Pros on Parade … But What is a Pro?

When the 2008 World Series of Poker kicked off and Nenad Medic, Erick Lindgren, and David Singer won three of the first four events, there was lots of buzz that this would be a year of utter domination for big-time poker pros at the Series. Amateurs have had a lot of success at the WSOP in recent years (for six consecutive years, an amateur has won the main event), but would this year reverse the trend?

As we go to press with this issue, we're a little more than halfway through the Series, and a who's who of top poker pros have racked up a ton of bracelets thus far. David Benyamine steamrolled to the $10,000 Omaha eight-or-better championship. Layne Flack won his sixth bracelet in a $1,500 pot-limit Omaha with rebuys event. Daniel Negreanu won his fourth WSOP bracelet in a $2,000 limit hold'em event, and Mike Matusow captured his third gold bracelet in the $5,000 no-limit deuce-to-seven draw lowball tournament. Kenny Tran won the $10,000 world championship heads-up no-limit hold'em event. After finishing runner-up twice before at the WSOP, John Phan finally got his gold bracelet after winning a $3,000 no-limit hold'em event, and Max Pescatori captured his second gold bracelet in the $2,500 pot-limit hold'em/Omaha event.

Through 39 events, "professionals" have won 31 bracelets. So, is this the year of the pro? To answer that question, we first must identify what a "pro" is, and any definition is certainly subjective. The WSOP defines a professional as a player who has no other job and whose only source of income is playing poker. Is that accurate? Certainly, everyone has his own opinion. Personally, I know some great players who have successful careers in other disciplines and still crush it on the poker table. What do you think? Let us know at [email protected].

In this issue, we profile the man who bagged the first WSOP bracelet of 2008, Nenad Medic. In just over three years, he has won more than $3.6 million, claimed a World Poker Tour title, and continues to mix it up in the biggest cash games around. Check out Page 78 to learn more about Medic. Also in this issue, we are kicking off an exciting new series, "Final-Table Takedown," in which key concepts and strategies from the world's best players are analyzed. The pros select hands from big live and online tournaments and walk through the decisions they made en route to the final table. Check out the first of this series on Page 52.