There's No Crying In Poker

[Sparks]

I saw something last night at my local B&M that I have never seen before. An abusive player made a dealer cry.

The player took a beat on a hand, and subsequently flipped a card across the table, which the dealer took exception to. They both raised their voices, and a floorman came over to settle them down. The player ended up leaving the game. Then while dealing the next hand, the dealer began to cry, and I mean she was bawling, tears running down her cheeks, short of breath, the whole thing. She couldn't even finish her down, and another dealer came in to replace her. Wow.

It got me thinking. There are not many professions where taking verbal abuse is part of the job. There is verbal abuse if you're a professional athlete, like a baseball player, or basketball player, or if you are a sports official, but I can't think of any others. Are there any?

Sparks

[terrapin314]

Healthcare worker - specifically a nurse.

[TimTimSalabim]

Where's Tom Hanks when you need him? /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[tylerdurden]

[ QUOTE ]
There is verbal abuse if you're a professional athlete, like a baseball player, or basketball player, or if you are a sports official, but I can't think of any others. Are there any?

[/ QUOTE ]

Retail, customer service, waiting tables... anything dealing with end consumers. People are assholes.

[juanez]

(this might be a good post in Brick & Mortar Cardrooms (http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/postlist.php?Cat=&Board=cardroom) )

There are not many professions where taking verbal abuse is part of the job.

As a (male) dealer myself, verbal abuse is not tolerated at all. In fact we have signs on every wall of the room that state that dealer abuse is unacceptable. We have a three strikes rule.

One warning comes from me...something like, "Sir, relax and tone it down or you will be asked to leave." Sure, snide and immature little comments are frequent and usually ignored, but "abuse" is not (throwing cards, dropping f-bombs, name calling, etc.).

Second offense, the floor is called. Third time and he/she is tossed out.

The abuse used to bother me. Now it's just the same crap from different faces.

[jakethebake]

Dealer abuse pisses me off to no end. There's just no reason for it, and they shouldn't have to take it. With that said crying because the mean man yelled at her? Wtf is she 12?

[FeliciaLee]

Sometimes it's hormonal. Women seem to have imbalances more than men, but even men get them. You know, those guys who suddenly kill their whole family for no reason whatsoever? Neighbors, friends and family all are totally shocked because he was not a violent person. Yeah, most of the time there is something in the background, but every so often you hear of this guy whose testosterone levels suddenly went through the roof, making him emotional and homocidal.

With women, since our hormones are constantly trying to balance themselves out from month to month, we can go ape. I'm not even going to get into when menopause comes around, because that is so wacko (from what I've heard), that it deserves it's own post, lol.

I remember when I hit maybe 27, and suddenly about a day or two before my period, I started feeling crazy. I mean like angry, aggressive crazy. That girl who you just know is going to cook your pet rabbit, lol.

I thought I was going insane, but it just ended up to be an imbalance, and once my progesterone was increased, I went back to the same person I'd always been (very little "female" emotion).

Sometimes women just burst out bawling. It's completely uncontrollable. I was never much for crying, and usually only cried due to physical pain, but during that progesterone imbalance in my twenties, I would burst out bawling for no reason whatsoever, and I was really angry about it, as well as everything else in the world.

Felicia /images/graemlins/smile.gif
www.felicialee.net (http://www.felicialee.net)

[Acesover8s]

[ QUOTE ]
It got me thinking. There are not many professions where taking verbal abuse is part of the job. There is verbal abuse if you're a professional athlete, like a baseball player, or basketball player, or if you are a sports official, but I can't think of any others. Are there any?

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you kidding me? I worked in retail sales management for years and have been cussed out 1000 times and swung on twice.

My girlfriend is a waitress and I can't begin to tell you the [censored] that she takes on a daily basis. . .

[WWJFergusonD?]

Actually, physiologically speaking, males experience far greater hormonal (testosterone and androgen) shifts in one twenty-four hour period than women do in one twenty-eight day cycle (with regard to the corresponding estrogen and progesterone hormones). (It should be noted that for a small minority of men, however, the shift occurs over a thirty-six hour period rather than a twenty-four hour period.) These hormonal shifts are greater, as you might imagine, in adolescence and early adulthood. Some scientists speculate that the extreme upheavals in testosterone levels at those particular ages might contribute to some of the violence/rage (think school shootings) we see from younger males.

The upshot of all this?

Males can actually be way moodier than females. And think twice before pissing off your 'roid-bulked-out 22 year-old male dealer.

/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[SinCityGuy]

[ QUOTE ]
There is verbal abuse if you're a professional athlete, like a baseball player, or basketball player, or if you are a sports official, but I can't think of any others. Are there any?

[/ QUOTE ]

Health care workers, teachers and correctional officers, just to name a few.

[Derek in NYC]

Here's an obvious one: cop.

[TripleH68]

TV Weatherman.

[nothumb]

I've worked several.

-Kitchen staff
-Ice cream jerk
-Restaraunt floor staff

And my current job, which definitely takes the cake, residential treatment professional. These kids are vicious sometimes. The worst part is, in every other profession, if it got bad enough, you could fire back. This one you really can't.

NT

[threeonefour]

[ QUOTE ]

And my current job, which definitely takes the cake, residential treatment professional.

[/ QUOTE ]

you mean babysitter?

[juanez]

Yeah, what is an "RTP"? Not to be a jerk, but "Residential Treatment" makes me think of house cleaning. I'm sure I'm wrong...you're a teatcher, or want to be one right?

[FMMonty]

Traffic Wardens

But they deserve it

[Sparks]

[ QUOTE ]
Traffic Wardens

But they deserve it

[/ QUOTE ]

Finally, one I agree with.

Like you say, meter maids HAVE in fact done something to you, but they're usually not around to hear the abuse. Dealers hear it every shift, and they have absolutely NO connection to the abusing person's circumstance. And, unlike cops, jail wardens, etc, the dealer can't do much of anything about it. It's a job with unique circumstances of verbal abuse associated with it, no question.

Sparks

Note: I know there is no abuse (or very little) in Vegas, but I'm not sure about other places. I can't imagine the abuse being as disgraceful as it is here in Los Angeles.

[Ass Master]

An open-outcry trader at e.g. a futures & options exchange.

[Al Schoonmaker]

I once sat next to a dealer I knew who was drunk, losing a great deal of money, and totally distraught because of the abuse she had gotten from a world famous player. I tried to get her to go home, but she stayed until she lost all her paycheck.

Many of my friends are dealers, and I can't count the number of horror stories they have told me about abuse.

It's an outrageous situation, and management often does not stand up for them. I wish it would, and that more players supported dealers against abuse.

Regards,

Al

[Burno]

[ QUOTE ]
. There are not many professions where taking verbal abuse is part of the job.... Are there any?

Sparks

[/ QUOTE ]

Hahaha. Try Youth Specialist. I work with juvenile delinquents in a residential setting. I get cussed out for a living, to the point where it no longer has any effect on me. They also love to punch, kick, and even bite you when you are forced to restrain them. If you are really lucky, they will spit in your face.