Soft play vs. gambling addicts - Page 5

ApolloQuiet · #1 05-12-2005, 06:53 PM

Play online, that way you don't have to associate a face with the player. Although I sometimes feel really bad for that chick that always wears the yellow shirt in the 9 seat. I've seen her win sometimes, I would think she could buy a new shirt.

sandsmarc · #2 05-13-2005, 07:36 AM

My job is to take all the addicts money as soon as possible. That way he will hit rock bottom quicker and either get help or kill himself. The world is a better place either way.

Derek in NYC · #3 05-13-2005, 05:31 PM

If the situation were reversed, these people would rape your mercilessly.

QuadsOverQuads · #4 05-13-2005, 10:57 PM

You don't do them any favors by softplaying them. If anything, you're making the experience LESS painful than it should be, and making it easier for them to maintain illusions about their own skill. The best thing that could happen to these people is for them to genuinely realize just how BAD AT THIS GAME they are, and for this to motivate them to either improve or quit. Softplaying, by contrast, is what shill-players do to keep these players at the table. Sadly, it works.

q/q

rgschackelford · #5 05-14-2005, 02:42 PM

Hello sir,

I understand you plea for human decency, and this is one of the hardest parts of poker. But, at the table, there are no friends or family. You are there to win chips, not friends. It sounds evil, but you must check your heart and emotions at the door. It hurts to see it happen, but it's the truth of the matter.

Furthermore, if he doesn't lose his money to you, he will lose it to someone else or to the casino. He going to give it up anyway, so why not let him give it up to you.

Have you ever heard the statement, "You should be willing to bust your own Grandmother, if the opportunity arises at a poker table."? It may sound crass, but don't ask, "Should I be taking this poor shlub's money?" Ask yourself, "If this person sat down at a poker table (or walked into a casino for that matter), then he knows the risk before he plays, and he's saying, "I have the money to lose." If he doesn't and loses it, that's his fault. It sounds nothing short of evil, but that's the way it goes.

Yours in darkness [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img],

Rusty G. Schackelford

Snoogins47 · #6 05-14-2005, 08:39 PM

I have a friend who, as an unemployed student, would burn through three figures worth of money very frequently, playing... $10 max buy in NL games that my hometown buds and I will play to fart around.

I would pull him aside and tell him he shouldn't play. I'd tell him that he shouldn't gamble with money he doesn't have. I don't want to play him, I don't want him to play, he shouldn't play, and I make no secret about it. Once he's at the table, I'm not going to ease up.

Poker can definitely get to be an ugly game. For me, it seems their battles are really fought and won/lost away from the poker table. Once he's bought in and made the decision to play, the only thing altering my play against him will do is make him less likely to bust, and more likely to NOT get the picture.

This is slightly different than the anonymous face you think is most likely addicted, but it goes along with my general philosophy on it, I think. If this kid's issue with gambling ever gets out of hand (luckily he's either kept it in check, run good, or just never gambled for all that much money yet) I'd gladly chip in a good chunk of change for him to get help, but I wouldn't let up with my value bets.