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WPT Information
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Women's Only Events
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Online
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Thursday, May 03, 2007
Think about how you would feel if someone were to use your ideas and claim that they are their own. Does angry top the list? Does cheated feel about right? I am sorry to say that it has become commonplace across the internet and the poker world is no exception. There are a million poker sites that are popping up and what I see over and over again is the same information regurgitated for the loyals of that particular site. Where is the new content? Where is the innovation? There are thousands of untapped ideas in poker out there. Why would anyone concentrate on something that has already been done?
Those who do it over and over again say that blogs, photo galleries, news feeds etc… are commonplace on poker sites. I don’t buy that answer. On one hand they are correct but isn’t it better to bring a little originality to those same things or better yet come up with something original all together? Any idiot can redo and copy an idea or outright plagiarize content. You don’t need to be an internet genius or a web designer to do it. All you need is someone on the inside to get insight and details as to how it is being done.
I hear many times about what others are doing and think to myself “I can do that too.” But where is the fun in that? Most times the destination is not the most interesting or the most fun part of the journey. It is the journey itself. The finding, the working, even the mistakes we make along the way are what makes the end result the most satisfying. If it were easy there would be a hell of a lot more advancement in a lot more areas. Just because it's easy, does not mean it’s acceptable.
I'm not sure I understand why people do this. Maybe the stakes don't seem high enough to discourage stealing ideas and content. After all it is only poker. I also realize that people are crunched for time. It is easy to fall back and look at what has worked for others instead of opening up our minds and rolling up our sleeves to really work a project and really make it our own. Newer sites and even the older ones who are falling into the copying rut need to force themselves. Look around you…is poker right now all it ever can be? Sponsors and investors willing to come into poker right now are few and far between and until someone comes up with and acts on new ventures it will remain that way
The CEO of Starbucks, Howard Schultz said” The best ideas are those that create a new mind-set or sense a need before others do." I believe he is right on the money and the success of the Starbucks Chain says he does. While Starbucks did not create coffee, they perfected the atmosphere and leapt on the need for shops like Starbucks. No one is flattered to have ideas stolen so the old adage “imitation is the best form of flattery” is crap. It is at best immoral and sneaky. If you cannot make your ideas work for you or do not have the wherewithal to come up with new ideas yourself, you probably need to rework what you are doing.. Notice I said the word “work.” It takes work to be creative and to make those ideas into a reality that others can relate to and join in.
This makes me think of movies and music…the original is always the best. Redoing the same thing appears just as it is … not the original. The same applies to the internet and poker… the original is always the best.
Two weeks ago on Womens Poker Hour we had an impromptu guest who was in Hold em Radios studio now located in Binions. Steve Frederick was in the studio and we decided to put him on the spot and on the air. One of the things that Steve noticed about poker players that he saw on television, which is something that got him into the game of poker, was the fact that many of the players he saw were stock brokers, traders etc… which was the same background he comes from. I did some investigating online and he was right. Many of the amateur and even some professionals started out playing with other peoples money in real life. I also noticed that many of those same players are noted for aggressive play.
This got me thinking back to college law classes and an old final paper that I worked on for months about jury selection and the Voir dire process used across the United States. When lawyers pick juries in court cases, the process is very un-politically correct. The attorneys rely heavily on behavioral stereotypes and pay very close attention to the actions of the prospective jurors before during and after the process. It is not always based on giving the “right” or “wrong” answers during the process itself. By stereotypes I do not mean age, creed or orientation. It goes well beyond the obvious “profiling” that we hear so much about these days.
One of the things I remember from doing that paper was learning how to read people through means other than yes or no answers to specific questions. Preference of career, for example, means a lot when figuring out a persons personality. Most people who work with in the “helping” industries such as social workers, teachers and therapists, have the tendency to be more nurturing and caring. For a prosecution they are the most likely to have sympathy for a defendants background and the mitigating circumstances that lead to a crime. In civil cases they are the most likely to return large settlements to injured plaintiffs as they like to see justice done. Mostly people of this nature sit openly. They are normally engaged in conversation and are easy to approach. They are probably clean and well dressed, though not neurotic about polished shoes and every hair in its place.
