Is this story true "Fossilman"

[b0000000000m]

Yes. It just involves my carrying a tiny syringe of epinephrine in my pocket. When I want to "shake," I just pull it out, and pretend to rub the back of my neck. Really I'm jabbing the needle directly into my brain.

[nothumb]

[ QUOTE ]
I am a great Fossilman admirer, but why would you be telling someone a dirty joke while they are in the middle of a hand? If I was in the middle of a hand at a tournament, I wouldn't want to be disturbed.

[/ QUOTE ]

Come on, it was an Act 2. Fossilman wipes his ass with an Act 2 ticket. Act 3, if he's had chili.

Seriously, this is dumb.

NT

[Vince Lepore]

I just read this post accusing Greg of giving advice during a hand. I'll tell you a TRUE story about Greg that, I believe, will show how Greg feels about poker Playing and his friends.

I count Greg Raymer as a friend. You may take this story with a grain of salt if you like but it is true and these are the facts as I remember them.

Greg was in Vegas last year playing in tournament, I believe that it was at the Plaza. That part is a bit hazy. Greg busted out of the Tournament early but decided to play in a $300 buy-in, with rebuy's, NL Tournament at the Golden nugget. I went there with him. I told him that I wouldn't mind playing but the buy-in and rebuy's were to high for me. He offered to take %50 of me as long as I agreed to take a rebuy whenever it was available. I agreed. I played fairly well through the rebuy period and managed to go into the second phase of the tourney buying only the $300 add on. Total investment was $600.

To make a long story short. The tournament paid 5 places. When we got down to 6 players they were Greg, me and four others. I believe that I had ~ T4800k in chips. I was the short stack but not by much. Two others were real close, they were on my right and had I blind Position on them so they had to go through Blinds before me. The Blinds were 300-600 or 400-800. Not important for this discussion. Greg was the Chip leader with a lot of chips. He was the BB. I was the cutoff. I picked up A,Ts. I raised, maybe 3 times the blind. (Don't say that I should have moved in. You might be right but I didn't. I wanted to make the money and was not married to this hand). Anyway, it's folded to Greg. Now remember, Greg has 50% of me. From a +EV point of view it would be to his advantage to help me make the money if it's possible. But from a moralastic point of view if he plays his hand differently than he would if he didn't have a piece of me it would be unethical. Greg played as if he did not have a piece of me. In fact, talking to him later, I found that he did not even consider the fact that he had a piece of me. He played poker the way he always plays poker. To win. In this hand he called with a worse A. A,9 to be exact. The flop was A,A,4. Check, check. Turn was a blnak. Check, I bet half of my chips. Greg called. 9 on the River and he moved me in and knocked me out of the tournament.

Greg Raymer, through the play of this simple hand demonstrated his integrity. He is an Honorable man and loves Poker. He believes that Poker is a one man to a hand game and one man to a game. In a nutshell this is Greg Raymer. He would never give poker advice to anyone during a hand. He is above all else and Honorable Man.

Vince

[betgo]

I have a hard time believing Fossilman would do something like this. However, his explanation that he might have been telling a dirty joke doesn't make much sense.

Although Fossilman is a lawyer, maybe he got tricked into apparently admitting something that wasn't true. I don't think it is a good idea to wisper something to someone playing a tournament hand. It might be misinterpreted. If you are as well known as Fossilman, it might wind up on the Internet.

[Joe Tall]

I do not recall that I whispered into his ear DURING a hand. It is quite possible that I did,

I'm very surprised. As soon as a friend of mine has a live hand, I stop talking. If they gesture to me to continue with what I'm saying, I quickly say, "Play your hand."

I would also never sit down at a live tournament table while there are hands in play.

But that's me.

[andyfox]

"However, your general point, that I should avoid any appearance of impropriety, is well taken."

-Spoken like a true champion.

"Let's just say, I'm sure I did nothing wrong, though it is possible I unintentionally did something that looked wrong."

-Spoken like a true lawyer. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[Myrtle]

....I’ve been called many things in my life, but this is the first time I’ve been called a ‘heavy’.

