A little argument gives food for thought at Thanet GUKPT

Well, just got back after the long drive back from one corner of England, where I have been playing in the Thanet GUKPT. It was alot of fun, but ultimately a disappointing time. I brought back 26200 to the second day; it was an unspectacular stack, but I was pleased to have grinded it up from a low of 3,100! However, I was left penniless within the first level, as I got it all in pre-flop with ace-ten against Simon Trumper’s ace-king. That and a few other hands were of interest enough to be in the section “my 50 worst mistakes,” so I won’t be writing about too much poker in this blog entry.
But what of the answer to the crucial question I promised to ask myself every time I play. “Did I play well enough?” Well, the answer is another disappointing one. I did nothing awful, but can still pinpoint a few spots where I either missed a possible opportunity, or could have saved a few chips. In truth, I did not recieve much in the way of hands throughout the nine hours of the first day, but I feel that it is exactly that kind of day that is the test of a poker player. Most poker events will bring you only avergae luck, and so the massive challenge is playing well enough to translate this into still finishing in the crucial top 10%, and the money. This is indeed a tough one, and there really is a need to see every bluff, avoid every big hand against you, and make the most of table dynamics, if you are to succeed when the cards are not overly kind to you. I’m disappointed to have failed in this again, but hope that by trying to learn from the mistakes of each event, the list of mistakes will at least shorten over time.
The real event that has made me think that I want to talk about in the blog was not so much to do with poker at all. It was a very friendly table I was on yesterday, and I feel this addition to the enjoyment is a good thing. There were alot of interesting pots, causing alot of good banter. There were a few minutes, however, which were far from friendly, which was a big shame.
One guy had lost a very big pot, holding pocket queens on a board which showed three aces, and his opponent in the small blind held the gold dust which was the case ace. The players were not all-in at any stage, and so it was not even a bad beat, rather a cooler situation. Having been shown quad aces, the guy turned to the dealer and said something like “well, thanks very much for that, great dealer you are mate”
It was not the worst thing you’ve ever seen by any means, but I just felt was not on to turn his frustration on the dealer. The dealers always seem like nice, genuine people. They can of course never stand up for themselves, for fear of being in trouble with the casino. Feeling that the dealer was defenceless,  I decided to stand up for him a little, and piped up “why is the the dealer’s fault then?”
I kind of surprised myself; I’m not usually one to argue at all, but just went with my instincts that it had to be done. Unfortuantely, the argument was still going on five minutes later, and had me thinking “was that all worth it?” The guy who had a go at the dealer seemed decent enough really, I guess he was just gutted to lose such a big pot.
I think it was worth the bother though; there was one very experienced player who bizarrely came to the defence of the guy blaming the dealer. I thought this was very strange and bit low given the guy’s experience, and showed that just a few people do undervalue these guys, whose sometimes thankless task makes the game possible.
After that little incident made me think, what happened in the next few minutes I found even more interesting. The argument had definitely left a little spice at the table, but there was almost an expecation at the table that I would go on tilt. From what other players were saying, they definitely expected me and this other guy to play a big pot together, becuase of the argument. I couldn’t quite believe it.
Of all the challenges of poker and the  difficult things to get right, the easiest thing is to make sure that you never go on tilt, nor indeed let any emotions affect your decisions at all. There is an awful lot I’ve got to get better at in poker, but I think I can be pretty honest with myself to say I would never go on tilt. If I did, I would be gutted with myself, and would definitely have to think about whether I could stake large amounts of money every week  or so on someone who couldn’t control his emotions.
I still find it amazing that tilt is still ACCEPTED as being part of the game. If you want to get better at poker, then the easiest thing you can do is find a determination to be clear that you will never succumb- it is that easy.
What happened though was not only did the other guy seem to tilt, and busted out soon after, but a few other players at the table seemed distracted by what had gone on, and let their game slip. It led me to think about another couple of players on the circuit, who can be a bit cheeky at the table. They are both top guys, but don’t mind winding their opponents up just a little at the table. There are a few times now that I have seen opponents bothered enough that they start to do things they just wouldn’t do with a clear mind.
It’s a real shame, therefore, that it’s true to say that rattling your opponents can actually work in your favour. It just shouldn’t be the case at all, particluarly in these big buy-in tournaments. After my little incident, I pretty much decided not to pipe up again at the table, and would never intentionally rattle someone. It’s a frustrating truth that it works, thought, and something that you should be very clear you will avoid. If someone is talking at the table, give nothing away, and just try to pick up whatever information you can from the loud mouths!
So, the report of the poker will unfortunately be taking up quite a bit of space in the section “my 50 worst mistakes!” I’d love to hear your comments, and will write again soon. Good luck at the tables!