"If your cards are good enough for you to call a bet, they are good enough to raise with." - Al Alvarez
My favorite quote is not from a major professional or anything like that but it was from a professional poker player . “A player at the table I was at was an arrogant ***** no other way of putting it He was also verbally abusing me at the table. After the first time this happened to me and nothing was said this player kept telling him to “stop tapping the glass” This player did this probably 7 times over an hour and a half when I finally said I don't need this crap I'm getting up and leaving and I did. As I walked started to walk away I heard you really shouldn't tap the glass.
While I was in line To cash my chips this professional actually got in line with me. I played with this guy several times while I was in Vegas and one of the dealers told me he was a professional poker player. I decided to do something truly different I decided to ask him what that meant as i knew it was based on the jerk acting like he was to me. He knew I was leaving to go home as I had my suitcase with me and I mentioned it to him earlier when we were talking what he said to me next changed everything in poker for me.
So I said to him what does it mean “stop tapping the glass” I realized you were saying it when he was being a jerk to me. He fought for about 7-8 seconds and he said I'll probably never play you again so I will tell you.
Stop tapping the glass is a warning it is also not the full sentence. You've been to a pet store or fish tanks I assume and I nodded what do you see when you see the fish tanks. Don't tap the glass it scares the fish. He said I got it right now here's the whole saying and what it means.
“Don't tap the glass it scares the fish and angers the sharks” The problem is when you have a player like this who scares the fish many players like that will get up leave and eventually do one or two things they will quit the game which is really bad for players like me. The other thing is even Worse. You see some of those fish are baby sharks while you may be able to scare them today The problem is if they go home and study and truly learn the game the next time you play them they're sharks.
So why was this a turning point for me it gave me a lot to think on on my trip home. I played for fun and relaxation and if I break even I'm a happy camper now while he was in a way insulting me calling me a fish he was right. I was fairly new to the game and I was a losing player at this point but the problem is I am a hyper competitive SOB. What it turned out to be was a baby shark and my love of the game was just growing at this point but this professional is right all this did is make me angry and want to learn and be better. I never got to play these two ever again The guy who was trying to protect me from the jerk was right i may have given up the game and never played again but what i did is even worse for them. So next time you're playing don't tap the glass.
While I was in line To cash my chips this professional actually got in line with me. I played with this guy several times while I was in Vegas and one of the dealers told me he was a professional poker player. I decided to do something truly different I decided to ask him what that meant as i knew it was based on the jerk acting like he was to me. He knew I was leaving to go home as I had my suitcase with me and I mentioned it to him earlier when we were talking what he said to me next changed everything in poker for me.
So I said to him what does it mean “stop tapping the glass” I realized you were saying it when he was being a jerk to me. He fought for about 7-8 seconds and he said I'll probably never play you again so I will tell you.
Stop tapping the glass is a warning it is also not the full sentence. You've been to a pet store or fish tanks I assume and I nodded what do you see when you see the fish tanks. Don't tap the glass it scares the fish. He said I got it right now here's the whole saying and what it means.
“Don't tap the glass it scares the fish and angers the sharks” The problem is when you have a player like this who scares the fish many players like that will get up leave and eventually do one or two things they will quit the game which is really bad for players like me. The other thing is even Worse. You see some of those fish are baby sharks while you may be able to scare them today The problem is if they go home and study and truly learn the game the next time you play them they're sharks.
So why was this a turning point for me it gave me a lot to think on on my trip home. I played for fun and relaxation and if I break even I'm a happy camper now while he was in a way insulting me calling me a fish he was right. I was fairly new to the game and I was a losing player at this point but the problem is I am a hyper competitive SOB. What it turned out to be was a baby shark and my love of the game was just growing at this point but this professional is right all this did is make me angry and want to learn and be better. I never got to play these two ever again The guy who was trying to protect me from the jerk was right i may have given up the game and never played again but what i did is even worse for them. So next time you're playing don't tap the glass.
Interesting take! I actually like your quote - it flips the usual idea on its head. Most people think it's only about skill, but luck definitely plays a huge role. Mastering how to deal with luck (good or bad) is just as important as mastering the game itself.
