My work load has eased slightly which has allowed me to do some further reading on a small hobby I have: playing poker. Thus I found my way here to this forum with the intent of learning and sharing some pictures from various events. But now I wish I hadn’t.
I’ve discovered that a few of you are elitist, arrogant #$$@#$@#*s who ridicule and humiliate others for what YOU deem as incorrect play. (888 staff are emphatically excluded from this generalisation.)
Not only do some of you abuse people in-game for not playing how YOU want them to play THEIR cards but you then come here to make fun of and deride those with different “skill” levels or knowledge.
I’m particularly surprised at you maccatak11 as your profile lists you as a teacher. Do you abuse your students and call them retards because they don’t know as much as you? Do you then go back to the teacher’s lounge and use those poor students as a source of amusement for all and sundry? You know (or should) from all your training that this type of behaviour is totally inappropriate. Why should it be any different because you’re online? Do you think the mask of anonymity makes you unaccountable for your actions?
Would you call me a retard to my face? Would you publicly make disparaging remarks about the way I played a hand in person? Unless you are totally sociopathic I expect not.
During my 20 years of working on the Net I have come across this false bravado many times and in most cases the online persona does not fit the real life version. I sincerely hope this is the case here, but then again, some people have immature personalities that only really show their true colours online. (a quick google search will locate psychology papers dedicated to this phenomenon)
If the playing levels or strategies of us donks (substitute any one of the plethora of abusive names) offends you so much why don’t you put your actions where your mouth is and run the maccatak Pro Poker School. I’m sure you’ll get floods of people rushing to play like you.
By all means, look down your nose and scoff at my ineptitude for poker but at least show me the basic respect one affords a reasonable member of the human race. If you, or any other of the poker elite have a constructive criticism then please share it in a positive manner. You of all people should know that negative reinforcement is not the best way to teach.
I’m a single parent who works 12-14 hours a day 6-7 days of the week. I need to spend several hours a week on professional development and I also have a household to run. So spare time to indulge and further develop my hobby (which I started playing in earnest last season) is but a few scant hours a week. I don’t have the luxury of hours to read and hone my poker strategies and techniques. But I learn where I can.
Just the other day I picked up a new strategy from Suzi (888 staffer - thanks Suzi
) which, while it worked quite well, I need to practice and fill the gaping holes through which I bleed chips. I am simply just cannon fodder (“very loose passive” to you poker elite) who wants to learn more but I’m finding more and more people are deeming it acceptable to be abusive online. Which adds an extra variable: the Smeghead Poker Elite Approval Rating (maybe that could be added to the abbreviations). What will they think of that play? Have I bet too much for the cards/position/players? Or should I have checked then? Maybe I should have folded my AA when they raised with AQ? Will I be publicly crucified and ridiculed on the forums when they post the hand? Etc, etc, etc.
Who needs that sort of crap? I certainly don’t and I’ve never experienced with any other online poker, just 888PL online games.
My apologies to those who frequent these forums and do not behave in an inappropriate manner. My post was not aimed at you. My only excuse for this wannabe-rant is merely that my tolerance for fools and idiots grows less as I age.
