By Jan Fisher
It is with great sadness that I bid farewell to my good friend, mentor, and poker sounding-board Barry Tanenbaum. A noted poker player, author, scholar, combatant, and friend to all who knew him, he lost his battle with kidney disease early on November 22, 2011. I had known Barry for as long as I can remember. Barry, along with his wife Betty, whom he always referred to as “the lovely and talented Betty,” supported all of the events in which I was involved, even during his declining health. Betty, a top-notch poker player in her own right, will continue to make him proud with her poker prowess in years to come.
Barry was a frequent speaker at poker conferences, the annual BARGE events, and on poker cruises. He always got his points across with humor, grace, and a caring so deep you felt as if his seminar was a private lesson intended only for you. He was eloquent, articulate, funny, and charismatic. He was also quirky and passionate with a cherubic-like presence that everyone around him enjoyed. He was a master poker player who defined the art and science of limit hold’em. He is the author of Advanced Limit Hold’em Strategy and the co-author of Limit Hold’em: Winning Short-Handed Strategies. After the no-limit craze hit the tables, Barry became an expert playing the “new” game, but passionately remained true to the game he loved and will remain one of the toughest limit players ever to grace a felt.
The poker world has lost a true hero, a real champion of the game, who “had it all” going on. Always a gentleman, even during his rare defeats, he inspired me to be a good person both at and away from the table. He always respected the game and the people around him. A class act, he will be missed more than words can describe.
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