I hate Arnold Spee

MegaBet · #1 08-20-2005, 08:02 PM

I just watched the Reno WTP event. The guy who won, Arnold Spee, really annoyed me by his attitude and arrogance. He gave Ivey absolutely no respect that I feel is due to him. After he beat Ivey he acted like it was no big deal like he was knocking out a donkey in a home game. He said "I predicted I would win this event". He's just another average Joe, along with many many others, who gave up his job to play poker professionally. He is no better than most of the members on these boards. He got hit by the deck and that's what got him the win. Contrary to how he may feel, we will never see this joker again. He has had his 15 minutes of fame. He is not the next Doyle Brunson.

#2 08-20-2005, 08:21 PM

I would agree. I'd say his poker and mathematics knowledge is inversely proportional to his social skills. That remark when he won was just stupid. I bet Sexton , Shana, and Vince were just thinking about how much they hate him.

ismisus · #3 08-20-2005, 08:47 PM

you sure can learn a lot about people by watching them play poker for 1 hour and 20 minutes under pressure. Oh wait you can't.

#4 08-20-2005, 09:45 PM

I swear I'm a nice guy and I do not have anger issues, but just looking at that guy makes me want to slap him in the mouth. [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

benkahuna · #5 08-20-2005, 11:21 PM

I played on a table with Arnold Spee in the main event on the first day for about 4-5 hours. I didn't think he came across that well in the WPT event, but I thought he was a really good guy at the WSOP. He had very good etiquette and was a generally a friendly, nice guy. Was he confident in his game? Sure, as much as necessary to play good poker and be an intimidating opponent.
So what if he thinks he was fated to win? Maybe he had a feeling and it worked out.

As for respecting Ivey, of coursre he respected him. But, you don't win poker tournaments treating other players like they're gods. You have to believe you can win, regardless of who you are and whom you're against. Ivey's not a god and makes mistakes just like everyone else. I don't care if Lederer says he's the "best player of a generation."

After I busted out, Spee told me the only thing that made me feel better. He said this guy that was running ridiculously good was something "he'd never seen in 3 years as a pro." It was something I'd never seen before in over a million hands.

You may not like him from what you saw on tv, but I thought he was a pretty good guy after spending some time playing poker with him in person.

MegaBet · #6 08-21-2005, 12:52 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I swear I'm a nice guy and I do not have anger issues, but just looking at that guy makes me want to slap him in the mouth. [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

Well put! [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Ratman138 · #7 08-21-2005, 04:50 PM

Is this the guy who said "since i started listening to my gut i have never lost a hand."?
thats a pretty trusting gut to never even lose a single hand.

yimyammer · #8 08-21-2005, 11:16 PM

If anyone needs some gut to trust, I've got plenty to go around.

I only wish I could find an easy way to give it to you

lemuri · #9 08-22-2005, 12:02 AM

He's unstoppable now.. Unburdened, he need only rely on the same uncanny, esp-like instincts that Phil Helmuth used to get his ass handed to him by Esfandiari on a Tivo'd 2003 wpt i just saw

benkahuna · #10 08-23-2005, 07:05 AM

That's the guy. He did imply that was only when his gut gave him a strong signal. I think he said something like "when listening to my gut instinct, I've never lost a hand." Never lost a single hand--c'mon that's absolutely ludicrous and no one would ever try to express that thought.

He's just saying he's used intuition when playing and that it's served him extremely well. Many poker books recommend doing the same. He was probably just answering a question from the interviewer anyway.

As for Phil, he's a fantastic player that you can frequently observe having the best hand AND knowing it. He is annoying for sure. He's an egotistical, overconfident, self-absorbed child when playing poker. But, that doesn't change the fact that he's a fantastic player. Nine bracelets (and he's much younger than Doyle and a fair amount younger than Chan, the only guys with more bracelets), six in no limit and 3 in limit would suggest maybe he's maybe his poker skills deserve some respect. His hand reading and intution are widely regarded as his greatest strengths.

There are lots of players that speak highly about their game in general and about a particular aspect of their game. Sklansky and Greenstein are among these. Greenstein has mentioned himself in this manner only very briefly--pretty much just being honest when it comes up.

Michael Konik about Sklansky: "It's not arrogance if you can back it up."

I shouldn't really fight this though. This thread is much more about emotional decision-making (let's bash people that we decide we don't like on tv) than a rational attempt at fairly considering people. Bash away.