New Year, New Attitude

Happy new year! I hope that you had a wonderful holiday season and are ready to get back to the poker tables and play some winning poker. Some of my 2011 resolutions pertaining to poker include playing more hours, participating in more charity events, going on each of the Card Player Cruises poker trips, lobbying for the Poker Players Alliance, and winning another World Series of Poker bracelet. What are yours?
If, at the stroke of midnight, a genie tapped you on the shoulder and said, “I’m appointing you czar of the poker world for the next five minutes, and during that time, I want you to dictate some policy changes in attitude for poker management, poker dealers, and poker players, what would you come up with? This question actually was asked over dinner with some friends recently, and I found the answers interesting enough to formulate this column.
Management: My friends (and I) would like to see management take responsibility for their decisions and stop allowing heat to be put on the players by asking them to get involved in tough spots. For example, I recently was playing in a cash game when Player A raised. Player B didn’t see the raise, and just called the big-blind amount. The next player folded, and then another player reraised. The dealer then stopped the action and called for a floorman. After the situation was explained, the floorman looked at the players and asked, “Does anyone care if Player B takes his money back, since he didn’t know that Player A had raised?” Why make one of the players be the “bad guy” by objecting, when the rule clearly states that Player B can’t take back his money? Another example is when tournament directors allow players to be harassed if they don’t want to make a deal at the final table. Many times, I’ve seen players berated for refusing to chop the prize money while management allows it to happen.
Dealers: The list of attitude and procedural changes that some dealers should make was lengthy. One of my friends said, “I recently was in a hand against an all-in player, and the dealer said, ‘Good luck, all in.’” Really? Dealers should appear to be impartial and just deliver the cards. How about when someone busts out of a tournament and the dealer says something like, “Player down,” or, “Lost one”? Did a player really just die, or did the dealer mean to say, “Seat open”? Another attitude complaint involves dealers who don’t say “thank you” for a tip. Dealers should always look at the player and say, “Thank you.” Tapping the rack with the chip or just nodding isn’t sufficient. Keeping small talk to a minimum also was on the wish list.
Players: One of the behaviors that I’d like to see players stop is saying, “I’m sorry,” when they put a bad beat on someone. I don’t believe that they really are sorry. I think silence is golden at times like this, but if they feel obligated to say something, an expression like, “Tough beat,” would be more appropriate. Another thing mentioned by someone in our group was that he hates it when players get their feelings hurt because one of their friends won’t “soft-play” them. He once saw a 25-year friendship ruined because someone check-raised his friend. I think that soft-playing against anyone is wrong, and is disrespectful to the others in the game. It also creates hard feelings between the friends when one of them wins a pot that he never would have been in if there had been betting. I refuse to soft-play anyone in a poker game, and recommend that others do the same.
One other thing that I would do if I were the poker czar is encourage more women to play. Along this line, I’d like to make my female readers aware that PokerStarswomen.com recently was launched as a one-stop destination for anything poker-related pertaining to women. Whether you are a professional player or a poker novice, you will find the site valuable. There are many facets to the site, including articles written for and by women, a women’s-only poker league, female celebrity profiles, live events such as the PokerStars Luxury Ladies Event, and a Facebook page that has daily updates about women in poker, as well as videos by female poker pros.
PokerStarswomen.com has more than 40 articles available on the site under its “Blogs and News” section. Its writers provide lots of interesting columns from a woman’s perspective. Sue Carswell, a reporter for Vanity Fair, provides interviews with some of the PokerStars female pros, sports stars, guest celebrities, and friends of PokerStars. Beth Gains, an actress and author, provides healthy-lifestyle tips for poker players. Jennifer Shahade, two-time American women’s chess champ, provides poker strategy and information about poker events for women. Amy Zupko, co-host of the Women’s Poker Hour, features monthly updates about the PokerStars Women’s Poker League events. Rebekah Mercer, editor of PokerStarswomen.com, provides interviews with PokerStars female pros, online players, and league players. Mad Harper, PokerStars media coordinator, reports on a wide array of topics, particularly the EPT [European Poker Tour].
One of the most popular features is the PokerStars Women’s Poker League page. There currently are more than 1,300 women from around the world who are playing in the league in daily tournaments for as little as a $5.50 buy-in. In addition to the cash prizes for daily tournaments and additional prizes for monthly leader-board winners, the top-scoring player of the year will win a package worth $3,400 to the Women’s Caribbean Adventure, taking place Jan. 14-15 as part of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. This incredible package includes four nights’ accommodations at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas, $700 for travel expenses, entry to the Women’s Poker Boot Camp with Vanessa Rousso, a buy-in to the Women’s Caribbean Adventure $1,000 main event, and the chance to attend a Sunset Poker Beach Camp, which will introduce holistic techniques to help your mindset and approach to the game. For more information, go to www.PokerStarswomen.com.
Now, let’s play poker! ♠

Linda Johnson is a partner in Card Player Cruises. She invites you to check out her website at www.cardplayercruises.com for a listing of exciting 2011 poker-cruise destinations. She is an instructor for WPT Boot Camp, and is available for hosting tournaments, corporate events, seminars, and charity fundraisers.