Valery Lvovich Zheleznyakov, also known as Partizan, is one of the best professional card game players in Russia. Legends go about his manner of playing, he is known not only in our country, but also far beyond its borders. Valery Zheleznyakov - doctor of physical and mathematical sciences and professor at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. He devoted his whole life to the study of game theory and probability theory.
General biography
Partizan (Zheleznyakov) was born on August 23, 1941 in the city of Gorky. There is no reliable data on which family the future card pro was born in, and from this we can draw a simple conclusion: a man, like his whole family, never shone anywhere, that is, he was an ordinary average child in childhood and just as ordinary in student years as a boy. But where did world fame come from then? How did he make it so easily into the celebrity arena, and, most importantly, did he want it? One can only judge by the few facts that have been found. And here is one of them: Zheleznyakov received such an unusual nickname thanks to a song called "Sailor-Partisan Zheleznyak." As you can see, the name of Valery Lvovich and the one in the song are similar. From here the player took a pseudonym.
early years
Like any other person, Valery Zheleznyakov (Partizan) studied at the university. Moreover, not in any institution, but in the already respected Moscow State University at that time. Having extraordinary abilities in the field of arithmetic, mathematics and mathematical analysis, the guy entered the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics. There, he almost more diligently studied and was the soul of a student company, which often liked to play cards and speculate on the difficult student share. But, surprisingly, in those years Zheleznyakov did not play cards: his first passion was chess, which, quite possibly, helped him create a personality that thinks a few points ahead, with a sharp mind and able to analyze any situation well. So he would have to be a champion in a chess tournament from his university, but only fate, as always, ordered otherwise ...
Crucial moment
The story seems so understandable, so simple at first glance that it simply cannot be believed: one decree managed to change the life of not only one person, but maybe hundreds of other people.
Being in the first year of his university, Valery Zheleznyakov found the most extensive verification of student hostels in the past few years. On the eve of that day, a large can of cherry jam was sent to him from the house, and it was on that day that an eternally hungry student was asked to open it ... It was just not necessary to leave it open under the bed, although in any other place the society of hungry students like wolves didn’t would leave a trace of jam.
When the commission entered his room, Zheleznyakov only managed to put the can under the bed in the usual way, but who had expected that they would try to remove it with a mop - and in the most arrogant way. The head of the commission, associate professor Sinkov, of course, fell into the zone of defeat: his shiny new shoes were completely smeared with cherry, sugary sweet syrup. The docent ordered the guy to be evicted from the hostel, and from that moment on his adventures began in the world of numbers, card shirts and the disruption of large sums of money ...
First steps in the world of excitement
No, do not think that eviction from the hostel means the complete exclusion of Zheleznyakov as a student from the university - he was simply transferred to another building, to another building. And here the future player saw a completely different world - the world of entertainment. The students of this corps were real lovers of card games, so it was absolutely no burden for them to teach the newcomer Valera how to make his participation more interesting.
Two weeks later from that day, Zheleznyakov was already a champion in card games among students of his own university, and after some time, literally a year later, he became famous for his game in all of Moscow.
Advantages of the card "guru"
Few people who know this person personally know why the Partisan receives laurels of the winner and admired reviews. Zheleznyakov Valery Lvovich was a very intelligent person, and in the broadest sense of the word. He not only had deep knowledge in practically all branches of mathematics (especially in probability theory and in everything connected with this), he was a terrific practitioner who with skillful acuteness applied in life seemingly understandable only to him calculations.
And what secrets could Partizan still hide? Zheleznyakov, frankly, didn’t hide anything from anyone, people themselves saw everything. He was perceptive, possessed simply phenomenal memory, moreover, in his mind he could perform arithmetic operations with incredibly large numbers. Not a bit cheating, this man managed to play at different bets, from 10 to 1000. And losing less, he always remained with a big one in his pocket. For this very reason, after several years of successful activity, he was no longer allowed to enter large casinos not only in our country, but also in the world. Such people, who were powerful analysts and astute theorists, were very disliked by companies that earned on human excitement. Roulette, the “one-armed bandit”, even a simple lottery that could not be predicted (and this did not take into account card games) - all this, thanks to the attentiveness, accuracy, and sharpness of the mind, Zheleznyakov always brought him a big jackpot.
Counters in the game world
Since we are talking about how gambling establishments relate to such unique people who are able not only to lose their money, but to do it with a profit for themselves, then it’s worth delving into this topic.
Zheleznyakov Valery Lvovich - a mathematician, as already mentioned - never felt the desire to rob not only a person, but even the institution itself to the point. He could pre-calculate in his mind a bunch of combinations that would promise him a positive outcome. It was precisely for this line that he, like other geniuses of the same kind, was called the “counter” - those who really skillfully calculated all the moves, despite the actions of the roulette or croupier.
