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Know Your Poker Legends: Johnny Moss

To refer to Johnny Moss as merely a "poker legend" is as much of an understatement as calling Babe Ruth a "solid power hitter". Moss was largely responsible for the development of high stakes poker in Las Vegas, in addition to being the prototypical poker professional. Back during the glory days of Binion's Horseshoe Club, when the Fremont Street casino was the undisputed center of the poker universe, Moss was a fixture. He won three World Series of Poker championships, which is a feat never duplicated. This is an even more astounding accomplishment since the tournament didn't exist until late in his life--like the hypothetical achievements of Negro league baseball slugger Josh Gibson, there would have been no limit to what he could have accomplished had the organized tournament opportunies existed for Moss. Johnny Moss, quite simply, was "the man" in professional poker--even among the flamboyant egos of the mileau it would be hard to get up an argument against him being the most important individual in the history of high stakes cards.

One of the beautiful qualities of gambling is a certain elment of timelessness--like cigar rolling, boxing, baseball, jazz and an ever shrinking number of other disciplines, you have to pay your dues to become successful at it. Technology may have flattened the learning curve somewhat--men like Ross and even more recent vintage legends like Stu Ungar never had the luxury of great software simulations like “Texas Turbo Hold’em” or Internet card rooms where they could practice the theoretical elements of their craft. You can sharpen your sword more readily today than in the past, but to consider yourself as a peer among the best poker players you have to meet them and challenge them face to face.

There weren’t any scholarly books or software sims on poker when Johnny Moss was growing up in Odessa, Texas back in the early 1900’s. He recalls playing his first game of cards at the age of 10, and consorting with a pack of cheats and grifters who taught him the tricks of the trade like bottom dealing and card marking. Perhaps the only thing that Moss ever had resembling an honest job was as a teenager, where he would keep an eye on poker games run in local saloons to make sure they were on the up and up. By serving as an early version of “the eye in the sky” Moss learned about poker strategy and the behavior of poker players.

Like most professional gamblers back in the early days, Moss soon took his show on the road playing in poker games wehreever he could find them. He played it clean then, and made enough money that cheating at cards seemed like more trouble than it was worth. It proved to be a valuable skill, however, as it allowed him to detect crooked games. Moss usually packed heat and wasn’t a guy to mess with. When Cigar Aficionado gambling writer Michael Konick asked him if he had ever killed a man, Moss responded: I don’t know if he died”.

Moss crossed paths with many of the legendary pioneers of Las Vegas--including a few years living in the “Bugsy Bungalow” at the Flamingo. He had a lengthy and mutually beneficial relationship with the Horseshoe Club namesake, Benny Binion who would often provide financial backing for Moss. In what may have been the biggest single poker payday in history, Moss--backed by Binion--bled legendary gambler Nick “The Greek” Dandalos out of a reported $4 million dollars.

Today’s poker professionals are better educated than their predecessors and are just as likley to have a background in finance and investments as in gambling and grift. Nevertheless, they all owe a debt of gratitude to Moss, who trod the lucrative path on which today’s professional gamblers walk.

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