Listen up. If you are world-class StarCraft player, then you’d probably make an excellent poker pro. So says Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier (pictured), a former StarCraft pro-gamer who’s gone on to make over US$11 million as a poker pro.
With the news that former StarCraft player BoxeR was turning to poker, Grospellier told website PokerListings why top SC gamers make excellent poker players:
There are so many skills that SC Pros can use in poker. First, as with every every world-class competitive discipline, the willpower and ability to perform well under pressure as well as resilience and mental strength are a huge pre-requisite…
Also the fact that both games are of incomplete information due to the fog of war in StarCraft, it makes meta-game very important and a psychological war as well as technical and strategic.
Add to that the fact that Starcraft requires insane APM (Action Per Minute) of up to 400 for the best players to perform at top level, as well as crazy hand-eye coordination, and no wonder they can multi-table effortlessly.
Grospellier adds that StarCraft requires loads of creativity to invent new strategies on the fly — as does poker. According to him, top StarCraft players can “easily” make the leap to the high-pressure world of professional poker. And everyone else? Well…
Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier: “Starcraft Players Should Give Poker a Try” [Poker Lisings]
Comments
7 responses to “Why StarCraft Pros Apparently Make Good Poker Players”
Seriously. APM in poker?
it’s about the ability to multitask and make decisions etc. In a poker game, you need to pay attention to all of your opponents, not just the one whose turn is currently up. Looking at other people’s reactions to the currently acting player’s action will give you a lot of information on what they may have in their hand.
I think you missed the point of that comment…
Though I wonder how well the starcraft players go at hiding their body language to minimise their tells
Little known fact of Poker: there is actually vespene gas underneath your chairs and you need to keep harvesting it otherwise you pass out and the other players collect your chips once you are dead. You cash in your chips for minerals.
Also, if you reach the average number of three-hundred-table-taps per minute, you’re a shoe-in to get yourself a flush.
11 mil!? guess he won in the end