Pages Menu
TwitterFacebooklogin
Categories Menu

Posted by on Oct 18, 2014 in Blog, General Poker, Personal | 6 comments

A Random Act of Kindness at the Poker Table

 

NAPT Mohegan Sun S1_$5KMainEvent_Day1_JoeGiron

 

I don’t know her name.

It’s unlikely that I’ll ever know who she is.  In fact, I probably won’t ever see her again.

But she certainly made an impression on me, and a positive one at that.  Bear with me, the story is worth telling and reading.

 

Last night, I played No-Limit Hold’em ($2-5 blinds) at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut.  The game was full on a very busy Friday night inside the poker room.

Around midnight, a lady sat down.  She didn’t look to be the kind of player who would normally sit down in the game like this.  The table was filled with a mix of pros, semi-pros, and a few recreational players who liked to gamble.  Each player had between $500 and $1,500 in cash and chips in front.  The lady bought in for $300.

Over the next few hours, the lady suffered a horrible run of misfortune.  It was just brutal.  Everything she did turned out badly.  She seemed to be a decent enough player.  She might have even been a good player.  It was hard to tell because whatever she did ended up a disaster.

She went broke within minutes, losing with a big hand.  She managed to get unlucky.  Next, she pulled out another $300 from her purse.  Pretty soon, that was gone, too.  Then, another $300.  And another.

Sympathy is a wandering orphan at the poker table.  No one cares how much their opponents lose, so long as the cards keep flying.  Usually, when someone is losing badly, the player becomes the game’s prime target.  The losing player is unlikely to play as well as normal, knows they aren’t getting respect, and might even get really frustrated and go on tilt for a large number.  Losers might as well wear a giant bulls-eye.  The poker table becomes a small pond with sharks in the water swirling around and smelling blood.

Rarely do I feel sorry for anyone at a poker table, but this lady took some horrible beats.  Each time afterward, she dug into her purse and kept on buying more chips.  From her appearance, this lady wasn’t wealthy.  The money was very real to her.  She handled her chips well, which was a subtle indication that she was an experienced player.  But the frustration of taking beat after beat after beat was clearly taking its toll.

Nevertheless, the lady never complained, nor said anything.  She shook her head a few times and even seemed exasperated after getting pocket kings cracked once when an ace flopped.  But she kept her emotions completely in check.  I must admit that I was impressed with her demeanor.  One doesn’t see self-control at the poker table often, especially by someone getting their brains beat out.

I lost count of how many times the lady rebought and then lost her entire stack.  Finally, at about 2 am I decided to call it a night.  I cashed out with more chips than I started with, some of the profit thanks to the lady’s ugly run of cards.

As I racked up my chips and prepared to leave, the lady looked up from the felt.  She casually said to me, “It was nice playing with you….have a nice evening.”  No one else at the table said that, or anything else.  Just the lady.  In fact, no one said a word.  Only her.

I was taken back by the simple random act of kindness, especially since it was shown in the storm of such adversity.  It’s easy to be nice and kind and to smile at strangers when things are going well.  But try getting your teeth kicked in at least half a dozen times and then being cordial to someone who beat you.  Moreover, imagine if the money really does mean something to the victim.  That expression wasn’t just a display of pure class, it was emotionally stirring.

“You do the same,” I replied, that seemingly insignificant incident not completely having sunk in yet.

As I walked back to my hotel room through the casino, I thought more and more about the game and how impressed I was that a stranger who took such a beating in a poker game could muster up such class and kindness.  I then vowed to reflect upon that brief episode and share it.  Tough as it is to do, we could use a bit more of that.

Quality of life is sometimes measured in small everyday gestures.  Like hello’s.  Goodbyes.  Handshakes.  Holding doors.  Saying “thank you.”

Accordingly, the content of character isn’t determined as much by grandiosity as simplicity.  It’s the little things.  It’s revealed by doing something just for the sake of doing it because it’s right.

Oddly enough, I was more impressed by the woman who lost the most money in that poker game than by anyone else at the table.  One doesn’t say that very often.

