Can we form an opinion about a person’s personality based on their behavior at the poker table? I say “HELL YES!” Others would argue with me and say that they know the person away from the poker table and said person never acts that way anywhere other than the poker table. Should we then conclude that said person is a perfectly normal, wonderful human being EXCEPT when their fists close around chips and their butt fills a player’s seat at a poker table?

I say “NO!”

When someone tells me that said person is a wonderful person except when they are at the table, I follow with, “Wife beaters and child molesters are perfect people when they are out in the public eye.”

Alcohol induced idiot behavior is no excuse so why would playing poker be included in the Oh…poor dear…didn’t know what they were doing. They were playing poker and lost their senses.

One night last week is a perfect example. I was in a game with Marie, actually in the same game as the last post where the 4s spilled his drink all over his chips but the mopping and sopping up happened before Marie arrived in the game. About an hourafter Marie arrived, we got a new player in the 3s. That player was no stranger to Marie. Apparently Marie had played $10-20 with the 3s at the Mirage – and the 3s played $10-20 and $20-40 with Marie’s husband Gary at the Mirage. Marie wasn’t happy to see the 3s arrive. The long and short of it was that the 3s had once played in a $10-20 game with Marie and then couldn’t wait to tell Gary how badly Marie played. I find it to be humorous. I could care less if someone feels I played badly, the bottom line is how do I feel I played. But Marie took it to heart and she wasn’t happy with our new arrival.

I pushed it a little further by stating that the 3s must not be as good a player as she thought she was because she was now in a $4-8H game with us. *sarcasm intended* And we both laughed over it.

Close to the first hand the 3s was dealt in, she raised preflop. I was the BB. I called with Q-7D when everyone in between me called, and people after me called. I flopped nothing. I escaped on the flop and the action went haywire, it was all middle cards, and the turn brought some low card. More action. On the river, the 7s, the Asian woman I’d played with a few times before, bet out. The 10s called, the only player left was the 3s. She went into an extremely sarcastic, “I can’t wait to see what beat me,” as she called the river bet. The 7s turned over J-J. The 10s folded. The 3s turned over Q-Q and stacked the chips.

I almost busted out laughing. Just from the way she acted, and her statement, reminded me of countless people that I’ve dealt to and played with over the years. She honestly believes that she is A PLAYER. I figure she’ll be married to $4-8 and $3-6 for the rest of her lifeexcept whenshe hits a lucky run for a month or so and then when she has to play through the downside, she’ll be back in $4-8 and $3-6.

As the game progressed, I couldn’t help but chuckle over the way she behaved and acted with each hand dealt, whether she took the flop or not. One hand, I have no idea if she was the blind or somewhere in between (she played almost every hand at the beginning), when the flop came 8-4-4, she folded to mass action and raising, only to see an 8 peel off on the river. She instantly smacked the table harder than she should have andher poker face had holes in it bigger than the Grand Canyon. Obviously she’d thrown away an 8.

We had a male dealer and he was playing to her ego. “I thought you were going to hit me!”

She pulled out a sappy pair of gloves that had ‘Perfect 10’ on them and stars on the fingers and put them on. She still had them on when I left the game about two hours later. And she started a conversation with our male dealer. I didn’t even catch the gist of it and didn’t try to figure out what it was all about.

We got a new dealer, the 7s wanted to buy $100 in chips, the 4s was asked if he wanted to sell some of his chips – by the dealer – and he said yes. He started counting them out, a new hand was dealt, the 4s set out the $100 in chips and the dealer left them offside to the 4s. I went to the podium and picked up a rack, returned and handed it to the 4s so he could get the chips ready for transport to the 7s. As I sat down, the action was going crazy.

Marie, the 3s, andthe 4s was in the hand and the boardwas 10-10-Q. I don’t know how or when who got where. Marie had check raised the flop and bet out on the turn. The 3s folded on the turn and the 4s called. The river brought a back door heart and Marie checked to the 4s. The 3s jumped up, standing over the table, and yelled at Marie, “YOU MEAN YOU CHECKED RAISED WITHOUT A 10?”

I snapped right at her, “There’s action in the hand and you are out of line.”

About that time the dealer came to and told the 3s she couldn’t say that during the hand. The 4s checked and Marie turned over 10-9S, semi explaining that the flush came and she only had three 10’s.

The 3s finally figured out that she was acting like a blithering idiot and apologized. In a later conversation Marie said she felt the 3s was apologizing to me and not to her. Could be. If the 3s is a regular $10-20 and $20-40H player, I definitely need to follow her around. Send more people like her…please, Card Fairy.

Isthe 3sreally quiet and pleasant away from the poker table? For some reason I just don’t think so. One of the funniest parts to the whole show was that when I cashed out, Marie was going to play one more round. Guess who moved down to my seat to sit next to Marie.

And incidentally, Marie is exactly the same – at the card table or away from it. That’s why I love her so much! *Hugs*