If you happen to take a seat at my poker table, I have a warning for you: expect to be kibbitzed.
I don't know if kibbitzed is in Webster's Dictionary. But kibbitzing is and I happen to be a kibbitzer.
It's part of my social game to comment on hands, especially the ones where I am involved. Some poker players smile when you comment about a hand, especially if it has a humorous touch. But it infuriates others.
There are some poker players who are so anti-social that they hate conversation at the table. They will even complain to a floor person about someone who talks.
Since freedom of speech is something that is guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, there is little a floor person can do to stop it from happening. They might issue a verbal warning to the offender, but generally, they just shrug and tell the complainer the person has a right to talk unless he becomes offensive.
I was playing $4-8 Texas Hold'em and found myself with an ace-ten of clubs. A player raised, I called, and the flop came ace three seven, with two clubs. I came out betting and the raiser put in a raise.
I stared at my hand for a long moment. Then I turned to the raiser, smiled, and said, 'Are you sure you want to do that?"
He not only did not respond to me. He wouldn't look at me.
The dealer held the deck and stared expectantly at me waiting for me to respond.
I repeated my question, 'Are you sure you want to do that>'
He snapped, 'I did it, didn't I, so I guess I wanted to do it.'
'Just asking,' I said. 'I raise.'
He called the raise and re-raised me. I pretty much knew what he had -- probably an ace-king. But I liked my hand and loved my draw, so I re-raised him to cap the betting.
The dealer burned a card and turned over the queen of clubs. I checked. The raiser came out betting.
'Are you sure you want to do that?' I said.
In a mocking voice, he said, 'I'm sure.''
'In that case, I raise,' I said. 'And I'm sure I want to do it.'
He called the raise, a harmless card fell on fifth street, and I turned over the winning flush.
The player was so upset over the loss that he left the table a short time later. One of my poker playing friends waited until he was out of earshot before saying, 'I'm sure he wants to do that.'
When I approach a poker table to take my seat, I have another kibbitzing comment that I often make.
As I sit down and order my chips, I say, 'This is the table my mother warned me against, but nobody, unfortunately, listens to his mother. Deal me in.'
Or when a player wins a pot, especially if I think he was bluffing, I might comment, 'W.C. Fields said all poker tables are made up of thieves, varlets, scoundrels and an occasional gentleman. Where would you fall into those categories?'
Whether the player responds or not doesn't matter. He hears the remark, the other players smile, and the arrow has been shot. I am the kibbitzer.
Author: Geno Lawrenzi Jr.
(Geno Lawrenzi Jr. is an international journalist, magazine author and ghostwriter and poker player who lives in Phoenx, AZ. He has published 2,000 articles in 50 magazines and 125 newspapers. If you want to share a gambling story or book idea with him, send an email to glawrenzi@gmail.com ).
