High Style

Poker has come a long way since the Internet explosion and television came into the picture.

When I first started playing poker in the California card rooms, it was nothing to have a game that lasted for two or three days. The players would generally be fueled by alcohol and would doze at the table.

Tempers were short, especially if a player was a serious loser, and arguments and even fistfights were prevalent. While I never witnessed any shootings, I heard about them. I have seen players dive across tables at other players and have witnessed card room managers and security forces escorting players to the parking lot with orders for the player not to return.

Today poker has a sanitized edge brought on by television. It is truly big business, thanks to the popularity of the World Series of Poker, the World Poker Open, the World Poker Tour and other international events.

Civility in a poker room is not only encouraged by management. In many cases, it is mandatory. Players who use four-letter words or who make physical or verbal threats to their opponents simply are not tolerated.

Benny Binion defined high style for me one memorable evening at Binion's Horseshoe in downtown Las Vegas. One of the players at the table was making a comment about another player and said admiringly, "He has high style." I asked Benny what he meant.

"Most players win well," said Benny, "but they don't lose well. If you can't learn to lose well in this game, you may as well get out of it. Most of the old-time players have a touch of high style in their make-up." He winked.

I played against a player at the Lake Elsinore Casino in Lake Elsinore, CA. His name was Bill and he was unfailingly polite to the other players. Win or lose, he smiled and was gracious in the way he treated the other players. He rarely lost. His composure was so constant, it unnerved me.

I hated the guy.

Then I started thinking about his style of play. Maybe he knew something I didn't know. I began emulating him and started complimenting my foes when they made a good play, even if I was the victim. There were more smiles, more jokes at the table. Players began acting more gracious toward one another.

High style.

When you watch the major tournaments on television and see a player get knocked out of the competition, that is a good test of a person's high style. Some will congratulate the player who ended their chances of earning more money. Many will not. Some will simply flee from the table to nurse their wounds.

That is the wrong way to act. Regardless of your personal feelings, a little high style will go a long way in soothing those wounds. Practice it and you'll see what I mean.

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 ).