Sublime

László’s has plenty of holes that keep it from becoming a model of scientific purity. There was no control group, for starters. All three of the Polgár sisters received the same education. There was no fourth sister who went to school the normal way and missed László’s special training. There was no randomization. László didn’t adopt a random child

when I inevitably ask him the question he gets asked most frequently—what his single piece of advice would be to aspiring poker players—his answer is two words long: pay attention.

“Generally speaking,” Erik begins, “your tournament cash rate should be around twenty, twenty-five percent. Not fifty percent.” What? I’m cashing too much? How is that a bad thing? “The way the math works is that the money is concentrated up top. The only people who really make money in this business are the ones who can make it to that final table

if there’s ever a time to tread a bit more carefully when you’re not quite sure where you stand, it’s the Main. You should, generally speaking, be a little less trigger-happy in calling off light for your tournament life—that is, in making a marginal call that will end your run. Because, generally speaking, people won’t be putting you to that decis

Milton Erickson.

isn’t actually that long. That’s how long it took between my sitting down at my first tournament and my winning my first tournament. Sure, a baby tournament. But a win is a win.

There’s just one sound left in the room, reminiscent of a full-throated courting ritual of summer cicadas. It’s the sound of poker chips.