Posted by Johnnymac 10:25 AM
Dr Fro's referring to me. I was (one of) the big loser(s) who added to the misery with another $20 bill late in the evening because I was losing and wanted to get even. Total hit: $80

Jesse May's book Shut Up and Deal has a great passage describing a guy in a card game in Atlantic City who's on tilt and losing and starting to empty his pockets:

This guy Vaughn is like a lot of people who play poker. Most of the time they limit themselves to two options: either they win a little or they lose a lot. Most of this has to do with ego. They want more than anything to say that they beat the game. This is why they are happy to take small wins - hit and run as it may. But guys like Vaughn are completely unable to take a loss. Once they start losing. they rarely leave unless they start winning or go broke.

It's such a small and benign game that I can't stand losing in it, even when I know that the reason for my losses is that I am playing as loose as the town slut. It's stupid and it's all because because my ego won't let me lose in this game until the end of the night and the game breaks up and gives me no other option but to stop playing.

This brings me to another point of Dr Fro's wrap-up.

I was also the drunk who got dealt 7½ twice and 8 twice and decided to use all four occasions to either show off my shiny new set of brass ones (due back at Blockbuster before noon today) or to reaffirm my belief in prayer. Take away all of the 7-27 and I probably would have been slightly up for the night or at least very close to even. Then again, I shouldn't have been drinking if I wanted to win money, because one of the most resolute tendencies that I have noticed about myself is that no matter how good I may think I am playing when I drink at the poker table, I always seem to lose. Then the next morning I look back and lament doing dumb things like trying to take a bluff to far in 7-27.

If I didn't want to lose, I probably shouldn't have stopped at the corner store for that 12-pack... but that's a subject for discussion another day.

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