Poker News > Showing Emotion in Poker by Nolan Dalla


Showing Emotion in Poker by Nolan Dalla

By Nolan Dalla - Sep 20th, 2009

If the opposite of a bad beat is a good beat, then the player sitting at Table 67/Seat 2 during a typical night at this year’s World Series of Poker (WSOP) was most certainly the benefactor of a miraculous catch – in other words, a good beat.  Most players remember their bad beats, but we usually forget the synchronized miracles that are dealt just as impartially.  Every player who gets crushed by a bad beat has a smiling correlated counterpart with fading memories of gifts from the poker gods. The smiling man positioned at Table 67/Seat 2 would likely have remained unnoticed amid a roomful of hundreds of tournament players, except for one thing: his reaction.  The instant the player caught his miracle card, he bolted out of his seat, did a few fist pumps in the air, and shouted to no one in particular “Yes!”  He may have even shouted “Yes!” a few times. No one needed to see the cards or view the board or replay the hand to understand exactly what had happened.  One player got lucky and caught the perfect card.  The other player took a bad beat and began to exit.  It’s a common occurrence at all ...

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2 Comments

BigT   September 21st, 2009 at 1:59 am

I absolutely agree. If people want a quiet emotionless table they can play online. Part of the attraction of live poker are the personalities. And whether others like it or not, talking to learn the other player is part of the game. While I agree that excessive celebration should be limited I find no problem with minor hurrahs or the occasional goading of your opponent. Altering the psyche of the opponent is also part of the game — this is true of all games and sports, why should it be different in Poker.

Russ Scott   September 22nd, 2009 at 5:35 pm

I see your point, Nolan, and like you I enjoy a game more when there’s social interaction, table talk and (within reason) displays of emotion. The thing is, what’s considered “reasonable behavior” isn’t the same for everyone. We got to this point — new, tougher rules — because a relatively small number of players repeatedly abused their rights at the table. Often, these abuses affect play negatively (slow down the game, instigate arguments, etc.), but even worse in my opinion is the inconsistent enforcement of rules by different floor people. It’s like deciding what’s porn — if the standard in judging poker violations is “I’ll know it when I see it,” then leaving floor staff to their individual interpretations is inherently unfair to the players. ANY set of rules chosen by a casino — however stringent or lenient — is fine, as long as they are clearly stated up front and evenly enforced without favoritism.

BTW — Thanks for another AWESOME job compiling and presenting information at this year’s WSOP!

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