How to play the bubble (or not to play the bubble)

[ColdestCall]

Scuba, I'm a little unsure why you felt it necessary to taunt the loser after the hand...had he said something to provoke you earlier in the tournament?

Personally, I think its incumbent upon the winning/more knowledgable players to avoid this kind of table talk with one exception(and even this may be wrong, but I just can't help it)... If there is a player at the table who is taunting me, or the other players, I'll usually encourage him nicely to stop, and, if he doesn't, I really let him have it, especially when he busts out, as these types of players do with alarming regularity OOTM.

Anyway, I guess it's really your business what you chat, and maybe I'm just being a "poker mom," but consider this: 1. If losing players are enjoying themselves and keep losing, you win. 2. If other players think you are a "sucker," but you're not, you win. 3. The more pleasant it is to play poker, the more people are likely to play, and the more you should win.

Now, as I've said in other posts, I don't think the fish are going to do anything but multiply, no matter what anyone chats, so 1-3 could be discounted on that basis, but, most importantly,

4. The poker giants that we all wish we were handle both losing and winning with equanimity and class (yeah, Hellmuth whines and Arieh acts like a child, but would you rather act like them, or Brunson or Raymer.)