Saturday, April 27, 2013

Fear has a Large Shadow


I thought I was playing with the sharks last night but before not too long, my vanity took over. Playing with the regular Hyderabad Circuit players, it was a table set for four.

A thousand chips buy-in and I scored the high card for the dealer. A sip of the beer and a raise after the big blind, figured Pee (Yeah, well), the guy on my right, was eliminating the non-significant hands. Competition was now limited to the face cards, pocket pairs and straights and flush hands. The Small Blind, Cee, folded yet the pot was big stakes this game. Pee lost out eventually to a bad beat on a flush on the River to Moi. I could eat the sharks too… Guess, I always knew that :P

Caught Pee’s bluff in another game on the turn card, yet challenged him till the River killed every odd. I folded when he raised after the river, looked him in the eye and both of us smiled at the same time- Boy, I knew what you were doing but my stars were not in my cards…The mischievous glint in our eyes crossed each other’s, and I knew I had established myself as an authority at the table. And as far as I am concerned, fear is good. And making the sharks fear you, is very good.

Next target: Straddle

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Poker is War in Disguise of a Sport


Poker is war in disguise of a sport. Loved the cheekiness with which Pokabunga’s website screamed out the dictum. The war cry may not be candid but the stealth and the aggression is inherent in the game and its players. The more I play Poker, the more its striking similarity to the odds of life amazes me.

You may have a very high Internal Locus of Control, yet you accede to the cards life has dealt to you. It is up to you to make the most of the cards dealt to you. Survival of the Fittest may be flawed you say. A Poker Player would chant Survival of the Smartest. Your best cards can be grounded to dust if you are outsmarted. Your worst cards can turn to a gold mine if you play your moves smart.

You know your odds are the Table cards start unrevealing themselves. Probabilities change with each open card. So does the player’s psyche. The seven sins gets activated as the players struggle and learn to deal with them. Freud’s Id and Super Ego have a constant tussle like War. Poker is simply a game of training your Ego and making it stronger by the day to deal with life’s challenges and the war that is survival.
Playing Poker is learning to Survive. Better.