This is definitely one of the dark sides of poker. Being at the table with someone who, for one reason or another, absolutely should NOT be playing, and everyone is aware of it. Unfortunately it's not terribly uncommon.
I once played with another reg whose wife needed a ride to the airport as she didn’t drive or speak English. She was leaving to go visit home in India for a month. As time neared for the reg to go home and take her, she kept calling him and he kept making excuses. Eventually as it became way too late, he called her and told her that he was in jail for drunk driving and he would get home when they let him out. All a lie. He just kept playing.
This is why doing poker live is always preferrable. There are a lot of things you have to do first to play in a live setting, not the least of which is travel, being physically in a place, with other people, many of whom can be embroiled in these type of situations. Imagine how many guys like Diego could make the same mistakes playing online: jeopardizing his day and his life without leaving his bedroom.
That is brutal. I have seen something like this many a time in L.A. It is rough to watch. 5am to start playing seems early. Were you warming up for a tournament? I have played at 5am from the night before but never started then. Do you get good games at that time?
As a poker dealer and player for over 20 years, reading this I am impressed with your observation skills. Most people play and are in their own little world, not caring to be concerned with the others lives, merely their cards or chip count, on their phones or listening to podcasts ;-).
It's been a bit surreal to hear you mention getting into poker on the Filmcast; I would have been heavily into that world at the time I started listening to the Filmcast many years ago but have been out of it for several years now. A sort of mental timeline wire crossing for me.
What I do remember about playing live poker is that it can be a pretty ugly look into the unvarnished (mostly male) psyche. For better or worse, this is true of many of the best films as well! Feel free to use that if you were looking for any unsolicited future crossover blog topics.
This is definitely one of the dark sides of poker. Being at the table with someone who, for one reason or another, absolutely should NOT be playing, and everyone is aware of it. Unfortunately it's not terribly uncommon.
I once played with another reg whose wife needed a ride to the airport as she didn’t drive or speak English. She was leaving to go visit home in India for a month. As time neared for the reg to go home and take her, she kept calling him and he kept making excuses. Eventually as it became way too late, he called her and told her that he was in jail for drunk driving and he would get home when they let him out. All a lie. He just kept playing.
This is why doing poker live is always preferrable. There are a lot of things you have to do first to play in a live setting, not the least of which is travel, being physically in a place, with other people, many of whom can be embroiled in these type of situations. Imagine how many guys like Diego could make the same mistakes playing online: jeopardizing his day and his life without leaving his bedroom.
That is brutal. I have seen something like this many a time in L.A. It is rough to watch. 5am to start playing seems early. Were you warming up for a tournament? I have played at 5am from the night before but never started then. Do you get good games at that time?
As a poker dealer and player for over 20 years, reading this I am impressed with your observation skills. Most people play and are in their own little world, not caring to be concerned with the others lives, merely their cards or chip count, on their phones or listening to podcasts ;-).
It's been a bit surreal to hear you mention getting into poker on the Filmcast; I would have been heavily into that world at the time I started listening to the Filmcast many years ago but have been out of it for several years now. A sort of mental timeline wire crossing for me.
What I do remember about playing live poker is that it can be a pretty ugly look into the unvarnished (mostly male) psyche. For better or worse, this is true of many of the best films as well! Feel free to use that if you were looking for any unsolicited future crossover blog topics.
Thankfully he is a painter (or just delivery guy), and not actually building the house. eek