Fun Players
I've been playing many more multi-table tournaments lately than I usually do. I'm not doing particularly well in them, but I'm enjoying them much more than I ever have. I was going to devote a post to this phenomenon, and I still might, but I got sidetracked by a funny quote I just read. I've been reading Deadman's Poker and Deadman's Bluff, two fictional mystery novels set in the world of high-stakes poker (I became aware of these books via fellow bloggers).

Anyway, in the second one, Deadman's Bluff, an Amarillo Slim-like character says (when asked about the chip leader in the "World Poker Showdown"):

Being the chip leader doesn't mean much. . . . Neither does playing in a tournament. People who play in tournaments for a living are what gamblers call fun players. When they're not playing, they're singing in the church choir or playing volleyball at the YMCA.

This just struck me funny, cause it captures a feeling I've sometimes expressed in this here blog (no offense to anyone who sings in a church choir or plays volleyball regularly). Shit, I'm definitely a "fun player," but something about cash game poker lets me feel like a badass for a while. Tourneys ain't got that. But I've been having fun with them.
posted by James at 11:54 PM