Yes........... that was me that Greg sat down besides.

Yes.............. I noticed your hands shaking in that hand.....but they were also shaking at other times. FWIW, I discounted that potential tell as unreliable.

As far as my comment goes after I mucked my whiffed pre-flop steal attempt.........don’t believe everything you hear at a poker table.

I distinctly remember making that comment to you......Can you think of any reason that I might have made it?

So the question is.....What did Greg whisper in my ear, and when did he do it?

You say that you “knew it plain as day” that Greg told me “that his hands shake when he has a monster hand”. I certainly understand how you could feel that way, but did you really think that I missed that and needed Greg to point it out after we had been sitting at the same table for such a long time?

For the record, although you are ‘sure’ that Greg was tipping me on your ‘tell’, you are wrong. I say this with no hostility; only to point out the truth.

I remember EXACTLY what Greg said to me....I just don’t remember if the timing of it is as you have reported. I will assure you that what he said to me was personal & private, and had absolutely nothing to do with you or the play of any hand in progress.

Greg and I are good friends, and, as good friends do, we often sweat each other. It is not our custom to disturb each other when either of us is in a hand. I guess this could have happened when I was in the hand, but it would have been out of habit for either of us.

I do feel badly, as it appears that it left an impression with you that perhaps there was something going on, that really wasn’t. I really wish you had addressed it at that moment, but understand why you might not have felt comfortable doing so.

Sometimes when good friends are having a good time and life is good, their back & forth chatter/behavior can be easily misinterpreted to be something that it really isn’t.

I assure you that that is exactly what happened in this case, and I apologize to you for giving you any reason to believe that something below board was going on.

This post has served as a wake-up call to me, and I will be doubly conscious of my behavior from now on under similar circumstances.

[betgo]

I think the problem was what was Fossilman doing sitting at a tournament table chatting with one of the players in the first place. (I guess there are a lot of empty seats at a sattelite.) I think if someone else had done this, he would have been told to leave by various people. In fact the original poster was probably thrilled to have Fossilman at his table until, in his mind, Fossilman prevented him from winning a big pot.

[andyfox]

"I do feel badly, as it appears that it left an impression with you that perhaps there was something going on, that really wasn’t. I really wish you had addressed it at that moment, but understand why you might not have felt comfortable doing so.

Sometimes when good friends are having a good time and life is good, their back & forth chatter/behavior can be easily misinterpreted to be something that it really isn’t.

I assure you that that is exactly what happened in this case, and I apologize to you for giving you any reason to believe that something below board was going on.

This post has served as a wake-up call to me, and I will be doubly conscious of my behavior from now on under similar circumstances."

Good man.

[Myrtle]

[ QUOTE ]
I think the problem was what was Fossilman doing sitting at a tournament table chatting with one of the players in the first place. (I guess there are a lot of empty seats at a sattelite.) I think if someone else had done this, he would have been told to leave by various people. In fact the original poster was probably thrilled to have Fossilman at his table until, in his mind, Fossilman prevented him from winning a big pot.

[/ QUOTE ]

to explain....not to defend...

It's commonplace (at Foxwoods, anyhow) for friends to 'sweat' friends during these single table satellites. Usually they will sit or stand behind the player and a conversation ensues.

Besides the fact that Greg is now an easily recognized 'celebrity', he's also very personable, and generally livens up any table that he's either sitting at or observing. In this case, as he is a Foxwoods based player, he knew 2 or 3 other players at the table, and there was the usual amount of back-and-forth banter between all of us.

And yes, all one had to do was to look around the table once Greg arrived. Those who did not know him were obviously pleased that he was there, and it didn't take long for his presence to draw a crowd.

Again, I really don't remember definitively if the ‘whisper’ actually took place during the hand. It’s not like us to do that, but because I can’t remember, I cannot deny it.

I fully understand that even the faintest scent of impropriety can do damage. I feel pretty badly that anything that I had part in ended up casting aspersions on Greg’s character.

Anyone who knows Greg or me also knows that the chance of something unethical happening surrounding an issue like this is zero.

As I said earlier, I will now be doubly alert in the future.