The Wounded Gnu

A while ago, my girlfriend and I were in South Africa, enjoying a long, exciting, and well-deserved holiday. On a couple of occasions, we had the pleasure of visiting some of the wild parks for which this country is famous. Unlike a regular zoo that most Western people are familiar with, over here the – often rare – animals live freely, in huge national parks. Tourists and other people who are interested can visit these parks by making a safari. If you get lucky, you might be able to see some of these rare, endangered animals, but you should make sure that your presence does not interfere with their normal, regular life. On one of those safaris, my girlfriend and I witnessed an incident that has implications when it comes to playing poker, too.

Safaris work like this: A group of usually no more than 10 or 12 people travels around in an open jeep, with a highly knowledgeable park employee at the wheel. Because of his experience, this guide knows where certain animals can usually be found and he is very good at spotting them, even when they hide and/or cannot easily be seen.

Now, when driving around on one of these safaris, we almost ran into two lions that were lying in the grass enjoying the sun – not the least concerned about our presence. The lions, which were so close that we could almost touch them, were calm and very comfortable. They didn't look like they were going to do anything anytime soon, other than what they were doing – which was nothing. Then, suddenly, a third animal entered the scene; it was a gnu. The gnu was unable to see the lions, but the lions spotted their new friend immediately. It was as if they have a sixth sense for spotting potential prey under all circumstances, even when they are half asleep or relaxing. The lions got up immediately and slowly but deliberately headed toward the unknowing gnu. It was with mixed feelings that we were witnessing what was about to happen. On one hand we felt sorry for the gnu, because in no way did he deserve to die, but on the other hand, we all know it is just nature. After all, the strong survive by destroying the weak. It is simply the circle of life, in which lions are on a higher end of the food chain than gnus.

But what surprised me more than the obvious situation of the strong lions chasing the weak gnu was this: When the lions started moving toward the gnu, we saw some more animals come from a distance, and two hyenas suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Our guide was a lot less surprised than I was, and said this was common practice. When hyenas notice that lions are chasing another animal, they always appear, in order to eat what's left of the victim when the lions have had enough and have moved elsewhere. Because they saw that the lions were going to kill the gnu, they were simply waiting for their turn to pick on the weak, once their stronger friends were done.

After having witnessed this incident, I usually warn my students and poker-playing friends not to become the bottom end of the food chain. More specifically, I tell them, "Don't become a wounded gnu." When you are doing well in poker, it sometimes seems like the game was invented just for you, for all other people to come to the casino to hand over their money to you. They play their hands against you in a very weak manner simply because they fear you, and you are able to outplay them on such a regular basis that they pose no serious threat to you – or so you think. Once the tide has turned and you have gotten unlucky a few times in a row, and once they have started beating you regularly even though the odds were against it, your opponents suddenly feel stronger and fear you less because they see that you're human just like everybody else. More than that, they know you are vulnerable right now, and this is the time when even ABC, predictable players who have never posed any serious threat to you start making moves on you, trying things they have never tried before. Suddenly, you have become their prey, and it takes a great player to stay calm under these circumstances and continue to make the right decisions in order to slowly turn the situation around to the way it always was.

In many ways, poker resembles the most primitive, the most "natural" way of life. Just as strong animals live off the weaker species, so do good players live off the bad. And just as the hyenas who were waiting for the gnu to die were eager to get their share, too – so will poker players pound on those whom they perceive as weak. If someone is labeled weak, or even temporarily weak, he'll become natural prey for not just the top players, but for all others, as well. Therefore, it is in your best interest to stay calm under all circumstances, and stay as unaffected as possible even when things are running badly. Don't let your opponents know that you're experiencing a bad run, or that you've been rather unlucky lately; don't even tell it to your very best friends. If you do, before you know it, everybody will be pounding on you and beating up on you – simply because they can smell your blood. Don't become a wounded gnu; your bankroll will certainly appreciate it.