The Pros Speak Their Mind: Best Poker Blogs of 2014

Not content with record live tournament achievements, million+ cashes and titles, these pros inspired and challenged the poker community with their heartfelt opinions, as well. Here are some of the most moving and thought-provoking blogs and social media posts of 2014 by Daniel Colman, Daniel Negreanu, Vicky Coren, William Tonking, Alex Fitzgerald, and Chris Moorman:

Dan Colman Speaks Out on the 'Ugly World' of Poker, Daniel Negreanu Looks on the Brighter Side 

The 23-year old who made nearly as many million dollars in live tournaments in a single year also marked 2014 with his controversial stand on poker and his decline to promote the game and its star system.  

@Daniel Colman and @Daniel Negreanu represent two very different generations and schools of poker and perhaps more surprisingly, diametrically opposed views and feelings about the game and the industry. Both  make some thought-provoking points and all of us who love the game of poker should maybe take the time to answer the questions they raise for ourselves.

It bothers me that people care so much about poker's well being. As poker is a game that has such a net negative effect on the people playing it. Both financially and emotionally.

As for promoting myself, I feel that individual achievements should rarely be celebrated. I am not going to take part in it for others and I wouldn't want it for myself. (Colman, "I really don't owe anyone an explanation but I'll give one..." 2+2)

Whatever it is you choose to do in your life, make sure INTEGRITY is at the core of it. If you are genuinely having an issue with the morality of playing poker for a living, make a choice. Don't compromise your own moral code for money. If you truly believe in your heart that what you are doing hurts people, and you don't want to hurt people, you need to make a choice. (Negreanu, My Two Cents on Daniel Colman "Controversy")

Philipp Gruissem: 'Giving makes you happy and everybody should try it'

In the aftermath of the Big One for One Drop and during the ensuing 'Colman debate' about whether or not poker should be promoted at all, an alternative emerged from within the poker community itself - @Philipp Gruissem @Igor Kurganov @Liv Boeree and other top pros have found an answer to 'Colman's Dilemma': Raising for Effective Giving. It is a program designed to help and encourage poker players to make meaningful and efficient donations to various causes and charities of their choice. While Colman drew attention to the 'ugly world' of poker, Gruissem came out with a simple answer to his moral dilemma: "Trust me, the only way to be 100% happy if you are living in this poker world is to give back."

Poker should be treated like anything in life. If you don’t find the right balance, it’s not good for you. There are fine lines between playing a strategy game, running away from real life and being addicted.

Use the time at the table as a life experience. I’m not saying you should dedicate your life to poker, but if you ever sit down at a table, use this time to experience yourself. From emotion control, social skills and rationality, whatever you want to take out of poker in order to grow as a person, you have so many opportunities. I see a huge potential in this community as many have been lucky enough to see the world, recognize problems everywhere, and at the same time have had the freedom develop themselves.

For example, one of my biggest lessons that I learned from poker is to fear nobody and respect everybody. You can outsmart everybody and everybody can outsmart you in a single hand. This is the same mistake we do in life. We put people down and put people on pedestals too often.

read on: A solution to Dan Colman's dilemma

So You Want to Go Pro?

"Trials and tribulations are making you wiser for when the good times do come. If you don’t spend any time in the dirt, how are you going to manage success? You’re going to be arrogant, you’re going to feel entitled, and you’re going to be delusional about your abilities."

Professional player and coach @Alex Fitzgerald, aka 'The Assassinato', is always a pleasure to read, both for the wisdom and experience shared and for his unconventional strategy ideas and tips. Here is his must read piece for everyone tempted by the poker pro lifestyle: 

I have enjoyed a very easy life since I turned pro at 18. Yet, many times, I’ve wondered what the hell I was doing with my life. When I wasn’t going broke, I was stagnated at the same bankroll for years, not advancing. You know what, though? You have to be thankful for how difficult it is to “break out” in poker. Often, when you win a large amount of money early in your career, you think you deserve it. You usually don’t. You usually don’t know how to save the money, stay within your bankroll, and continue studying to grow. You have, usually, only achieved a brief high, but of course you want the high to last.

read on: So You Want To Go Pro?

