Last night was our office poker game, a 10p/25p NLHE cash game with a buy-in of £5. That's right, we were playing deep stacked poker with 20 big blinds. No one knows how to play properly, but everyone enjoys a game. I, very kindly, offered to provide all the equipment and dealing services that you could expect in The Big Game. I pulled out the poker table top, brought my chips round, postillions, fresh cards, buttons, everything you need for a good game of poker that no normal person would ever own.
After watch Ghana's disappointing and hugely regretable exit from the World Cup, the game got going and it was the same thing as always. A limp fest full of calling stations and bad plays, I was busy doing all of the dealing to really get involved too much. Normally when I host games with people who half know how to play I feel I have a responsibility to drive the action and make sure people have fun, otherwise everyone just plays super tight because they think that's the right way to play. It's dull for all involved. Last night, I didn't feel that urge so much, which was for the best because I don't think a single bluff or a single move would ever work out for me with this guys at the table.
By the end of the night, the £35 total buy-ins had grown to £110, with only two rounds remaining I found myself with a £90 stack and only three players left (the rest hand lost enough money for the night). I was starting to feel bad. As the only regular poker player I didn't want to go there and take everyone's money, they were my colleagues and my friends. So in a bid to make it a little fairer and not look like a dick, I deliberately lost back £30 in the space of about 20 minutes.
As Uncle Ben in Spiderman once said, with great poker skills comes great responsibility. On that night my responsibility was to ensure everyone had a good evening and I didn't come across as the only skilled player taking advantage of a bunch of newbies.
Responsible gaming pops up in all different forms of poker. It's those little tools that will ban you from playing for as long as you choose. It's the discipline to stop playing when things aren't going your way. It's strength to find the fold that you know is right when there is doubt in your mind. Each and every time you sit down at a poker table, whether it's online, in a casino or at your boss' house, you have a responsibility to yourself to make sure you do the right thing.
Otherwise you have no business playing this game.
Other Random Musings
The legend that is Scotty Nguyen follows me on Twitter. I know he probably just follows anyone that follows him, but still, it's an honour to have a legend of the game amongst my list of followers. Let's hope he enjoys the blog, baby!
I'm 24 years old and I still like to watch WWE, plus I'm British, wrestling isn't even popular over here. Is there something wrong with me? I'm not one of these poncy people who won't watch a show or a film just because it's uncool. If it entertains, it entertains, and wrestling is just like Eastenders except more. What's wrong with that?
Andy Murray was disappointing in his loss to Nadal. Murray was playing so well and just crumbled, he needs to find the bottle to battle through because he has the talent. This may have been his best chance with Federer out of sorts and Nadal was nursing a knee injury, but he let it slip.
And finally, Twitter is surprisingly addictive! Suddenly I see what it's so popular after previously thinking it was just a waste of time.
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