Sep

20

….to the Chair and the judges. I would like to add that I would have been neither surprised nor disappointed had Mr. Parkanyi's effort prevailed.

Had this contest occurred two months ago, I would have squandered the proceeds on a trip to Tunica and taken a whirl at Texas Hold 'em. However, I wound up doing it on my own dime and learned several hard lessons.

First, bad cards won't kill you; it's the really good cards that are just not quite good enough, that will.

Second, the game itself is slower and duller than baseball; I realize many will challenge me on both accounts - so be it.

Third, the younger players have been watching too much TV. Unlike the older players, they mull for many minutes over almost every hand, wear their ultra-wide brimmed, ostentatiously colored baseball hats backwards, and are generally surly (win or lose).

Fourth, the older players are not a bit shy about calling "clock" when the younger continue to tarry.

Finally, the game can't hold a candle to duplicate bridge. Here you can just "muck" your bad hands and snooze until a good one comes along. In duplicate, every hand must be played and played well and played quickly; a poorly played hand whether a good one or a bad one counts against you, significantly; slow play can get you penalized or bounced.

Despite all that I would play again if they used a format seen in an Australian tournament where you had a max of 30 seconds to make your bet and one couldn't bet "all in" before the flop. It makes for a faster, less theatrical game and prevents a dominant chip leader from foreclosing many good potential hands with pre-flop all-in bets.


Comments

Name

Email

Website

Speak your mind

Archives

Resources & Links

Search