The Scoop -- Barry Greenstein

Welcome to The Scoop, the Card Player TV weekly program that features poker's old-school superstars and new-school Internet hotshots. Every episode of The Scoop discusses in-depth strategies and explores important issues within the poker world.

Having been a regular in the "Big Game" for years, Barry Greenstein has withstood the test of time and is regarded as one of the most successful and talented high-stakes cash-game players in the world. As of late, the action in the high-stakes games has slowed down, and Greenstein discusses with Adam and Diego why he thinks that is.

Adam Schoenfeld: Barry, you touched on something that I've heard a good bit of discussion on that I'd like to get your take on, which is that the really good big side games, if they haven't dried up, are much reduced. Why is that?

Barry Greenstein: Well, there are a number of reasons. One of the reasons is the way the poker landscape has changed. In the old days, someone who had a lot of money and wanted to face the best in the world like, say, Doyle Brunson, Chip Reese would say, "I want to play with them," then put up a couple hundred thousand and take a shot - and usually not do very well. Well, who does that guy want to play with now? It depends on the definition of pros, and now people think of pros as the people they see on TV. So they aren't looking to play in Bobby's Room against some known players and some who aren't so well-known. They want to play in the tournament against the guys they've been seeing on TV, and go home and have a story about that. So those guys aren't putting money into the Big Game, they are putting money into tournaments.

Diego Cordovez: I mean, they'd love to play with you and Phil Ivey, you guys are big stars, but you're saying they'd rather play in a tournament setting?

BG: Yeah, because there's a lot more than me and Phil Ivey. I'm afraid if I name names like a Phil Hellmuth, as a well-known player, obviously, and go down the line of some of the known players, those aren't guys who'd typically be playing in the Big Game in Bobby's Room, but those are big names as far as the public is concerned. And they get a shot to play with them in tournaments. Not only do they get a shot to play with them, but they can have an actual chance to get a tangible piece of evidence, like a World Series bracelet or an appearance on television that documents what they've done. Why wouldn't they do that instead of playing in the side game? Who really cares if you won a pot off Doyle Brunson in the side game? It's just a story. It sounds like a fish story. There's another big reason, and that's this: Look at the juice and everything that's taken out of the tournaments. At the end of the year, we're talking about 6 to 9 percent juice. We're talking about millions and millions of dollars that's taken out of the poker economy. I don't want to put a knock on obviously Harrah's needs, it costs money to run these tournaments, so I'm not trying to knock them. I'm just mentioning that a lot of money is getting taken out. But even still, just by the nature of the way tournaments are, where a lot of money is paid to the first three finishers and not so much to people who just barely make the money or obviously nothing to people who don't make the money, when you are done with the tournament, some people have a lot of money and most people have a lot less money.

DC: If you make a big score, it's natural to take the money out of the poker community.

BG: Of course, that money is taken out and spent on hookers and blow [laughing]. Oh, we can't say that here. I was thinking of Poker Road.

AS: I've got my hookers and blow money; I need my gambling money.

BG: I'm sorry, let's get back to politically correct.

AS: Do you think it's because now there are so many more tournaments than there used to be? Because there's always been tournaments and cash games, and last year, for example, it seemed like the big cash games were thriving and now they're not. So, there's been a change just in the past year? Or several years?

BG: Money just isn't as plentiful. In the economy, there are foreclosures. That trickles down to the gambling economy. The casinos are having problems with regular gambling. Their revenue is down also, so we don't have much money that would be spent in these side games, and all the other factors we've just talked about.