I'm not ranked, and it pissed me off......why should/do I care? (long)

fireman664 · #1 07-05-2005, 04:49 PM

OK, so if the name doesnt give it away....I am a city firefighter. As you can guess, poker is pretty popular at the stations...usually very low stakes junk poker, or low buy-in tourneys. Now I have been playing as a part time job for a little over 2 years, almost exclusivley online with a riverboat trip about once a month, and Vegas a few times a year.

To shorten the story, a buddy of mine on the job decided about a year ago to start hosting a "big buy in tourney" ($100). Now I dont play many tourneys, and by no means even consider myself a good tourney player (I grind it out at $3-$6 limit online, and $10-$20 B&M).

So anyway, he decides the payout for the first tourney will be 2nd= $100, 1st= everything else...(I strongly urged against this, but...)

So anyway, I won (what a great payout structure it was!!! there were 33 players, so it was a nice hit). I was very modest, and everytime someone complimented me I pointed out the times I got lucky...you know, trying to be gracious (and to get invited back).

So anyway, over the course of the year, he holds a total of 6 or so tourneys (and changes the structure to a more normal one). I play in 3 including the first one. I compile a 1st, 5th (in the money), and an early exit. I am pretty happy with that.

So he comes out with a top 10 list the other day that he posts on the fire dept message board.....and I am not ranked!!! My question is, why does this piss me off?? Is it just my ego? He of course ranks himself 3rd, and he is a maniac fish who I would love in my ring game (but why do I even care where he ranks himself or anyone else?). Am I that shallow that I need the guys approval of my poker abilities??

Then I find out he told someone at his station that he didnt think I was that good (when they asked why I wasnt ranked).....this should be a good thing right??? I mean, he is a live one...i shouldnt want him fearing me, or respecting my play.

So one day I get stationed at his firehouse for the day. We start playing heads up for $5. kinda a tournament structure without escalating blinds (he let me pick the structure) needless to say, I took him for $45 in about 5 hours of play $5 at a time (he didnt win once)....and now I feel bad. Should I??

Part of me feels vindicated for thouroughly dominating him heads-up....and then part of me feels like I took advantage of him since I KNOW that I have alot more experience, and that I picked a structure that favored me (low blinds compared to stack size, and blinds didnt escilate ect)....

I dont think the money hurt him, so I dont really feel bad for that, its more my psych issues that I find interesting/troubling....then again it just could be normal feelings from a highly competitive person.

am I a mental midget??...help me sort it out.

Thanks

[censored] · #2 07-05-2005, 05:07 PM

So anyway.......

You should have been ranked and ego is a legitmate reason to be bothered.

I would not feel bad.

Grisgra · #3 07-05-2005, 05:10 PM

[ QUOTE ]
He of course ranks himself 3rd, and he is a maniac fish who I would love in my ring game . . .

Then I find out he told someone at his station that he didnt think I was that good . . .

. . .

Part of me feels vindicated for thouroughly dominating him heads-up.

[/ QUOTE ]

Good for you. Call me shallow, but I'd find great satisfaction in crushing into the dust some clueless idiot who thought he was hot [censored] and dissed my play to others. Keep on crushin' him.

Autocratic · #4 07-05-2005, 05:33 PM

I would be irritated by the ranking thing, too. No shame in it, some people might be better at ignoring it than others, but you're not.

Now that you schooled his ass, I say rub it in.

shermn27 · #5 07-05-2005, 06:33 PM

I know you are probably thinking this too, but I would be glad if I were not ranked. I used to play in weekly no-limit small stakes tournaments and did quite well early on. Then some guys in the tournaments decided to make up rankings and they ranked me 2nd! While it may have been nice for the ego, it was no longer to go unnoticed under the radar in the tournaments. Players tightened up against me and I actually went and found another (more profitable) game!

You should protest if you see your name in the rankings soon and point out the tournament(s) you did really bad in and emphasize that you are overrated. Then keep on taking the suckers' money [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

mordecaibrown · #6 07-05-2005, 07:32 PM

Yeah I've got to agree with sherm---I'd lay low and keep making the money without them noticing.

ds914 · #7 07-05-2005, 08:01 PM

I remember a buddy complaining about the same thing with some company wiffleball league they put together. He said the guy who put it together used the entire thing for an ego stroke -- he paired himself up with the best player, kept detailed stats and even put together rankings in which he was of course first.

The guy tore his ACL in the first game.

Karma's a bitch.

fireman664 · #8 07-05-2005, 09:17 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I know you are probably thinking this too, but I would be glad if I were not ranked. I used to play in weekly no-limit small stakes tournaments and did quite well early on. Then some guys in the tournaments decided to make up rankings and they ranked me 2nd! While it may have been nice for the ego, it was no longer to go unnoticed under the radar in the tournaments. Players tightened up against me and I actually went and found another (more profitable) game!

You should protest if you see your name in the rankings soon and point out the tournament(s) you did really bad in and emphasize that you are overrated. Then keep on taking the suckers' money [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

This WAS the plan I was using. I had a couple guys who are taking poker semi serious (starting to read books and such) tell me how great they thought I played, and I just kept pointing out a suckout I had (I had put a small stack all-in with my AK, and he turned over KK...I spiked a bullet on the turn)

all was well until he didnt rank me, and then my ego wanted to shout to everyone....are you serious???!!??!

Atleast now I know I am not alone in my thoughts....and feeling, well.....very good about taking his ass through a ringer at the firehouse HU.....still not ranked though lol

and the ACL tear being KARMA....thats funny as hell, and sounds like this guy.

BigBaitsim (milo) · #9 07-05-2005, 10:00 PM

When I first started playing poker at a local Moose Lodge in VA, all the good old boys (for those unfamiliar, this is a VERY blue collar club) thought that "Doc" was almost certainly a Big Fish. They welcomed me to the table, and always made room for me. Certainly this "book learned" guy couldn't possibly have the street smarts it took to beat guys who've been playing poker for 20 years.

It took them months to realize that I was not just "lucky." They had many more years of experience than I, but they all sucked. None had read a poker book and none understood poker theory on more than a rudimentary level. To them, it was all luck. Eventually, they realized I was good at the game, and my profits went down, because they stopped assuming I was a moron. Don't get me wrong, I still made a lot off them, just less than I did before.

Reef · #10 07-06-2005, 01:31 AM

[ QUOTE ]
I would be irritated by the ranking thing, too. No shame in it, some people might be better at ignoring it than others, but you're not.

Now that you schooled his ass, I say rub it in.

[/ QUOTE ]

next time you pwn him, say "wow, didn't think a non-ranked player like me could outplay the #3 so badly!"