If you’ve met me at a poker table, you might know me as John the Greek. But the chances are that you won’t have heard of me. I’ve only just begun to play in major tournaments. But I’ve been playing poker for as long as I can remember. And this game has earned me a good living since I was a teenager. I’ve played this game professionally at the highest level and I have been playing for almost 30 years.
I’ve played poker on three continents, and in more than a dozen countries. I’ve played every possible variety of poker at every conceivable level of stakes from pennies to tens of thousands of dollars a hand. I’ve played poker in schools, in dorm rooms, in tents, in barracks, in restaurants, in bars, in
dining rooms, in boardrooms, in card rooms and casinos. I’ve played poker on planes and on board ship. I’ve played poker for days on end and I’ve sat in the same seat at a game for over 24 hours more times than I’d care to remember.
I’ve played every kind of poker you can possibly think of, and some you’ve never heard of. And I’ve played it everywhere. But what might surprise you more is that I’ve played poker my whole life, even when there weren’t any cards in front of me. Playing poker has informed all the decisions I have ever taken. Being a poker player has shaped my life, has changed my life. Poker gave me my education and my career and made me successful far away from poker tables. I’ve used poker in every conceivable professional and personal setting, from surviving on the streets to serving in the military, from earning a degree to closing multi-million dollar deals.
Over the last five years this game of ours has taken on a life of its own. It is quickly becoming the great American pastime, surpassing even baseball. Its worldwide popularity is growing even faster. The new breed of players is as likely to come from Russia, Sweden or the UK as from Texas, California or
New York.
As such, I thought this would be the appropriate time to write this book, but not for the reasons you may think. This book has not been written to cash in on the game’s current popularity. What is important to me is that players, old and new, understand and maintain the integrity of the game. Recently, the world has become aware of poker. Television and the Internet have taken an underground game into people’s homes. An abundance of books have been published to demystify the game, to simplify its concepts and reduce it to base calculations. But the world has only seen the tip of the iceberg. Poker is so much more to so many people.
Even though this may be my story, it is also the story of thousands. Boardrooms and card rooms the world over are filled with individuals who have shared similar paths to mine. The trials and tribulations of our youth are what provided the strength and fortitude that has led to our success. A success defined differently for each of us. To some, success has been public notoriety, to others monetary fortunes. To most, just making it out of the inner city, away from our ethnic neighborhoods, and on to a better, life was more success than anyone of us could imagine. To all, poker was the vehicle that led us down our chosen path and to the world beyond.
This book is written for anyone who’s been drawn to the game, whether they have been playing it for years or have just got their first glimpse. I hope you find it interesting. But, this book is dedicated to the millions of players in underground poker rooms the world over that have truly made the game what it is today. They are the soul and the backbone of this game of ours. It is dedicated to all those that understand the game’s philosophy and have made the lifelong commitment to master it. It is dedicated to all those that have yielded this game like a sword and attribute their personal success to it, and to all those that have given back to the game as much as they have taken from it.
To all my fellow players the world over whose very existence is bound up in this game of ours: I salute you.
John “The Greek” Leontakianakos is a professional poker player with 27 years of experience. He runs his own website called JohnTheGreekPoker.
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