Whose hands are tied
a relative newcomer to the poker scene — and has made almost $300,000 this year. He says: “My mother was very anti-gambling. She used an IP address blocker to firewall poker sites. She wanted me to go to university — I ended up going for a semester.” Wantman says his mother became more supportive when she saw the money coming in: “She’s results-oriented.”
Conniff’s mother also took convincing: “Jewish mothers can’t help but worry about everything in the world and this was no exception. One thing I’ll always give her credit for, she didn’t push me to become a doctor — she just wanted me to be successful and happy.”
Melanie Weisner’s wins include EPT events in Monte Carlo and Prague, and a WPT in Johannesburg. She says: “As long as I’ve been successful supporting myself, it’s never been an issue. My parents’ attitude is acceptance, with a little bit of disdain.”
I asked Strazynski what percentage of successful pro-players are Jewish. He said: “It seems like everybody, right?” Bardah also commented that there are lots of very successful Jewish players. I asked him why: “Jewish people are pretty smart. We’re business oriented, we’re critical thinkers. Most Jews are pretty successful, whatever they put their minds to.” Wantman said: “We value our money, so when it comes to gambling, you try to minimise the risk and maximise your edge, and treat it like a business.”
Conniff offered a different perspective: “Playing poker requires a set of skills anyone can have. I don’t think one set of people is more apt to be good at poker than another. But poker is hard to play professionally if you don’t have, or come from, money. If you need to pay your family’s bills, it’s hard to take that money and play poker. The median Jewish family income is higher than most others.”
In Greenstein’s view, “Jews are good at maths and we’ve had Jewish psychologists since the early days of psychology… Those are the skills you need. When people ask me what to take in college to be a poker player, I say a major in psychology, a minor in maths.”
Tournament days are long. Unless you’re eliminated, you can easily spend 12 hours at the poker table. I asked Thaler how he managed to eat kosher: “I eat cereal in my hotel room on my dinner break.
‘‘If I’m in Vegas, I go to a kosher restaurant called Jerusalem Steak House. Otherwise, I eat muffins, Pringles or salad. Once in a while I eat kosher chocolate like KitKat.”
Engel told me: “When I first got into poker, I was super strict. I’d travel with all my food — I’d bring dry stuff and add hot water. Most hotels you can find a bagel for breakfast, then I’d have fruit and granola bars. Even today, I consider access to kosher food when I’m picking tournament stops — it’s definitely a plus.”
Other Jewish players have an easier time. Weisner says: “I’m mindful if I’m with people who are kosher, but I’m pretty lax in terms of observance. It’s not a factor when it comes to tournaments. I’ve posted countless pictures of me eating bacon.”
Tournaments tend to take place over several days, often over the weekend. Thaler, who has won two WSOP Circuit events, told me he had petitioned the WSOP: “About six years ago, I got signatures from 20 pro players, asking the WSOP to rearrange The Main Event, not to be on Sabbath. I gave it to [Tournament Director] Jack Effel. He said the only time he rescheduled a tournament was for Yom Kippur. I told him that, to me, the Sabbath is equally as important as Yom Kippur.”
I asked other Jewish players how they felt about tournaments taking place over the weekend. Bardah said: “I play, but if I met a nice Jewish girl, who wanted me to make a good example for the children, I would try not to play on Shabbat.
They need to take account of the Orthodox Jews who play this game