some one's got my goat

i play mostly at one local club and recently there is a new player (actually recently re admitted after being barred) that i have trouble with and ini cannot shake it. he is manipulitive,talks to much and does so many things that hook me. others seem to handle him w/o problems. one other thing is he helps people stack chips. what? help! anybody got any one liners that might help?

"Do you wipe his ass for him too?"

Oneliners won't help in this case. Indeed, your act of asking us to come up with a oneliner in order to comeback at him exposes your real problem with regards to this issue: You have been allowing him (that is, you have been giving him permission) to put yourself on revenge mode.


Solution: Simply allow your focus to shift back to EV maximizing/playing well/making the best decisions mode, where it belongs.


No one can make you feel less than confident, focused, and rational without your permission. Play your game, not his.

Hi patrick- at times we have all run into people that don't mix well with our own biochemisty. It's somewhat distracting, but you must learn to ignore it.....tune it out....pretend as though he isn't there....etc. Focus on something else and never, ever reinforce this guy by commenting on his behavior. One liners and put downs only make YOU look bad. Best to say NOTHING and simply raise or fold. LGPG, Babe

if he touches YOUR chips, you say:


"the last guy that touched my chips without asking(insert results of a hellish beating from you here)... didn't know his own name after i was done with him" ...lost an arm" ...had to be i.d.'ed by dental records" ...ended up eating the dealer button" ...had to learn the hard way"


other than that, who gives a f***? let him do his thing. remember to laugh at him in your head. it helps.

I've got to agree with Jedi and Babe. You're letting him control you, and that is what he wants to happen. In psychological terms you are reinforcing his undesirable behavior by "rewarding" it. He gets lots of satisfaction from seeing that you're annoyed.


There has been a great deal of research on "problem children." Why do they continue to scream, shout, hit others, etc.? Because it pays off!


They get the attention they crave. Actions which you and I might belive are punishments (such as hitting or yelling at them) are actually rewards.


In other words, if you get some great one-liners from this forum, then use them, you may actually reinforce the very behaviors you're trying to prevent.


Play your game, kick his ass where it really matters, and ignore his BS.


Al

What the heck do you need a goat for? Have you ever even had goat cheese? It's part of the "tastes-bad costs-more" trend in trends.


Only in California can trends have trends.


To your rival, it's like this, at the poker table or anywhere else where the shit wafts. In the game he is playing, when you react negatively, inside or out, even a little bit, he wins.


Give him the lion's share of goats and then lie with the lambs.


Tommy

thanks. i wasn't asking to be beaten up but to give me a one liner for inspiration. sorry to be so vulnerable.

Don't let him get to you like he has been so far. Perhaps this is easier said than done, but you have to get control of yourself when he's at the table. His bull-pucky is designed to get at you, and it's working. Therefore you must adjust. This means making an active effort to ignore him and concentrate on the game. If you cannot successfully do this, it might be better to simply not play at the same table as him.


There is one player in San Diego who is so obnoxious it drives me absolutely nuts. He and I have had words on several occasions, and he has offended several people whom I like. I usually adjust well to adversity at the table, but in this case I simply don't play my best when he's in the game, and there's no denying it. Because this cardroom usually has several games going, changing tables is a better option for me than letting him irritate me to the point where I don't play my best. It's not worth the effort for me to play against him when switching tables is an option.


As for the stacking chips problem, you could discreetly tell the floorperson about it, preferably at some time when you're not actually in the game. Or, you could simply adjust to the fact that he's going to be an obnoxious player, and decide if you can make the necessary changes to play your best when he's in the game.


Dave in Cali

I would wait til he leaves, follow him out to his car, and beat him mercilessly and tell him if you ever see him again, you'll cut his head off, feed it to his dog, and burn his house down.................. Assuming all of that is legal where you live. Or you could take everybody elses advice and ignore him. Either way.

So am I. You've been away too long.


Al