I started well, swept a decent hand out of a new addition to the group by virtue of aggressive playing. It felt exactly like how losing didn't, and it was goood. I totally pulled punches, folded when I needed and rode it when I saw I could take the game. Yeahh, it was the beginning of a good night.
I get this game now.
I was more confident, more sure of myself. I knew I was going to clear someone out when I had a hand I couldn't lose - two high pairs (a King and an Ace) right on the flop and the remaining cards were nothing to shout about (a Seven, a Ten and a Something Else) -
I called and raised, people folded, people called. The pot was big and that hand was mine -
aaaaaaaaaaand... someone had a flush.
---
Poker. Along with everything with people in it, poker is a game of managing others, their perceptions, the cards you're dealt with and the right to play. The stakes make the game worthwhile and, because there were stakes, when I lost my impossible hand, I wasn't just sore, I was sore.
I vowed to kidnap his firstborn child when he finally finds a woman, gets married and has babies.
...on a slightly more serious note however, I understood what made people turn ugly then.
All the bluff and bravado, the laughing off stakes and insults - these are the things that make the game fun and friendly. More often than not, though, money reveals a side of people that is ...well, human. Especially when the stakes get higher and there is a palpable possibility of gain.
Truly, it's only when the stakes are small that these "human mechanisms" are felt and understood, instead of felt and acted upon. Kenny Rogers sang it well.
Kenny Rogers The Gambler Lyrics
On a warm summer's evenin' on a train bound for nowhere,
I met up with the gambler; we were both too tired to sleep.
So we took turns a starin' out the window at the darkness
'Til boredom overtook us, and he began to speak.
He said, "Son, I've made my life out of readin' people's faces,
And knowin' what their cards were by the way they held their eyes.
So if you don't mind my sayin', I can see you're out of aces.
For a taste of your whiskey I'll give you some advice."
So I handed him my bottle and he drank down my last swallow.
Then he bummed a cigarette and asked me for a light.
And the night got deathly quiet, and his face lost all expression.
Said, "If you're gonna play the game, boy, ya gotta learn to play it right.
You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.
You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table.
There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done.
Now Ev'ry gambler knows that the secret to survivin'
Is knowin' what to throw away and knowing what to keep.
'Cause ev'ry hand's a winner and ev'ry hand's a loser,
And the best that you can hope for is to die in your sleep."
So when he'd finished speakin', he turned back towards the window,
Crushed out his cigarette and faded off to sleep.
And somewhere in the darkness the gambler, he broke even.
But in his final words I found an ace that I could keep.
You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.
You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table.
There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done.
I met up with the gambler; we were both too tired to sleep.
So we took turns a starin' out the window at the darkness
'Til boredom overtook us, and he began to speak.
He said, "Son, I've made my life out of readin' people's faces,
And knowin' what their cards were by the way they held their eyes.
So if you don't mind my sayin', I can see you're out of aces.
For a taste of your whiskey I'll give you some advice."
So I handed him my bottle and he drank down my last swallow.
Then he bummed a cigarette and asked me for a light.
And the night got deathly quiet, and his face lost all expression.
Said, "If you're gonna play the game, boy, ya gotta learn to play it right.
You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.
You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table.
There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done.
Now Ev'ry gambler knows that the secret to survivin'
Is knowin' what to throw away and knowing what to keep.
'Cause ev'ry hand's a winner and ev'ry hand's a loser,
And the best that you can hope for is to die in your sleep."
So when he'd finished speakin', he turned back towards the window,
Crushed out his cigarette and faded off to sleep.
And somewhere in the darkness the gambler, he broke even.
But in his final words I found an ace that I could keep.
You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.
You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table.
There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done.
And that's how it is.
Watch the crowd. Time the moves, and don't make a move until you need to, even if it's out of turn. Know when to run.
I'm sure you'd run out of aces once or twice in your life, and understood it the hard way, like I had to.
Some hands were never high, some emotions were never betrayed, some situations, never explained - but pray, for better or worse, that the river is your playing field. For The Lord makes all things good in His time. And if you're lucky you get a player-in-kind who wolfishly plays with you, on your side.
But me, I have no such luck. Yet. :)
Thus... for now I play to not lose. Soon, I'll play to win.
And I pray my nerves will become steelier. I pray that yours will, too.
---
So I ended the night having bought in twice and I got back slightly less than 50% of my investment*. Which was an improvement, having bought in 3 times the last two games.
And I take Kenny Roger's words to heart.
---
*I got $8.75 back at the end, each buy-in was $10.
Note: Gambling is never a recommended past-time.
There's a difference between playing for leisure and gambling - if you do play a little too much with stakes that are a little too high - here's help, help, and help.
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