aokrongly : The defination of professional poker player

Most of you probably know aokrongly from his great post about strategies and theories. Most of you find those post extremply usefull.
Most of you improve your game since you read aokrongly posts.
Most of you might know that aokrongly is a professional poker player.

Many poker players make tons of money every month but they are not professional players. Many players play really good poker but they are not professional players. So , what makes aokrongly a professional poker player ?

His behavior.

He is always willing to help new players , always willing to discuss hand histories and give his advice when he can and anytime someone ask him.
He is not a "cold" person play 24/7 on-line poker.
He have his eyes always open and help new players to improve them game , he transform players who dont believe in them selfs into winning poker players, he dont even hesitate to stake some players he believe they can make profit by playing poker.

Well , since i post that on a beginners circle forum let me tell you the following short TRUE story.

Aokrongly lost a huge pot when he had AK and he flop 2 pair , a guy follow him to the river and at the showdown he shows 72s ... yes a guy break aokrongly 2 pair with a 72 ! chasing his flush !!
Im sure the 99% of the players would break them mouse ( how that fish call pre-flop , post flop with 72s ?) or something.
Or even worst - rebuy and play on TILT ...
Aokrongly didnt say anything , he play some more hands and he go to see tv with his family. He know that he can make the amount of money he lost in a day , but not THAT day.
Honestly put yourself in that situation , how many of you have the balls to do something like that and put aside your ego ?
That is what makes aokrongly a TRUE professional poker player.

From now on , i will stop set new goals about my bankroll , and i will set a new goal : Be like aok



Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless--like water.
Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup,
You put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle,
You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot.
Now water can *flow* or it can *crash*!
Be water, my friend.
---Bruce Lee---

You shouldve seen the email that AOK sent me way back when, when i posted my HoH chart, and he sent me a better one. One of the longest emails I have ever read, about so many aspects of the game. Hes a great guy. I havnt seen him around in a while though. Too busy with life.

But all in all, hes a class act. Definitely a class act.

...

When I first started reading the posts on this site, I was struck by AOK's posts immediately.

One reason for this I believe is that people learn differently and absorb information and teaching differently. You have to find a teacher that has the ability to communicate the idea or information in a way that YOUR brain accepts it and internalizes it.

The second reason is that his posts and his instruction go WAY beyond the mechanics of the cards and the chips. He can certainly teach on all that, no doubt, but I believe that he has a tremendous way of communicating the INTANGIBLES of the game. Again - in a way that I can somehow easily understand. These intangibles are what I believe will make the difference between being an average player and a great player.

Let's face it - we all probably know several people that have far more poker knowledge (book smarts) than we will ever have. They are the ones that rattle off every fact, odds, statistics, starting hand requirements, etc etc. But they implode when someone beats them with an unorthodox play. I'm not interested in being that kind of player. I want to be WINNING player.

Someone else can be the expert, I just want to be the winner.

So thanks to AOK, and this forum too.