Black cards
Not only did they dislike the counters, they were also forbidden to play. Regarding anything - from the "Fool" card to Black Jack - the casino owners understood that in any case they would suffer losses. Especially for such dangerous players, certain “black cards” were introduced into the game world - a guarantee of preserving casino funds, because thanks to such cards people whose names were written on them and were not allowed to reach the playing table for several meters.
Zheleznyakov was issued more than 20 black cards in various casinos in different cities of the world.
Tournament in the flip "Fool"
In 1997, to be more specific, on December 3, a contest took place that turned the man’s life upside down. He was challenged. And not someone there, but the real multiple champion in the game in the flip "Fool" - Albert Minnullin. All the action was supposed to take place on the territory of the Cosmo Hotel, and all the expenses, as well as the cash prize, were decidedly undertaken by the organizers of the event. But it was worth fighting for the prize - the hotel owners offered as a reward $ 25,000 to those who won the tournament. They played until one of the participants had 15 victories. There was a fierce confrontation, and the very last batch of Zheleznyakov had to play on fully viewed maps (Minnullin's influence and friendship played a role). But even this did not stop him from snatching victory and becoming the champion of the game in the flip-flop "Fool" in 1997-1998.
Bypassing poker side
Being a strong player in all card games, Zheleznyakov did not favor only ... poker. Perhaps the question will come to mind: why? But Partizan can also show his opinion on this. Zheleznyakov argued that in order to play poker, you do not need to be super smart, you do not need to shuffle a lot of combinations in your head. Like any person with mathematical inclinations, Zheleznyakova infuriated the unreasonableness of the gain, its incomprehensible alignment. Until his old age, Valery Zheleznyakov repeated that in order to beat even very strong poker players, you can be a novice in the card business, because this game is not based on strategy and guessing, but on luck. Yes, everything is so simple, and that is why the theory that it is possible to explain almost everything in the world is failing. The man believes that gambling is by no means meaningless - they must be such that there really is something to think about, in order to "stir" your mind. The same strategy of Valery Zheleznyakov into roulette - where it would seem impossible to predict events, he does it.
Ludomania: a disease or ..?
Too much controversy, not only in the gambling world, but also in the ordinary, goes about whether gambling (ludomania differently) is a real disease that requires some treatment or even taking medication. Zheleznyakov Valery Lvovich, whose biography is literally teeming with games in the most diverse "kingdoms of excitement", has his own opinion on this subject.
He believed all his life that gambling is not a disease at all, but rather, non-compliance with internal moral principles, when there is an opportunity to stop, but they will never use it. The irresponsibility of people, their frivolity regarding their own future - this is what actually leads people to gambling establishments.
Online casinos and their need
If we talk about gambling, we should not forget that people, wanting to satisfy the thirst for excitement, may not even leave home. For such lazy and at the same time "inveterate" players there are special online platforms called online casinos. However, according to Zheleznyakov, at the peak of their popularity, such types of money squandering will not last long. Online casinos are places not only for the lazy, but also for non-self-respecting players. There is a big difference: playing in a professional casino, decently dressed and with a slight smile on his lips, when looking at ingratiating waiters and lovely waitresses, or playing at home. Of course, at home, half-dressed and not so hot with a hairstyle on his head. A professional will definitely go to a gambling establishment himself.
TV partnership
And here is an even more interesting fact from the biography of the one who refers to himself only as Partizan. Zheleznyakov participated in sharp stories for television programs a couple of times. One of his most outstanding speeches is his appearance as an opponent in the Good Morning project, where they decided to shoot a story about gambling addicts. Of course, Zheleznyakov tried, as best he could, to convey to the people at least a bit of the truth that excitement is not a disease that needs to be treated, but a matter that delays and from which it is then difficult to get out.
Unfortunately, only a few phrases of the “guru” of card skill came on the air, and most of all the phrases of the opponent Zheleznyakov, who was an ardent fighter for healthy lifestyle, were inserted. In frustrated feelings, Valery left the shoot. And yet, after a while, he was again invited to the program with Andrei Malakhov, which he did not get on due to the tight schedule of game parties in other countries of the world.
Attitude to psychics
Another amazing fact from the biography of Zheleznyakov. We are talking about his complete skepticism regarding a science such as extrasensory perception. Of course, it is difficult to understand that everything that is happening to you is not a dream, but it’s real, but only fans of clear answers to questions are even more annoyed than rounding the number of “Pi” to 3.
Once Zheleznyakov even entered into a dispute with one of the psychics in order to bring him to clean water. Nobody knows the outcome of the bet, one thing was clear: both hated each other even more, plus Partizan was ready to lose his life if he lost. Whether it was serious or not is unknown ...
last years of life
Still healthy as a bull, Valery Zheleznyakov by 2010 noticed a deterioration in well-being. The man started having heart problems, but he still loved to travel to new casinos: in some he played himself, in others - he looked at the game without taking part in it. In any case, the hero of our story did not leave the casino until his death. Valery Lvovich Zheleznyakov died in 2015, September 6.
The world will forever remember a person who has completely broken the stereotypes that casino players are utter deceivers.