Way to go

It’s a ten handed, $10-20 limit holdem game, but the action is obviously in the other games in the room. The players are watching everybody else watch each other. The cocktail server has circled the table at least three times in twenty minutes and no one even blinked an eye.

The buzzards gave up circling and took a seat on the blades of the ceiling fan . . . waiting for the dealer and cocktail server to leave . . . or stop moving.

Suddenly the action explodes with a frenzied round of betting. Chips crash into the center of the green felt until the bet is capped and 7 players are waiting for the dealer to burn and turn.

The flop comes off, J-9-3, and the action explodes again. The chips are slammed mercilessly into the pot and the field narrows to six. The turn card is an 8 and the match between the 3 and the 10 seat resembles a game of Pong. The other players gave up after the first raise and so did the buzzards.

The 10 seat finally gave up and called after 5 raises. The river is a 5. It’s bet and called and the 3 seat shows pocket J’s – the 10 seat turns over pocket 8’s.

The 10 seat turns to the dealer and spouts, “Way to go! Set over set.” He continues to grumble about toke suspension and in general act like his life has been changed forever by this hand. No, he’s not a tourist!

The dealer probably sent back a message through mental telepathy that read, “You too, STUPID!”

The burst of action pre-flop caught the 10 seat in between raises and the number of players involved in the action definitely brought him into the hand. The flop should have sent him flapping after those buzzards, but he wanted to pick up a draw or make a hand that would get him in trouble. It worked!

This player compounded his mistake in this hand, by turning it over and showing the table that he took a beat – it’s not even a beat, he never had the best hand. Then he took it a step further and tried to place his nightmare on someone else’s shoulders – the dealer.

The beauty of poker versus a pit game is the fact that you have options. You don’t have to place your bet and then see the outcome. You are not obligated to see the end of a hand unless your ego outruns your good sense or someone pulls a gun and forces you to play. The latter never happens in a casino but the former happens so much that it is what makes poker a money making venture for the experienced player.

One player’s comment: “The saddest sight in the world is a poker player trying to shuffle one chip.” Sad? Yes, it’s always sad to see a player crying in front of the field he’s there to beat, but we look for that sight each time we enter a poker room and take a seat. One player can change the whole tapestry of a game. Tapestry? Yes, the players, the game, the limit, the amount of cash in play, and the emotional thread that locks them all together for a brief span of time.

We’ve all heard this one. “A fool and his money are soon parted.” Harry Anderson said, “A fool and his money are damn lucky to get together to begin with!”

Amen. See you there!