Anyone who makes such a ridiculous claim such as what's suggested by the title of this post should not be allowed to play in the World Series of Poker! I can hear the virtual laughs emanating through cyberspace. I suppose I should attempt to explain.
In my estimation, poker is a game of action and reaction... a bastardized card-driven exercise of Einstein's Theory of Relativity. This universal law that every effect has a traceable cause, transcends all academic, mathematical, and competitive boundaries.
Just Google "Bruce Lee Quotes" and you will find some real gems. He may have been a little bit trippy for my tastes, but one of the quotes attributed to him has had big impact on my poker game. I don't recall the exact wording, but in a nutshell it is, "When my opponent expands, I contract. When my opponent contracts, I expand."
What does it mean for my poker game? It means that I have to always be aware of my opponents strengths and weaknesses. I attack the weaknesses, and I beware of the strengths. If I have an opponent who I know very well, and I know she only plays great hands, and she 'expands' by throwing out a huge bet... what do I do if I am holding trash? I probably 'contract' and fold. The fact is, I can make up that loss by expanding for the next 20 hands while she's waiting for good cards! This is a very simplistic example, but it applies to many situations.
So what does Evander Holyfield have to do with any of this? Evander isn't exactly known the world over as an gifted orator, so if you Google "Evander Holyfied Quotes" you will probably get some quite different results than what you will find for Bruce Lee. Aside from being the only four-time heavyweight boxing champion (besting Muhammad Ali's old record), he is known as arguably the best counterpuncher boxing has ever seen.
For people who are not familiar with boxing terminology, counterpunching is the act of hitting an adversary immediately after he or she has attempted to hit you. To see textbook execution of counterpunching, watch the last minute of Round 10 of the first fight between Holyfield and Riddick Bowe (search "Bowe Holyfield Round 10" on YouTube). Holyfield was all but finished in this fight, and then used counterpunching to turn the tables and nearly knock out Riddick Bowe before the round ended.
Counterpunching is effective in boxing because after a big punch is thrown and does not connect, there is often a period of vulnerability just afterwards when the energy of the big punch has been expended. Evander Hoyfield demonstrates time and time again that, with patience and good timing, it is possible to give your opponents just enough rope to hang themselves in these situations.
For my WSOP run, I must master the poker counterpunch -- letting my opponents swing and miss.... enticing them to thrown in chips when I have the best hand, minimizing my losses when I don't, contracting when they expand, and exercising patience and good judgement to wait for the best time to spring my attack. Just like Bruce and Evander taught me!
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