The opposite is generally true of people in upper management positions in big business. Their dress is immaculate and perfectly put together. They are most likely reading the business section or business magazines. They are not normally easy to engage in conversation. In civil cases they hold their purses close to their chests. In criminal cases they can be the states best friend and the defendants worst enemy. They tend to see things in black and white and pay very close attention to detail and facts many times ignoring any factors along the way. These are two basic and very opposite personalities. There are many “personality” types in between these two and all fit into a general mold but in order to go that deep, I would have to write another 35 page paper and I am way too old to work that hard. So, for clarity's sake, I described these two extremes. The challenge, however, is to know what to look for, identify the clues and then put them together into a logical picture which can reflect your opponents psychological patterns. How does this fit into poker? In every conceivable way. Poker is reading people. Poker players rely on knowing quickly and based on very little fact how a person will approach the game. Knowing how each of these personalities will play poker is key in knowing what to do and when to do it. The first personality is most likely to play for social reasons versus being hardcore poker students. They most likely will not take the game as seriously as others do. The opposite of the second personality it probably true. They are serious about poker. They study poker and learn all they can. They will most likely play tighter with their chips and not give you much opportunity to take them. This can only give you a hit to a persons playing style. There are no concrete facts. There is no black and white when it comes to psychological profiles only probabilities. Furthermore, people can project contrary information about themselves. But any information you can get out of other players can be weighed to get some good insight into how they might play and react in certain situations. To most people men are just men but to the poker player every movement, every word is a potential clue to their style and the cards in their hand. One of the professionals that I talked to said that she talks to other players throughout events when she gets a chance. She does this so she can get some insight should she meet them at the table later in the tournament. Most important, the body never lies. We might read it incorrectly, but the answers are always there. If a contradiction exists between what a person says verbally and what that person's body language says visually, trust the body language. The bottom line: The body talks and it talks loudly. If we listen and pay attention imagine the winning edge we have on the felt.
Yesterday Woman Poker Player was invited to listen in to the Webcast with Poker Player Alliance Senator Al D'Amato and the president of the PPA Michael Bolcerek. There were some great points made that are the basis of the PPA and could help bring poker back to the internet legally and make playing online poker in the US easier for all that enjoy the game.
1. The Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act of 2006 was literally passed in the middle of the night and was never open to debate or consideration. The Act was added to a bill to safeguard US ports from terrorist attacks. The bill itself was important to pass. The addition of the the UIGE was a sneaky attempt by some of our elected representatives to create the beginnings of internet gambling prohibition.
2. The law excludes Horse racing, state lotteries and betting on fantasy sports. Poker players are being discriminated against by the government.
3. Legitimate poker sites are being chased out of the US to be replaced by more unscrupulous poker outlets coming in.
4. One of the issues being brought up in the debate of online poker is that teenagers have easier access. If the US can regulate online poker there is plenty of technology to prohibit teenagers and minors from having attmittance to the online sites. Senator D'Amato used prohibition as an example. When prohibition was in effect people found alcohol anyway. It opened up underground clubs, dangerous conditions, people were drinking anything including poisonous substances.
5. The US is losing over $3 billion in revenue. Many of the online poker rooms have agreed that they would pay US taxes if they were able to do business in the US.
6. The UK and other countries are supervising the online poker rooms. There is no reason why the US cannot do the same.
7. The United States has already been found in breach of the trade accords set by the WTO for keeping other countries from competing with the US. If the US continues to take this stance on online gambling there are likely to be more sanctions.
8. Many diabled and senior citizens enjoy the sport of poker. Many do not have the means to go to legal land based poker rooms. They are being discriminated against by the UIGE.
The PPA and Senator D'Amato encourage all poker players to continue writing their elected officials. Remember, we elected them, we dont have to do it again.
I remember the first real professional poker interview I did. It was with Annie Duke. Her enthusiasm for poker was like none that I had ever heard. I actually had goose bumps when she was telling me about the game and the reasons why she plays. I knew that there is nothing else in this world that she would rather be doing. There seemed to be no substitute for what she was doing right then and there which was playing poker. The following interviewees mimicked this same excitement. From Annie to Liz Lieu there is not one of those women in between who can see themselves not involved in the game in one form or another. It is beyond an enthusiasm. It is a passion.
