The correlation between poker and football has regularly been made, with many believing that the assets and abilities needed to become a top footballer are very similar to the ones needed to become a top poker player, on a mental level anyway.
This has got us thinking exactly what current Chelsea players would make the best poker players. With each player offering different skill sets on the playing field, we wonder if they would use those same strengths on a poker table considering the correlation between skill and tact can make football players one of the best players in texas holdem poker.
Here are our tips on who the best poker players in the Chelsea team would be, in our opinion anyway:
John Terry!
Terry is a leader on the field, someone who commands respect from whoever plays with him or against him. We feel that on a poker table he would command that same level of respect. With him able to also make brave decisions, he would be a very difficult player to bluff. We feel that his style would also obviously be quite a tight and aggressive one, which matches his football style perfectly. When he has the cards he would go all out to protect them and not let any weaker opponents get the slip on him.
Eden Hazard!
The tricky little genius offers the unexpected on the field of play, with opponents not knowing what he is going to do next. On the poker table we feel he would be exactly the same, with him feeling he could win any poker hand no matter what he is holding. He will find a way past every opponent using whichever tricks he can, whilst he will be a master bluffer.
Frank Lampard!
The legend that is Lampard has seen it all in football, and has got better with age much like an experienced poker pro would. On the football field he likes to control the tempo of the game, he likes to dictate which would carry over on to the poker table we feel. He will want to be in control of the betting at all times and put his opponents to decisions about what he is holding. Bluffing would not be out of the question either, much like he likes to have a pot shot from distance in football, he will like to take a pot shot here and there in poker too.
Fernando Torres!
One of the best in the world on his day yet needs to be running well to achieve those heights. This would be how he would play on the poker table as well. If he has been running well, his confidence will soar enabling him to try things he maybe normally wouldn’t. On the flip side, if things do not go so well for him on the table he may be likely to slip back into his shell and try to make the best of any chances that comes his way.
Those are our predictions on who some of the better poker players may be in the Chelsea squad, though others that would fit the mould would be Juan Mata and Ashley Cole.
