One of my closest friends is a great guy and solid poker player. For the purposes of this article, let’s just refer to him as “P”. When I want to discuss hands, P is one of the first people I turn to since he often has insights I value, and we have tons of hand history together since we both enjoy mixed games. That being said, l often clash with P on how his actions are on the felt towards others, because he makes all the moves that I recommend against for keeping recreational players happy and participating in the game.
The first idea to understand regarding recreational players is, that their motives are different from a regular’s in why they are playing the game. There are indeed many motivations for playing poker for anyone, and they are all acceptable. Some like that it’s a social activity, others enjoy a night away from a spouse, lively ones may want a reason to drink, and still others may love the friendly competition it features. For serious players who choose to play for a living, profit is typically the most common choice since without winning more than they lose, they would not have means to afford life. What’s important to realize is, any given reason somebody wishes to play poker is a fine one to sit down and play, and they should be treated with respect for every minute they are at the table. My buddy P often fails to do so like below illustrates.
The last time I played with P was during the World Series of Poker in Vegas. We were in a great $20/40 mix game, and there were two lively players who had very little clue in how to play the game well. At one point, we were playing an Omaha variant where half the pot was given to the best high in a player’s 5 hole cards (Drawmaha for those familiar). At show down, P lost half a pot to one of them who tabled J9843 when he rivered a full house to beat P’s straight to split the pot. The player drew one card and did not show 4 to any suit when he tabled, and he was under the gun when he voluntarily put chips in the pot with no straight draw, flush draw, pair, or even high card assembly. This is about as poor a hand selection strategy as one can employ for a game where big pairs should be dominating decision making, and the fact that he was doing so from early position magnified his error and multiplied his negative expectation too. Since he was a recreational player, for the purposes of this article, let’s call him R.
Don’t Tap the Aquarium… for MANY Reasons
At showdown, P berated R. “You had to to draw for half with that hand? It shouldn’t have been in the pot to begin with.” Truthfully, P’s assessment was accurate as usual, but it does three things at once which provide absolutely no benefit to P or me at the table either. First off, it lets R know that P is paying attention to what cards he is playing which indicates that R is being reviewed continuously. Additionally, it lets R know there is strategy in hand selection for this game, and that his is most likely poor from a regular player’s assessment. Finally, it makes R uncomfortable since he is being actively evaluated and may motivate him to play better or worse, not play with P at all since people in general do not enjoy scrutiny. As it played out, the jawing back andforth continued for a few hands and R racked up and left about 10 minutes later.
P’s decision making here also hurts him in every way that he can. He is actively discouraging a player from making mistakes, whereas if he let him continue, R may make more of them and burn through chips faster. R also said he normally plays hold’em, and just wanted to try mix while he is in town for the series. As such, he is indicating his motivation for playing right now are anything but profit, and rather strictly learning and enjoying other forms of poker not readily available to him in his hometown. By angering R instead of making him happy, P is making it so that he won’t advertise the game to his friends when he goes back home, and also is less likely to play mix again himself.
Different Poker Motives: Professionals vs. Recreationals
It’s important to remember that recreational players play poker because it is fun and want a good experience. Negative commentary makes them uncomfortable and only serves to drive away action. Imagine if a blackjack player doubled down on 12, and the pit boss ran over and said “Now what the hell is a matter with you…” rather than simply wishing a player good luck and that they hope they can win. Every time a player wanting profit makes a negative atmosphere for a recreational player, they are making the same type of inappropriate behavior, and we should all discourage it since it hurts the game overall.
If we ever do get a second poker boom like we had 20 years ago when I got into the game, the demographic will be wildly different. The number one untapped market for poker are people at home playing for play money who are too intimidated to try out for real at a casino. This demographic is often older folks who have recreational money for spending if they choose. You can be certain that the aforementioned types of behaviors will discourage them from entry. Let’s all do our best to eliminate them so that the game can grow in a healthy manner, and everyone can get to enjoy it for whatever reason they would like.