I have always wondered what made professional players professionals, not just fly by nights who win a tournament and no one ever hears of them again, but true professionals. It finally hit me…the answer is heart. Annie Duke, Phil Helmuth, Doyle Brunson, Jennifer Harman. They all have one trait in common they have the heart of a poker player. Let’s face it. Life on the felt cannot be an easy one. One of my favorite pictures of Liz Lieu is of her sitting on a suitcase. To me it personified the poker life. If you ask any of them; the answer would be that they would want it no other way. Isabelle Mercier lives out of her suitcase and loves it. So the lifestyle is not all the glitz and glamour that you see on TV and in pictures. There is only one thing that can keep these men and women playing and living that lifestyle…heart.
My feeling is that the repeated success that these players have is due to their love of poker. No one attracts success more than someone who is doing what they love to do. Watch Kathy Liebert play poker sometime. Her eyes sparkle. You can tell she is doing what she loves to do and there is no substitution. Talk to Jennifer Tilly. She is just so excited and full of life. She has chosen her path and makes no excuses.
Any one can study and anyone can work hard. Anyone can play poker and even win at it but not everyone can be a true poker player. Heart is not something you can learn; it is not something you can find in any book about poker or about life. It is something that is way down deep. It is buried beneath the soul and is not always apparent. Think about the times that you are the happiest. The times that you knew that you were in your element and on top of the world.
For me it was when I have been in Vegas and in Atlantic City with Women’s Poker Club and with Woman Poker Player. And if I am really honest with myself…poker was a large part of it but not the center. It was the organizing and the interacting with other players who share the game of poker. It was watching the final table of the Women’s UPC event and knowing that in a small way I was partially responsible for them being there. That my contributions to WPC, WPP and to Maryann made all of that possible. I was in my element socializing, bridging gaps and motivating the amazing women of poker to share and to play and for all of them to know that I was there to support them.
It is a well known fact that the happiest people are those that get paid for what they love to do. But I don’t think that waiting to get paid is the answer. You might never get paid. But if you put off what you love to do, you might go through your entire life with out ever experiencing the astonishing feeling that comes with doing what you truly love.
The other day in WPC a friend came in and said she was having trouble against the bad beats of poker. It is one of the larger holes in my game and one of the things I have been working on. I have a tendency to take a bad beat out on myself. Once I take a beat for a large amount of chips; I lie down and play dead. Instead of working to make my stack larger, I play super tight, afraid it might happen again. I have also tried the other extreme and raised with marginal hands against the offender who delivered the bad beat, only to find that THIS time he had a legitimate hand. Either way it ended with little to no satisfaction.
Through the free rolls I have been playing I have seen and been involved in bad beats. Some would curl the hair in your nose just to watch. I have learned a little though both about myself and about how to handle the beats and scars that can be had. I tend to take the beats personally. I feel that there is something wrong with my game when I get beat like that. I always wonder, “What is it about my game that would make that player call or raise against me and think he could get away with it.” “What clues did I give the table that would make them think they had any advantage in calling my raise with 10, 3 off suite?” I would rack my brain looking for answers that were never there to begin with. Then I would go on to how unfair the beat was, sometimes blaming the software but mostly blaming myself.
The truth is that while I do have some issues with my game, playing loose is definitely not one of them. My image at the table is generally that of a tight player. Someone calling my large raises is either an idiot or looking to get lucky and I would imagine in many cases both would apply.
I try not to get bogged down in the unfairness of it all. If it is a bad beat, well, that it is just that and I have to deal with it. Contemplating shrewd play or idiocy on the part of the other player does nothing to help the fact that I was beat. I will sometimes note and review the hand later to see if it could have been avoided on my part. But for the time being, I move on. I know in my personal life, I hate dwelling on what is wrong or unfair. I see no reason why it should be any different in poker.
Life on the felt can be tough, especially on women. There are always men (and I hate to admit other women) who are perfectly willing to berate another player for what they deem as bad play. It seems to happen to perfectly nice people who may have made a stupid play or made a good play that caused another to lose their chips. I have witnessed the abuse, mostly online but also in some live events but to date have only had that happen twice. Once was online and due to a smart-alec comeback on my part ended up being quite good friends with the man who thought he could get away with rather rudely criticizing my play. The other was a “rule” that I was adamant about and I was right.
