty K
- March 19th, 2024
- 1st - Mikie C.
- 2nd - Rey
- 3rd - Jeff J.
Coach's Corner
Gone are the days when, if you had 10-15 big blinds, you would be in only fold or shove mode. The game has shown that there are other (and better +ev) methods to navigating a short stack.
Jonathan Little will walk you through this hand and show you two top pros battling it out with their eyes and ears open.
Level: intermediate.
2023-2024 Points Leaders
- Michael Culpepper 33
- Joe Schwenk 26
- Marty Kunz 23
- Rey Martinez 21
- Adrienne Culpepper 21
- Stan Blazyk 17
- Tommy Harken 15
- Moody Freunberg 14
Recent Tuesday Freezeout Results
- March 12th, 2024
- 1st - Jeff J
- 2nd - Adrienne C.
- 3rd - Marty K
- March 19th, 2024
- 1st - Mikie C.
- 2nd - Rey
- 3rd - Jeff J.
Coach's Corner
Gone are the days when, if you had 10-15 big blinds, you would be in only fold or shove mode. The game has shown that there are other (and better +ev) methods to navigating a short stack.
Jonathan Little will walk you through this hand and show you two top pros battling it out with their eyes and ears open.
Level: intermediate.
Venmo Addresses
Michael Culpepper - @Michael-Culpepper-14
Joe Schwenk - @Joseph-Schwenk
Jonathan Ayala - @Jonathan-Ayala-55
Have any questions or feedback for this newsletter? If so, please email me
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