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I enjoyed the article.
Yes, it is overly nostalgic. Yes, it takes a while to get to the point. Yes, it seems to be incorrectly suggesting that things are much worse now than they were then. Yes, it makes too many generalisations - e.g. that younger (online) players are much worse for the games than older (live) players. But I don't care about these things. Because the overall point that he is making is a very good one.
It does not really matter whether someone is a young internet hotshot, or an old-school live player. There are plenty of players from both groups who are a nause on the games they sit in. There are also plenty from each group who grace the games with their presence. Being old or young is not the important thing (and Titbeam's vitriol against older live players is unfair... they are not all moody angle shooters!). Being a pleasure to play with is all that matters.
The guys who might learn and improve from reading this article are not the scumbags or douches, whether young or old. They will never learn. However, there are a load of players out there who are nice guys but who simply have not quite worked out yet how to behave at the poker table. And this is the sort of article that might make it click for some of them. And the more players it clicks for, the better it is for everyone.
The thing I particularly liked about the article is that it reminded me just how much new players enjoy the game, and just how much of a thrill it is for them the first time they sit down in a tournament or in a cash game. It should always be our aim to enhance the enjoyment of inexperienced players at the table. They are enjoying themselves much more than we are since it is so new and exciting to them. I don't want to burst their bubble in any way - I want to help that bubble last as long as possible. It is wonderful to see inexperienced players truly feeling every pot they play, and riding an incredible rush of excitement during a hand. I am jealous of them in many ways, because I will never get that same rush and joy from poker again. You only get those feelings when you are just starting.
I remember about five years ago I was playing in a cash game and there was an APAT tournament going on in the casino. There were hundreds of players and they were all loving the game so much. You could tell that at least half the field had been looking forward to this tournament for weeks, and that they were feeling every moment of it right now. They had butterflies in their stomachs every time they played a pot. Whenever someone got knocked out the entire room would give them a round of applause. I thought this was wonderful. But some of the players at my table were laughing at this, and making snide remarks about how silly these guys were to be getting so excited for a 50 quid tournament. This was mean-spirited and hugely lacking in understanding of what poker is really all about. I told the table they were all mean buggers and to stop looking down their noses at others: "These guys are enjoying their poker more than any of us have enjoyed playing for years. You should be envying them, not laughing at them."
Part of your job as a poker player is to sustain a game that allows inexperienced players to experience the thrill of playing poker as intensely and joyfully as possible. You don't need to 'give sick action' to do this. Neither do you need to 'pal them up'. All you need to do is to be pleasant at the table, and to do nothing at all that might reduce the enjoyment of your fellow players. If you act well at the table then whenever you see a newer player truly enjoying himself and experiencing the full excitement of poker, then you can think to yourself "My presence at the table is contributing to this game running, and thus to this player having a game to play in. This means I played a small part in allowing this person to feel the intense joy and excitement that he just felt when he played that pot." Even if you have not directly caused that player's enjoyment it is still great to know that you are playing a small part in the pleasure he is having, just through you taking a seat at the table. And, apart from anything, it is wonderful and self-affirming to watch anyone experiencing true joy.
great post and agre 100% wpwpYes, it is overly nostalgic. Yes, it takes a while to get to the point. Yes, it seems to be incorrectly suggesting that things are much worse now than they were then. Yes, it makes too many generalisations - e.g. that younger (online) players are much worse for the games than older (live) players. But I don't care about these things. Because the overall point that he is making is a very good one.
It does not really matter whether someone is a young internet hotshot, or an old-school live player. There are plenty of players from both groups who are a nause on the games they sit in. There are also plenty from each group who grace the games with their presence. Being old or young is not the important thing (and Titbeam's vitriol against older live players is unfair... they are not all moody angle shooters!). Being a pleasure to play with is all that matters.
The guys who might learn and improve from reading this article are not the scumbags or douches, whether young or old. They will never learn. However, there are a load of players out there who are nice guys but who simply have not quite worked out yet how to behave at the poker table. And this is the sort of article that might make it click for some of them. And the more players it clicks for, the better it is for everyone.
The thing I particularly liked about the article is that it reminded me just how much new players enjoy the game, and just how much of a thrill it is for them the first time they sit down in a tournament or in a cash game. It should always be our aim to enhance the enjoyment of inexperienced players at the table. They are enjoying themselves much more than we are since it is so new and exciting to them. I don't want to burst their bubble in any way - I want to help that bubble last as long as possible. It is wonderful to see inexperienced players truly feeling every pot they play, and riding an incredible rush of excitement during a hand. I am jealous of them in many ways, because I will never get that same rush and joy from poker again. You only get those feelings when you are just starting.
I remember about five years ago I was playing in a cash game and there was an APAT tournament going on in the casino. There were hundreds of players and they were all loving the game so much. You could tell that at least half the field had been looking forward to this tournament for weeks, and that they were feeling every moment of it right now. They had butterflies in their stomachs every time they played a pot. Whenever someone got knocked out the entire room would give them a round of applause. I thought this was wonderful. But some of the players at my table were laughing at this, and making snide remarks about how silly these guys were to be getting so excited for a 50 quid tournament. This was mean-spirited and hugely lacking in understanding of what poker is really all about. I told the table they were all mean buggers and to stop looking down their noses at others: "These guys are enjoying their poker more than any of us have enjoyed playing for years. You should be envying them, not laughing at them."
Part of your job as a poker player is to sustain a game that allows inexperienced players to experience the thrill of playing poker as intensely and joyfully as possible. You don't need to 'give sick action' to do this. Neither do you need to 'pal them up'. All you need to do is to be pleasant at the table, and to do nothing at all that might reduce the enjoyment of your fellow players. If you act well at the table then whenever you see a newer player truly enjoying himself and experiencing the full excitement of poker, then you can think to yourself "My presence at the table is contributing to this game running, and thus to this player having a game to play in. This means I played a small part in allowing this person to feel the intense joy and excitement that he just felt when he played that pot." Even if you have not directly caused that player's enjoyment it is still great to know that you are playing a small part in the pleasure he is having, just through you taking a seat at the table. And, apart from anything, it is wonderful and self-affirming to watch anyone experiencing true joy.
