Earlier this evening, I had the honor of appearing on one of my old haunts, Hold’em Radio, but not for an occasion that I really wanted to be there for. It was a special edition of “Keep Flopping Aces,” the show that the recently departed Lou Krieger hosted for many years and which, for quite some time, was joined by my own program about tournament poker.
It has been three days now since Lou passed away and the poker world doesn’t seem to have gotten over the shock of Lou’s departure. For those of you who have come to the game late, Lou Krieger was one of the Renaissance men of the game; he could not only talk about the game of poker, but he could also put it into action on the felt. Besides that, however, there was much more to Lou than just a simple game with cards and chips.
Way back in 2005, I was a burgeoning writer with another online site when, on my second live assignment, I went to the World Series of Poker. Besides being awash with the sensations of the event, there were some people that stood out. One of them was Lou. I remember that day vividly as I tried to casually stroll up to him to introduce myself.
When I walked up to Lou, I said, “Hello, Mr. Krieger, I’d like to introduce myself.” For those of you who don’t know, the “Mr. Krieger” in life never existed (it wasn’t Lou’s real name). “Call me Lou,” he stated as he held out his hand; since that day, we had a common bond, a cause, a reason d’etre, as we continued on this road called life. Over the time since, Lou and I kept up a steady correspondence and the occasional meeting.
Outside of poker, Lou’s passion for biking was something I remember. He would write often about his long bike trips, and I am talking “Tour de France” biking, not “ride your Harley” biking. After reading about one particularly grueling 70 mile ride that Lou undertook, I reflected on my own life and realized that, since childhood, I hadn’t probably gone 70 feet on a bike.
Lou was also passionate about many other things that weren’t poker related. A Brooklynite, he still held an affirmation for the Dodgers in Los Angeles and, surprisingly, he also was quite knowledgeable about the game of lacrosse. Sports, it seemed, were something we had in common; I wish I had known that more as I do like a good sports debate!
When he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer earlier this year, it didn’t seem that it would be anything that would slow him down. His constant updates not only showed his strength but also conveyed to his friends that hey, I’m going to beat this. All of us, through Lou’s sheer will alone, thought that would happen.
Thus, when Lou passed on Monday, I was immediately hit with the things that I will miss from him. I will miss being able to just e-mail, Facebook or call him up to chat about things. I will miss his wisdom and knowledge, not just about poker but about many of the things in life that we all must face. I will also miss hearing his voice, whether it is on Hold’em Radio or whether it was in real life.
An artist puts their life into their work, as their work sometimes is their life. Lou did this with poker, but he also gave up the insight to be able to step away from that and live life to the fullest. One of the constants on his website was a daily quotation which ran the gamut from Sophocles to Shakespeare to his own verbiage and often ranged over a variety of subjects. Although he will be remembered in the literary world for the eleven books and hundreds of articles he wrote for a variety of publications, I will remember him for the simple words that he passed to me personally, in a conversation, an e-mail or other communication.
There are arguably five men who have allowed the poker journalism world to become what it is. Lou, along with the late Andy Glazer, Nolan Dalla, Mike Paulle and Max Shapiro, are owed a debt of gratitude by people like me as well as those that will come behind us and, now, two of them are gone. With the passing of Lou on Monday, the world not only lost one of the pinnacles of poker writing but also lost a tremendously strong person. I know that the poker world won’t be the same for me without having Lou Krieger as a part of it.
