Exploring why Street Fighter players are good at poker - Arturo Sanchez breaks down Daigo match
Posted by Jon 'Catalyst' Grey • April 19, 2012 at 11:36 a.m. PDT • Comments: 35
G4TV came up with a compelling piece exploring the correlations of Street Fighter and poker players. Talking with TS|Arturo Sanchez and Capcom's Seth Killian, both guys discuss how reading your opponent, pattern recognition and other similar abilities become such an important factor at high levels of play.
If you're a heavy student of the game, this covers some ground you're already familiar with, but it's still nice to hear a breakdown from very experienced players on the ins and outs of what you should be looking for. Here's a snip to get you started.
While Street Fighter and poker are prone towards evoking high emotions, both Killian and Westbergh were quick to stress the importance of self-restraint. “A professional poker player is always in control of himself. He does not react based on emotions. He is capable of functioning under extreme pressure. Unlike an average player, he doesn't blame his losses on bad luck or other external circumstances.” Westbergh said.
Killian reflected the statement in his description of what differentiates the great from the exemplary. "You have to be able to look outside of yourself and learn from your mistakes. There's always an explanation of how or why you lost. Thus, if you can step back enough to have a clear view of your actions, you can learn and improve. Without that ability, and the ability to control your emotions in the heat of battle, you will eventually hit a wall of great players you can't beat.”
You can check out TS|Arturo Sanchez and MCZ|Daigo Umehara's after hours EVO 2009 matches by hitting the link below.
Killian reflected the statement in his description of what differentiates the great from the exemplary. "You have to be able to look outside of yourself and learn from your mistakes. There's always an explanation of how or why you lost. Thus, if you can step back enough to have a clear view of your actions, you can learn and improve. Without that ability, and the ability to control your emotions in the heat of battle, you will eventually hit a wall of great players you can't beat.”
