By Samantha Williams
Despite the fact that playing online poker games in the US is considered by the Department of Justice to be criminal. In the case of Washington State, this is a Class C Felony – not sure what that means; are felonies classed on a scale of A – Z? Online poker games have become kids’ games in a way, and kids are making a fortune by playing. When we say “kids” we are talking about young men aged around 18 – 22 but we do know they are playing online poker even younger. They have to be to get where they are so young, and they are changing the face of the poker EV.
EV means “expected value” and essentially expected value comes about when thousand of hours of poker have been played and experience gained. The thing is that these youngsters are playing thousands of hours of poker games in very short periods of time in multi-tabling situations, so they are getting the experience of the “old-guard” poker player – over very short periods of time. The same poker playing experience which may take one old fashioned player 25 years to get under his belt; the young hotshots can do in a year when they spend 14 hours a day playing; and playing up to 24 tables simultaneously – it is this that is changing EV.
Let’s look at Daniel “Jungleman” Cates as an example, we don’t know how long he has been playing online poker games, but he has always played games online. He is only 21 years old now, and not only does he take on the Phil Ivey’s and Erik Seidel’s of this world when he plays online, he takes them on at the live poker tournament tables too.
Daniel Cates has a lot in common with most of the other young poker bloods; the thing that is different is, that in 2010, he was the highest online poker games earner in the world. Daniel “Jungleman” Cates is a poker phenom; there is only one other young player who can currently lay claim to being a phenom, and this is Viktor Blom, whom we know “Isildur1”. But Viktor Blom is infamous for often losing more than he wins. These kids are out-sharking the poker sharks they are battering them river, turn and flop and are seated at the same tables with experts in this game. In 2010 Daniel Cates earned over $5.5 million playing online poker games!
He is also socially almost reclusive in terms of the real world, and doesn’t think twice about the fact that he lost $1.2 million to Gus Hanson in one week. Games with $30 000 stakes are boring as far as he is concerned and this; this, is the new breed of online poker games player.
