Vikings alum Antoine Winfield enjoys poker after retirement

Former Minnesota Vikings cornerback Antoine Winfield has found some great hobbies to help him following his retirement from the National Football League.

Antoine Winfield was a defensive back in the NFL for 15 years. Beginning his career in 1999 with the Buffalo Bills, Winfield spent 9 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings as one of the only reliable parts of the team’s secondary.

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Hanging up his cleats in 2013, it appears as though his competitive juices are still flowing. Although he is done with the NFL, the hard-nosed former cornerback has found a great way to relieve those urges according to an article on the Casino City Times website: poker.

The poker craze swept the word in a big way around the time of Winfield’s retirement. Television channels were covering tournaments as if they were major sporting events and some of the better known players became celebrities. One of those celebrities, namely Chris Moneymaker, was the inspiration for Winfield to get into the game.

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"“I remember watching him on TV and saying, ‘Hell, if he can win it, so can I! It’s fun. I love it. I love the competition and I love meeting all the guys. I’ve been competitive all my life and this is no different. You’re competing against a huge field so it’s hard to make it, but it’s a lot of fun.”"

Playing poker may be competitive, but it a much different game than he was used to with the Minnesota Vikings. Poker is more about knowing when to allow your opponents to win in order to minimize losses while playing the hands to maximize gains.

"“Poker is a slow game. You have to be patient and wait for good hands. When those hands don’t come,” Winfield said “I’m light years ahead of where my game was the last two times. I feel good about my game, I’ll say that. I’ve worked at it. I’ve studied. I’ve read a lot of different books and I listen to a little bit of everybody. I just try to take in all the information I can and incorporate it into my philosophy and my style of play. I’m still a work in progress, but I like where I’m at.”"

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Best of luck to Former Minnesota Vikings defensive back Antoine Winfield on his poker endeavors. Also, huge thanks to him for his efforts during his time with the Minnesota Vikings.