Poker Players; Friends or Enemies?

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November 9th, 2017
Back Poker Players; Friends or Enemies?

Any time a group of people sits down at a poker table, a state of war exists.

It doesn't matter if the individuals are friends or strangers. It doesn't matter what they do for a living or if they are retired, whether they are school teachers, secretaries, government workers, attorneys, doctors or even ordained ministers. When they are holding cards and glaring across a green felt table at each other, they are out for blood.

During my many years of trying to learn how to play poker, I have witnessed numerous acts of violence or near-violence in a poker room setting. One time I saw a losing player who had been drinking get up and punched a dealer right out of his chair. Then he fled from the casino with security officers in pursuit.

Another time I watched a feeble old man on oxygen and in a wheelchair suddenly propel himself across a table trying to get at another player he felt had insulted him. I even witnessed a brother chase his younger brother with a machete after the sibling's pocket aces beat his pocket queens. That one turned out to be in fun. They collapsed in each other's arms laughing.

Poker-Players---Inner"

But I write this to focus on the title of this column which has to do with whether poker players are friends or enemies. It's a pretty silly question. For the most part, poker players, winners or losers, are friends, especially when they are away from the poker table.

That does not mean they don't engage in warfare when they are playing. They absolutely do in the heat of a battle to win a pot.

The friendship comes out before the poker action begins. It shows when they are seated around empty poker tables reading a newspaper or sipping a drink and waiting for their names to be called for a seat. That is when they treat each other with good humor and even love.

'Hey, Amigo, was that you I saw walking through the parking lot about an hour ago? Why did you park so far away from the casino? I could have given you a lift.'

'Yeah, friend, that was me. I just enjoy the walking. It gives me exercise. But thanks for the offer.'

Other players will chat about family members, business transactions that fell through, car problems, politics, sports or other non-essential matters while waiting for the poker action to kick in.

It sometimes irks me when some poker players soft-play their friends. Instead of betting a nut hand once they have forced another player out of a pot, they will turn the hand over and save their friend money. You can be sure their friends will return the favor in future hands.

There are few things poker players like better than arguing. They get a big kick in asking the dealer to call a floor person to resolve a dispute at the table. It's a sort of temporary truce, raising a white flag for the moment. It gives them time to lick their wounds before charging up San Juan Hill to rout the enemy.

I have learned over the years to keep my temper under control at a poker table. This is my practice whether I am winning or losing. Now I must admit I don't always succeed. I am Italian-Serbian and was born under the sign of Taurus the bull. Bulls have been known to charge through China shops, scattering items everywhere, and I am afraid I have been guilty of such actions. I could say I am sorry for doing these things, but it would not be an entirely true statement.

We poker players seem to operate from the same spirit. How can we be a true enemy of another player when we are his reflection in a mirror? Yes, we occasionally lose our tempers and when that happens, things can explode.

But these thunderstorms are only temporary. When the storm passes, the sun will emerge and people will be smiling once again, returning to their old sweet selves.

Until the next time.

Let the games begin -- and pass the ammunition.

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