So what is the difference between those who are continuously assaulted at the tables and people like me? The only answer I can come up with is boundaries. I have very strict boundaries about how I am to be treated both in my personal life and in my poker life. I don’t inform people before I sit down about those boundaries, but it is understood. I think it is in the way I carry myself and the way I conduct myself at the tables. I am not above some smack talk or general chat. I love it. But there is a line between talking smack and out right abuse. Look at the difference between Daniel Negreanu and Phil Helmuth. Daniel talks smack. I love to watch the chitter-chatter and good natured back and forth between him and the other players. You can take him quite seriously but it is done in a superior manner. Phil on the other hand can be outright insulting and vicious. I see the same things in Tony G. Seeing the attention they get from the media gives newer and some seasoned players the idea that acting like an idiot is acceptable. Women, because we are the “weaker” sex and newer to the game, seem to get more of it than men.
Protect yourself at the tables. Don’t allow anyone to yell at you or treat you as if you don’t deserve to sit at a poker table. There are ways to handle this abuse and ways not to handle it. My reaction has always been to give a wise comment. But my suggestion is not to try this if you don’t have that type of personality. In some sarcasm comes across as hostile and in bad taste and can aggravate the situation further versus fix it. You need to be prepared to take a further bashing.
In live play, calmly tell them they are out of line. CALMLY is the operative word here. Look them directly in the eye and say with no inflection whatsoever in your voice: “You are out of line. Do not speak to me that way.” Don’t let the anger you feel get the better of you. If you can keep your voice neutral there is not much the other person can do except stop the offensive behavior.
Of course there are always players who will ignore you and press on with the issue. Keep that same calm voice and let them know that if they have something constructive to add to your game to please talk to you after the game is over. You would love to learn more about poker from other players’ perspectives. Even the die hard Phils will give up at this point. Everyone loves to have their opinions heard. In general most people know that they are doing a number on you and they really aren’t sure they will get away with it. When you bite you not only diminish yourself but you diminish them. It is a no win situation. By suggesting that you would take their advice puts you both in a better light and makes for a better game. Don’t just tell them you will talk to you after the game. Actually talk to them. You never know…you might just learn something new.
If it still continues, tell the dealer to get the tournament director or poker room manager. Let them deal with the insulting player.
Doing things calmly and rationally does more than stop the abuse. It gains respect from not only the insulting player but from the other players as well. Others will look at you differently as a person and a poker player.
I have started working in earnest on my poker game. I am starting from scratch. Back to basics…this unfortunately means back to freerolls. UGH. I know it is a horrible thought. I haven’t played in a freeroll in years besides with WPC. They make me crazy. But I figure if I am going to start fresh then I need to start at the beginning. My beginnings in poker were occupied with free rolls. It didn’t kill me but you would be amazed at what you can live through.
I have to admit that I was not struck by lightening and my game didn’t come to life in two games. But…I did manage to figure one thing out. The all in mentality. I could never quite come up with the reasoning behind going all in or huge raises so early in a game. In most cases someone who starts out that way fades quickly and they are lucky if they see the first break never mind coming close to the money (or in this case points.)
Today it hit me. I finally get it. It’s urgency. It’s the need to accomplish everything at record speed. Knowing what we do about human nature, especially in the fast paced world that we live in, it is natural for us to want everything done and done quickly. Poker is no different for some. Most of us are happy to gain our chips in the traditional fashion using skill and knowledge. The all in needs the adrenaline rush. They need the excitement and energy. All in brings instant results and instant gratification. The all in provides those who employ it with a temporary high.
Urgency is an almost like an addiction. In certain aspects of my life I am a junkie myself. I just never let it anywhere near a poker table. It has no place there and it enforces bad play and a downward spiral when it is no longer effective.
Through the urgency issue comes the bigger issue: control. I know at live events I have met people who I knew instinctively were all in fanatics. I just could never put my finger on why. I could not figure out what it was about their personality that gave me clues to that style of play. It hit me today. Urgency and control. Players at a poker table are unpredictable. Their play is not easy to control. The all in personality cannot handle that part of poker. It is easier for them to go all in before the flop and be able to control at least that part of the game. There is no post flop play. There is nothing that adversaries can do to combat them after the flop.
We all know this is a self destructive path in our everyday lives. It has no less an impact on the poker tables.