Will Tonking: 'I kept my promise but I didn't reach my goal'

@William Tonking, the November Niner from New Jersey who finished 4th in the WSOP 2014 Main Event, posted a touching thank-you letter to all of his supporters, family and friends. Whoever was your favorite to win the Main Event, take the time to read it and you will no doubt be moved and inspired by this talented player's humility, gratitude, and resolve not to disappoint himself or any of the people who believe in him!

..However, in poker we can't always control the outcome. We can only control how we handle each situation.

We make decisions based on limited amounts of information with the hopes that we have more information than our competition. This guarantees a profit in the long run but not always in the short run. I felt that I had as much information as any of my competitors and that with 7 left having the most chips we were the favorite to win. From that point forward what I couldn't control did not cooperate and the outcome was disappointing relative to the position I was in. Anyone that's been there will tell you that when it gets down to a certain point and if you truly understand the opportunity you have that it's not about the money or anything else. It's only about winning.

I can tell you without any hesitation that there was no one at that table, in that tournament, or in this world that wanted to win more than I did. Not just for me but for us. For where we're from, for my story, and for what I stand for.This experience was unlike anything else and I will be forever grateful for the opportunity and for everyone that made it so special.

Goodbye Team Pro

@Victoria Coren Mitchell's blog suddenly became the hottest poker destination on the Internet on November 26th when the only two-time EPT champion in history announced she had terminated her sponsorship contract with PokerStars on account of the company's decision to offer casino games:

But I cannot professionally and publicly endorse it, even passively by silence with my name still over the shop. Poker is the game I love, poker is what I signed up to promote. The question I’m probably asked most often in interviews is about the danger of addiction, going skint and so on. I’m always careful to explain the difference between the essentially fair nature of poker, where we all take each other on with the same basic chance, and those casino games at unfavourable odds which can be (especially online) so dangerous for the vulnerable or desperate. Although PokerStars assured me I would not have to actively promote the casino arm, I know in my heart that continuing in my current role could risk helping to send people to a place where they would encounter something I think is dangerous. That’s not the way I want to make a living.

Though Daniel Negreanu came out in defense of PokerStars on the issue of casino games, we can only join him in giving kudos to Vicky Coren:

What matters most is that when you draw that line you also follow it up with doing what you feel is right, and Vicky deserves all the kudos in the world for doing that.

The Power of Thinking Positively in Poker

"The power of the mind and positive thinking is something I’ve been trying to focus on more in recent times and I’ve come to the conclusion that positivity in life is strongly linked with success and happiness."

To end on a positive note, here is a great post by the world's leading online tournament player, @Chris Moorman, who this year added a major title from LAPC to his live poker resume, published a popular strategy book, and got engaged to be married, so should be an excellent source on the subject :)

One of the biggest benefits of being positive/optimistic is happiness. Optimistic people believe that negative events are temporary and manageable in that they can change their actions in the future to alter events and stop the same negative events from occurring again, i.e. learning from their mistakes. On the contrary a negative person believes that nothing is their fault and wishes failure on others to aid their jealousy issues.

Now you may ask what does this have to do with poker? In my opinion positivity is essential to being a successful poker player in the long term. No matter how good you are at this game there are going to be times when things aren’t going smoothly and you are in the middle of one of those dreaded downswings. You really learn the most about a poker player and their character not when they are winning and everything is favorable, but when times are tough and they are unsure where next months rent is coming from.

read on: The Power of Thinking Positively in Poker

Chris Moorman Nominated in Three BluffEurope British Poker Awards Categories

Dan Colman Speaks Out on the 'Ugly World' of Poker, Daniel Negreanu Looks on the Brighter Side

Will Tonking: 'I kept my promise but I didn't reach my goal'

Philipp Gruissem: 'Giving makes you happy and everybody should try it'

Victoria Coren in the Run for a Second EPT Title at Sanremo