It's the Worst Play in Poker!

"May you live in interesting times" is an ancient Chinese curse. Well, poker is surely headed for some interesting times.



I'm not going to list all of the elements that are pressuring the game and industry as currently configured. I have for the past four years called for a re-examination of the current business model and the need to morph into something different, with a greater vision for the future well-being of the game. Alas, a combination of capitalistic factors, social inertia, serendipity, chance, and stone-cold greed have kept the game from coming together in a way that will enable it to join the major elements of American entertainment, from sports leagues to movies, in a beneficial way. It is what it is. I am still hopeful, but not optimistic, for the short term. Right now, the best efforts are being put forth by the Pokers Players Alliance, with virtually no significant industry support. I for one am cheering them on, and encourage poker players everywhere to support their efforts. But to really get where we need to go will require the joint efforts of major industry players.



Not all of the pressures are external, however. Some of the worst pressure on the game comes from players who are so clueless that they make what seems to be a real effort to drive recreational players – and you can read that as losing players – from the game.



Poker, especially Internet poker, is losing its losers. The games on the Internet are getting tougher. Losers are the heart of poker, where it all begins. They pay the house rake, allow for players to win, and generate the incentive for the game to be played. They are the most essential requirement for the economic well-being of poker.



There are many reasons why poker is losing its losers. First and foremost, the nature of poker is that it is very predatory. The strong survive and the weak go broke. The poker economy is very cyclical. Money circulates, passing from hand to hand, and game to game. Little of it is taxed, but little by little, the house rake slowly withdraws money from the poker economy. We are in the midst of a poker boom, and economic booms are generally followed by a bust.



Here's what happens in poker. Lots of easy money comes to the game: new players, players playing over their heads, recreational players. Better players clean them out and remove money from the game, which they spend on their lives. Eventually, the losing players lose all that they can afford to lose. They step down in limits, or often leave the game completely.



Because of this, the guy who used to find himself the second- or third-best player at the table now finds himself the sixth- or seventh-best. He hasn't gotten any worse, but the table is now made up of more guys like him. And whereas he used to be able to count on taking some money out of the game, now he can't. In fact, it is likely that he is losing – and perhaps whining about his bad luck. He's gotten unlucky, all right – unlucky that there isn't as much easy money as there once was.



Here's the thing, though: An incredibly large number of players, especially on the Internet, are rude as hell to the recreational players, the ever-shrinking pool of recreational players. They berate them for their play, and make fun of them. They criticize their poker decisions, usually with profanity. Sometimes they even say things like, "You play so bad, you should die, you f—-ing retard." That kind of talk is common!



Invariably, this kind of talk arises when the foul-mouthed one has lost a pot. Sometimes the nasty kids are correct in their analysis of play. Just as often, they are not. Regardless, what they are doing is horrible for poker in general. It is also bad for their own games and results. To put it kindly, they are just obnoxious jerks to the other players, making for an ugly atmosphere at the table. The Internet gives players the courage to be obnoxious behind the safety of anonymity. Then again, maybe courage is the wrong word!



Unfortunately, trash-talking has become part of the poker world. Yes, you see it in the NFL and the NBA, and some in poker on TV. But they are pros playing pros. Poker as played daily is a different animal; it's principally a mixture of professional players, wannabes, recreational players, and obsessive-compulsive gamblers.



Do recreational players want to listen to this BS? Wealthy recreational players are not at the table to maximize their hourly win rate. They want to match wits with people and entertain themselves in a way that has some challenge and hopefully have an economic upside, but winning is not generally their highest priority. Fun is! When these players are not enjoying themselves, they get up and leave. Even when they don't leave right away, they do not have as great a propensity to come back. And if they do play again, they look for a place to play where they won't have to listen to garbage.



Furthermore, if you needle them about a bad play they made, the result often is that you embarrass them into playing better against you. At the very least, you have told the whole table that they shouldn't be making such a play.



I've been told by some that needling is part of their poker technique, as they try to set their opponents on tilt. Aside from the fact that needling is low-class, there are degrees. You don't need to be profane – and you don't need to include poker lessons in your efforts. Is it effective? In some instances, sure it is. When you are stuck and tired and some obnoxious jerk is goading you, your propensity to tilt is going to be greater. But what effect does it have on the game? More often than not, the needling is a knee-jerk emotional reaction by those who have little self-control. I find that they are the ones who were either bullies or the victims of bullies from the sandbox through high school, and on the Internet, they have a chance to vent and not be accountable for their words and actions. And they justify it as tactics.



You see this all the time: A player makes a bad call, gets lucky, and wins the pot. The insults and name-calling then start. The table gets quiet, and tight. Nobody wants to get berated. The embarrassed player leaves, as it's no fun to get berated. Sure, trash-talking enables the defeated player to take his frustrations out on another player, which is not exactly classy, but on top of that, what has he accomplished? He has made people play better, made bad players leave the table, and been a jerk and hurt his own self-interest. Who is the stupid one?



And his economic loss hurts the game in more ways than most think. When a game loses a loser, it makes all other players' bad calls worse. They don't have the "luxury" of the recreational player making a call in a pot that improves their odds, because that player was run off by the obnoxious jerk. So, the other weak players in the game are going to lose at a higher rate, one that might cause them to quit. It can become a compounding effect, and soon the economy of the game has changed, so much so that no one can make much, if any, money at the game.



Also, the fact is that your opponents do learn. They learn not to make those bad calls for which you gave them grief. At the very least, they try not to show those hands again so that they won't have to listen to you. And you reveal your own knowledge level, not just to them but to other observant players at the table.



Remember this:

1. The worst play in poker is to do anything that might drive a live one from the game.

2. The second-worst play in poker is to educate your opponents to play better.

3. When you go off on your opponents, you expose your own emotional vulnerability. It makes you prone to tilt.

4. If you can't put yourself in your opponent's head and get some feel for why he makes the play he does and why he plays the game at all, you will never beat quality competition.

5. You are never well-served by letting your opponents know how much you know.


There are many other tactical and strategic reasons not to be a rude, obnoxious jerk at the table, but these should be enough.

The best thing you as a player can do is make an effort to be good for the game. Respect people, be polite, be friendly. It's easy, and doesn't cost you a dime. As a matter of fact, it will make you money in the long run. It serves the long-term interests of the growth of poker. Most importantly, respecting people is the right thing to do on a personal and professional level. When you feel like taking your frustrations out on another player, bite your lip and remember that it's the worst play in poker.



Poker is headed for some interesting times. We need recreational players to last as long as possible. We need them to feel welcome in our games. And the more you tap on the aquarium to disturb the fish, the more you hurt the game, its future, and yourself.



Roy Cooke has played winning professional poker since 1972. He is a successful real estate broker/salesperson in Las Vegas. His books are available at www.conjelco.com/cooke. His longtime collaborator, John Bond, is a freelance writer in South Florida.