To that lady, whoever you are out there — you have my respect.

READ:  My 10 Commandments of Poker Etiquette

6 Comments

  1. Nice.

    I should write something nice that YOU DID. that sealed my respect for you.

    Something, I’d expect you had thought nothing about… Just a moment of kindness and discretion and professionalism you displayed while I was working a pro photography gig during a WSOP a few years back.

    But… I dunno. Your head might baloon up. LOL

    Seriously though… You made my day… Being how cool you were about the who silly incident.

    Poker and the wsop is richer because of the position you hold, and the job\work you do year in and year out.

    Sucks for the lady in your story though. Most rounders have been in her shoes and it blows.

    All the best to you Mr. Dala.. A morning not reading your work… Is a sad one indeed.

    Do more videos. 🙂

    BD hugs n high fives.

  2. Poker is a reflection of so many things we see in life. If we create our reality as I am certain we do, then our individual energy we exhibit impacts the world. Thank you for sharing how important the little things we do each day can make a difference as exhibited by all of the people following you and commenting. Here’s to each of us creating harmony and peace in the face of adversity and turmoil. We each have a job to do in each moment. I share a poem for all of your followers and send everyone blessings:
    Blessings

    When feeling bothered is near
    Know that the light is waiting here

    Don’t run away or try to hide
    When getting angry feelings inside

    Think of challenges as gifts, true blessings
    In that moment the universe is not guessing

    Always giving what you personally need
    In recognizing this allows souls to succeed

    By sharing unconditionally do as god would do
    Remember to identify the universe leaves clues

    And one day soon the world before you will change
    Expanding your vessel improving physical exchange

    No coincidence in life
    Be certain no strife

    And you can live big
    This game is not rigged

    Free will
    So chill

  3. One of the most impactful posts I’ve read in a long time. Extremely grateful you recognized the importance, and then took the time to write about it!!! Many people filter out the best things in life, and filter in the worst…you my friend are seeing the world through a set of glasses most don’t own. Congratulations and keep up the great work.

  4. Thanks for that blog Nolan! It gave the desire to be that person next time I play.

  5. Nice post Nolan. That could be a nickname for you. This is why I mostly play online these days. The norm in live poker is that everyone is a cretan. You are class and you are happy to meet someone else who displays class. It’s like a mirage in the desert. But why doesn’t everyone at the poker table have class? Because the casinos attract losers and degenerates, people who have (mostly) failed at life but think they can prove they are “truly” winners at the tables. Either that or they just don’t give a fuck. Anyway, long hours around losers wears me down. So I play online instead, even though I am better at live poker–better at reading people live.

    But I feel better, and cleaner, when I am not around total douche-bags who fill the live tables. Love your blog. Still want to buy you a drink (or ten)…

    Vic
    pokerinmovies.blogspot.com

  6. Howdy Nolan,
    Your shared observation of the Lady, her predicament, and her resolve, and spirit to persevere was clearly well told by your keen eye. She must have had great faith in herself, even in the face a brutal reality. Or maybe she wasn’t there, but for the purpose of saying hello to you and indirectly imparting this tale to all of us.

    I wish the Lady had limited her losses.
    I try to know when the energy isn’t right for success. I will leave the table if my read on the table is such that I do not feel the correct energy to win here and now. I get a flopped set of Qs, get heads up and lure him all-in, just to get rivered by the guy obviously holding pocket Aces. Ace on the river, set over set. Happened twice in one night. Once at the Tournament and once at the cash table. That was it. Time to go, no rebuy.

    Only a Poker Table Historian would understand the basic truth that you told it. “Losers might as well wear a giant bulls eye. The poker table becomes a small pond with sharks in the water swirling around and smelling blood.”

    Anyway, always a pleasure
    Arby

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. A Very Different FARGO Experience - Nolan Dalla - […] Cashing in any BARGE-related event is always a cool thing.  But for me, the highlight of the day was…

Post a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

css.php