Poker and Autism

[FuglyBaz]

An odd question, but I think relevant. Do any of you know somebody who plays poker who possesses some form of Autism? I ask this question as I have Aspergers Syndrome, which is a high functioning form of the symptom.

http://www.autism.org.uk/asperger - full points to anyone who can read the whole of the article. It gives you an overview of Aspergers Syndrome in more detail.

A problem with Autism is understanding peoples reactions. Living a normal social life is very difficult for people with Autism. I personally find it difficult to deal with large groups of people at once, and sometimes don't get the message when people get bored of me talking etc.

A plus side to having Aspergers is the Maths side. This is probably why i was drawn to Poker in the first place. Unfortunately I dont adapt well to change and this can turn it back into a negative.

Anyway...if any of you know people with Autism who play poker could you post (with their kind permission) their experiences. Its not a question I could openly ask at a casino for obvious reasons. I wouldn't want people taking advnatage of me, which inevitably would happen. I'm more curious than anything to see how they handle issues such as tilt, bad beats and any positive/negative things that come out of poker.

I don't expect many responses as I doubt many are willing enough to play this masochistic game. But Id love to hear of anyones experience, or about anyone they know who has some form of mental impairment which takes them away from being 'normal'.

Cheers,
Baz

[Robert HM]

Baz, I am astounded, but extremely pleased,  you play live with Aspergers, yes i do know something about Autism. Coping with the changes throughout the game, not to mention the "crowd" situation must be hard. You get a heavy load of kudos from me.

[FuglyBaz]

Baz, I am astounded, but extremely pleased,  you play live with Aspergers, yes i do know something about Autism. Coping with the changes throughout the game, not to mention the "crowd" situation must be hard. You get a heavy load of kudos from me

Thank you Robert It's very hard. I think Aspergers plays a massive part in why I cannot embrace certain styles of tournaments (remember the rebuy thread?).

What's really tough is the bad beat situations. Your opponent is drawing to two outs and you're thinking 'ship it' then the crucial blow is dealt. I find situations like that very difficult to cope with. As for the crowd - there's a lot of banter and I struggle with this so as a result a lot of the jokes are about me. Makes me feel very uncomfortable.

This is why I'm curious as to how others deal with the fast changing environment this game brings. It's stupid but even things like players changing on my table get me anxious. But at same time I am astute with numbers. It explains why I love darts and poker as both have a lot of math involved.

[boldie]

Baz, I am astounded, but extremely pleased,  you play live with Aspergers, yes i do know something about Autism. Coping with the changes throughout the game, not to mention the "crowd" situation must be hard. You get a heavy load of kudos from me.

What he said. Heavy load of Kudos indeed.

[ifm]

As for the crowd - there's a lot of banter and I struggle with this so as a result a lot of the jokes are about me. Makes me feel very uncomfortable.

This is where you are wrong in your perception, banter is personally aimed at people and is usually to and fro but is just that, banter.
You see it from a paranoid angle, you see it as a personal attack, you don't see that everyone else is targetted too!

[FuglyBaz]

This is where you are wrong in your perception, banter is personally aimed at people and is usually to and fro but is just that, banter.
You see it from a paranoid angle, you see it as a personal attack, you don't see that everyone else is targetted too

I'm getting better at telling the differences between banter and malicious piss taking mate. At darts it's not too bad now to be fair. With poker though...it's like a new environment. I'm just curious to see how others with difficulties seem to handle it.

I struggle to respond to banter with anything meaningful (you know my comebacks are terrible ) and that's where my anxiety sets in.

[Grier78]

This is where you are wrong in your perception, banter is personally aimed at people and is usually to and fro but is just that, banter.
You see it from a paranoid angle, you see it as a personal attack, you don't see that everyone else is targetted too

I'm getting better at telling the differences between banter and malicious piss taking mate. At darts it's not too bad now to be fair. With poker though...it's like a new environment. I'm just curious to see how others with difficulties seem to handle it.

I struggle to respond to banter with anything meaningful (you know my comebacks are terrible ) and that's where my anxiety sets in.

How about shades and an Ipod?

[FuglyBaz]

How about shades and an Ipod?

I really don't know if I should have, but I really LOL'ed at this. I'd never wear sunglasses or use an ipod for the levels I play at. If I was playing poker outdoors then thats the only time you'll see me with sunglasses.

[boldie]

How about shades and an Ipod?

I really don't know if I should have, but I really LOL'ed at this. I'd never wear sunglasses or use an ipod for the levels I play at. If I was playing poker outdoors then thats the only time you'll see me with sunglasses.

Thank you..finally a normal soul. Anyone who plays with sunglasses on is a twat.

[Newmanseye]

How about shades and an Ipod?

I really don't know if I should have, but I really LOL'ed at this. I'd never wear sunglasses or use an ipod for the levels I play at. If I was playing poker outdoors then thats the only time you'll see me with sunglasses.

Thank you..finally a normal soul. Anyone who plays with sunglasses on is a twat.

Broad & sweeping that statement, its a bit like your poker game in that it does not change......

[mondatoo]

lol quite funny i was watching party prem lge on 4 lnite marcel luske had hit the nuts on turn with j346 (or summit like that) luske had 5 7 annie duke bet the turn he just called she then checked the river(which was an irrelevant card) and he did to, he fort he had 67 and had misread his hand

Oh and he was wearing sunglasses.

[boldie]

How about shades and an Ipod?

I really don't know if I should have, but I really LOL'ed at this. I'd never wear sunglasses or use an ipod for the levels I play at. If I was playing poker outdoors then thats the only time you'll see me with sunglasses.

Thank you..finally a normal soul. Anyone who plays with sunglasses on is a twat.

Broad & sweeping that statement, its a bit like your poker game in that it does not change is complete bollox......

FYP...well you'd be right about my poker game

[RED-DOG]

I struggle to respond to banter with anything meaningful (you know my comebacks are terrible ) and that's where my anxiety sets in.

I'll let you in on one of poker, (and life's) secrets fug, You don't have to respond with anything meaningful, you don't have to respond with anything at all. (Silence and a smile will piss them of more than anything anyway)

Let the others concentrate on witty remarks, you just concentrate on the poker,

[mondatoo]

Hi Baz m8

Red is total right here if indeed someone is being a twat i always find the best response is to totally ignore the muppet and just keep on with whateva ur doing however i would also say ifm has a good point as many people with all different types of background are over paronoid about peoples opinions of them and what they're saying about them personally i cudnt give a shit what ppl think of me i just think if your honest to yourself and be yourself than what does it matter what people think if someone doesn't like me (and there's a few lol) i just think well nobody gets on with everyone so let them get on with it there loss not mine imho.Best of luck at the tables m8

[suzanne]

Fugly I think lots of people with aspergers are attracted to poker because of the maths involved and I would think that there might be quite a few who are very sucessful online but as you say find it more difficult playing live as their reading skills are not so good.

I have learnt through research to reconize the "signs" of aspies and although I dont play live much it is amazing how many I have spotted when I do.

Red summed it up perfect

I struggle to respond to banter with anything meaningful (you know my comebacks are terrible ) and that's where my anxiety sets in.

I'll let you in on one of poker, (and life's) secrets fug, You don't have to respond with anything meaningful, you don't have to respond with anything at all. (Silence and a smile will piss them of more than anything anyway)

Let the others concentrate on witty remarks, you just concentrate on the poker,