What Do Cricket & Gambling Have In Common?
Just a few months ago Shane Warne was gracing the cricketing grounds of Melbourne Australia, Eden Gardens in India, Rawalpindi In Pakistan, Lords in London, Colombo in Sri Lanka, the Queens Park Oval in Trinidad, Christchurch in New Zealand and playing the springboks in South Africa. He retired from all forms of the game on top of his game and as the leading wicket taker in the world. However last month Murali Muralitharan of Sri Lanka passed his tally to be the new leading wicket taker in tests.
However Shane Warne is probably most fondly remembered as the bad boy of cricket. He was to cricket what John McEnroe was to lawn tennis. A rebel with a cause. From affairs of the heart to barroom scandals to battling Sachin Tendulkar out in the middle Shane Warne was always in the middle of the action. No wonder then he has taken to that most exciting of all sports, poker. Yes, it is a sport, officially recognized as such by the Sporting Associations of several countries.
The risk taking, the excitement of taking a wicket is similar to hitting a jackpot at online slots or winning a huge pot at the poker tables. The mind games he played with batsmen the world over will be no different than the mind games he will now have to play with his opponents at the Texas hold’em table. Reading the game, the players and even the crowd will be a familiar experience for Mr. Warne as he was a master of those very skills on the cricket fields. On the field of play he had to understand the pitch, will it take spin and how to maximize his use of it and further analyze the batsman he was bowling to. Bowling to Brian Lara will be different than bowling to Anil Kumble for instance.
The similarities between cricket and poker are many and there is no doubt 888.com have pulled off a coup in signing up Shane Warne. His popularity amongst peoples from all continents, even non cricket playing nations is tremendous and can only serve to further enhance the image of poker and ultimately that of his sponsor as the #1 online gambling site in the world.
888.com needs no introduction, they were the first casino to open its door online to players 12 years ago and have grown from strength to strength and are now a powerful force to be reckoned with.
