{"id":20462,"date":"2019-01-17T15:02:09","date_gmt":"2019-01-17T16:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pokerscout.com\/?p=20462"},"modified":"2019-01-17T16:39:25","modified_gmt":"2019-01-17T16:39:25","slug":"gavin-smiths-loss-hurts-poker-fans-as-much-as-his-poker-family","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pokerscout.com\/gavin-smiths-loss-hurts-poker-fans-as-much-as-his-poker-family\/","title":{"rendered":"Gavin Smith\u2019s Loss Hurts Poker Fans As Much As His Poker Family"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is abundantly clear the people who knew Gavin Smith<\/strong> miss him dearly. When news broke Tuesday that Smith, 50, died in his sleep, seemingly every person in poker had a story about him and took to Twitter<\/strong> to share.<\/p>\n

These people knew Smith was a dedicated dad to two boys. Knowing Smith wanted nothing more than for them to be taken care of, over 360 people donated over $50,000<\/strong> to a GoFundMe page<\/strong><\/a> to help support them.<\/p>\n

There is another group that is going to miss him too.<\/p>\n

Poker fans<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Smith is a poker podcasting legend<\/span><\/h2>\n

Before I got into poker media, I was a fan. I read every update from every event. If poker was on TV, I stopped what I was doing to watch.<\/p>\n

I also downloaded every episode of The Circuit<\/strong> podcast, hosted by Scott Huff<\/strong>, Joe Sebok<\/strong>, and Smith. Then I downloaded every episode of Pokerwire Radio<\/strong>, hosted by Joe Stapleton<\/strong>, Sebok, and Smith. After that, I downloaded every episode of PokerRoad Radio<\/strong>, hosted by Ali Nejad<\/strong>, Sebok, and Smith.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t just download these pods, listen, and move on. I would listen to my favorite episodes over and over. Whether\u00a0Haralabos Voulgaris<\/strong>\u00a0was discussing his fight with Freddy Deeb<\/strong> or Sebok and Smith were impersonating their friend \u201cChrith Bell\u201d, I was there for all of it.<\/p>\n

I couldn\u2019t play<\/strong> at these stakes and the WPT did not travel anywhere near my home in Kentucky<\/strong>, but thanks to Smith and the rest, I got a glimpse of what it was like to be there.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll be honest too. Once I got into media and saw what happened before and after the pod, it really was as fun as it sounded.<\/p>\n

Smith won fans over with his brutal honesty<\/span><\/h2>\n

Every podcast host had something they brought to the table. What Smith brought was brutal honesty<\/strong>. Someone would ask how his day went and he would gladly admit he played like garbage. Then he would walk through hands and critique himself for doing the wrong thing.<\/p>\n

He let the audience know when he drank too much. He called out his friends on being deep in makeup. He would clown on anyone, but no one more than himself.<\/p>\n

Before Twitter even became a thing, Smith was letting us into<\/strong> all the minutiae\u00a0of his day. And unlike social media-savvy celebrities and poker pros alike who carefully cultivate an image for the internet to see, Smith blasted in completely unedited<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

This unfiltered and admitted mess was very easy to root for, so he quickly became one of the stars of the US poker<\/a> boom. He was never going to let a final table or massive sums of money interfere with his fun.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a far cry from televised and livestream poker today. Just last week, Twitter debated whether or not players hiding in their hoodies<\/strong> should be against the rules. The highest high rollers regularly play on streams in virtual silence<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In the current poker world, we likely won\u2019t see another Smith<\/span><\/h2>\n

It is a different poker world today. Full Tilt Poker<\/strong> money isn\u2019t growing on trees anymore. I understand the shift from the perspective of the players.<\/p>\n

From the perspective of the fans though, this new reality only makes Smith\u2019s passing hurt that much more<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t just make money playing poker; he made poker fans too. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people gave poker a shot because Gavin Smith made it seem so fun. Even when he was on a downswing or losing, more often than not, he still found a way to enjoy himself.<\/p>\n

These days it is much more difficult to bring new people to the game. If you look who is doing it most successfully though, it is the ones taking the Smith tact. Twitch<\/strong> streamers like Jason Somerville<\/strong> and Lex Veldhuis<\/strong> or video bloggers like Andrew Neeme<\/strong> all provide an unfiltered look at their lives and their poker play.<\/p>\n

These guys are not<\/strong> making the most money, but they are the ones the fans care about. Certainly, there is strategy to learn when watching high roller events.<\/p>\n

But when it comes to having something enjoyable to watch and someone to root for, the recipe remains the same now as it did in 2006:<\/p>\n