My Poker Hero

Let me cut to the chase: My undisputed, all-time numero uno poker hero is Bob Ciaffone. Why? Is he the greatest player in the world? Has he won the greatest number of tournaments? No. Although he is an excellent player, the basis for my unswerving admiration is his unusual attitude toward poker (and other games). His heroism manifests itself in his efforts to advance poker, although his personal gain may be sacrificed in doing so.

He really wants to help people. Due to the fact that Mother Teresa has never sat down in a hold'em or pot-limit Omaha game – at least not with me – I have never met another pure altruist. I don't know if Bob regards helping game players as a sacred or noble calling, but he behaves as if he does. He is generous with his knowledge and frequently helps people, be they poker, chess, bridge, or backgammon players, without regard for his own financial best interests.

Bob is not as well-known as he deserves to be, because he has not promoted and marketed himself aggressively (although, in fact, if he had won the World Series of Poker championship in 1987 instead of finishing third, the promotion and marketing would have occurred naturally and effortlessly).

I claim that Bob Ciaffone is the "World's Leading Authority on Poker" (WLAP). How, you may ask, can I make such an extravagant claim? What about David Sklansky? What about Mike Caro? Both of them may be greater authorities on poker play, although even in that area I consider it a close call. But my concept of "poker" encompasses poker rules and the regulatory environment, not just poker play.

For me, the subject of poker rules is boring, but it is vital to have good poker rules. Somebody has to do it. In the '80s, Ciaffone, with some input from a board of directors of top poker players, produced the rulebook for the original Poker Players Association. Subsequently, as a consultant, he was heavily involved in the rule-writing projects of several major casinos. Prior to Bob's work, poker rules and rulebooks were typically produced by obtaining existing rulebooks and essentially copying parts of them – retaining bad rules, unclear rules, and typographical errors. He introduced the novel practice of thinking about the logical basis of poker rules. His extensive high-level poker-playing experience aided him in this effort. He subsequently published Robert's Rules of Poker, which can be downloaded from his website: www.diamondcs.net/~thecoach.

As for the regulatory environment, those of us who prefer to play in legal, publicly available facilities are at the mercy of national, state, and local regulations and enforcement. Ciaffone stays abreast of this regulatory environment, keeps us informed, and tries to influence it.

On a personal level, I have learned a great deal about poker play from Bob over the years. We have had many discussions regarding no-limit hold'em and especially pot-limit Omaha, particularly the play of specific hands in specific situations. I have sometimes wished that I had written up his ideas and saved them, but it is my own loss that I have forgotten much of what we discussed.

If you disagree strongly with my characterization of Bob (as the WLAP), please keep in mind that it is 100 percent my idea. Bob Ciaffone would never make such a claim. Therefore, direct all abuse to me, not to him!