I think Roy Halladay, in time, could be as successful in professional poker as he is in professional baseball.
He has the mentality for it. He has the competitive fire for it. And he has the poker face for it.
Not that the Blue Jays' ace pitcher needs the money. But, yes, the day will come eventually that he will have to stop painting the black on the mound. So why not start building the stack at the felt?
For him, the transition would be natural.
"Pitching is all about position and so is poker," says ex-Los Angeles Dodgers ace Orel Hershiser, who took up poker a few years ago.
"I use the same mental outline for poker that I would come up with for pitching. There are times when you can be creative as a card player or you can be basic, just the way a pitcher does. You can go strength against strength and say, 'I'm stronger than you,' which is basic, and then there are other days where you are card or pitch dead and you have to get creative."
Hershiser, who is sponsored by PokerStars, has collected more than US$100,000 in winnings at poker tournaments and online.
He is by no means alone, though. Poker is one of the favourite pastimes of countless athletes, former and active, and many hope to ultimately play it professionally.
Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo is a case in point. Luongo has a natural poker face and the right, easy-going demeanor. He excelled at PokerStars' NHL Charity Shootout held in June in Las Vegas. He also plays online frequently during the NHL season.
And, speaking of online, remember to play me and hundreds of other Canadians this Saturday at www.pokerstars.net in the free York Report Poker Tournament for a Las Vegas prize package that includes return flights for two, hotel and $500 cash. The password is York (upper case Y). Qualify for the big final Oct. 3.
Yesterday, incidentally, was the final day for the World Championship of Online Poker, and so some of PokerStars' premier live tournaments aren't far away, including the European Poker Tour in London, which kicks off Sept. 30.
MARTY YORK IS A LONGTIME CANADIAN SPORTS COLUMNIST. HE CONTRIBUTES TO 24 HOURS AND THIS ARTICLE IS COURTESY OFPOKERSTARS.NET CONTACT MARTY AT MARTY.YORK@LIVE.CA
