Poker Respect, a Two Way Street

A Back Door Poker player read an article written by Lee Child’s and saw some relevance to what we do here at Back Door Poker, so the player decided to write in his own words, with help from Lee’s article, his take on poker respect as applied to Back Door Poker.

We have chosen to keep this person’s identity unknown, but we wanted to express the thought to everyone due to its relevance in our poker community!!

“I Recently read an article in Ante Up Poker Magazine  that I would like to share with all of you. The article was written by a guy named Lee Child’s. Lee teach’s classes on poker and also is involved with personal coaching. I strongly agreed with the content of Lee’s article and feel that the Back Door Poker community would feel the same.”

” Lee states within the article, “Do unto other as you would have them do unto you”. I feel this comment is so simple and logical.

So ask yourself, are you conducting yourself  at the table’s that way?

I think the majority of us are conducting ourselves in this way to the best of our abilities, but if your like me, sometimes my emotions get the best of me, which causes me to fall short of this goal. Then, after the fact, when I truly thinking of my actions I realize that I could have conducted myself differently, thus making me feel bad.

Knowing that I have this capability of acting inappropriately can then cause me to dislike other people’s actions at the table’s primarily because I see the similarity between their bad actions and mine.

In Poker, to be at the top of your game you must think before you act. Planning ahead and contemplating possible odd’s and results, is the way poker players establish a basis on each and every hand and decide whether or not the hand will be a success or a complete disaster.

This basic poker detail players seem to follow on a regular basis and seem to understand adequately, but when it comes to their actions when things do not go quite their way, player’s are not thinking ahead and adhering to basic poker etiquette (I.E. berating and insulting other players and whining).

How would you feel if someone laughed or yelled at you for making a mistake?

I have been blessed to meet some of the most amazing people playing poker and have developed strong friendships that I know will last for a lifetime. On the other hand, I have also met people who are the complete opposite. For example people who are negative, bitter, angry, and have the tendency to put other’s down by pointing out their faults.

If we treat other’s with respect only good will come from that. Besides, when we do or say negative things, it exposes our lack of security, confidence, and character. At the poker table, no matter the odd’s or how good we play, nothing is guaranteed  and even the best can’t beat the way the card’s fall sometimes.

If the best players always won, then most of us would never get that chance, because that is the beauty of this game.

Poker is most obviously a game of competition and strategy. When anyone sit’s down at the table our intention is to win. A player who is by your “standards” playing poorly, should not be seen as a “donkey” or a “suck out”, but as a customer. The sting of a bad beat can send even the most level headed person into tilt, but in the long-term, we want them to play badly, so we  can play well and win over time. Regardless of how the player wins or plays the game, this should not deter you from playing the game to the best of your ability or with dignity.

Which heeds the questions….. Why do we want people to play badly so we can get their chips, but feel it is okay to berate them when they do play badly (which was obviously expected) and get lucky against us?

I know I have a lot to learn about the game and becoming the person and player I want to be, but when it comes down to it, I am no more valuable than anyone else, and neither are you…”

Best of luck to everyone, have a great year!

-Identity Withheld

This message seemed to be a good idea to post, because of some excellent content regarding respect at the poker table!

Thank You to a great person for taking the time to help continue a  respectful and fun poker environment!

See you at the tables!!!