The Question of Poker Railbirds

Mark:


I just was curious to see what some people think on this subject. Apparently, there are some sad stories/experience out there concerning railbirds. Actually, per above narratives, railbirds come closer in definition to exemplify homeless or panhandlers than the passing, curious poker observers. Maybe that is what B. Shulman meant when spoke so harshly about them.


I think Mason said it well when he referred to the whole issue of reailbirds as that of poker room management's responsibility to identify the problem-causing individuals and deal with them appropriatly.


My personal experience with railbirds is, perhaps, most uncomfortable when playing at Binion Horseshoe, in downtown Las Vegas. When you play red chips game in the seats 1, 2, 9, or 10, the number or railbirds standing, seemingly for hours at the time, and breathing over your sholder is way too close for comfort. I am plainly affraid to leave my chips on the table unattended.


Did any one of you observe, or experience something similar?


Centurion

Centurion,


I agree that if they look filthy, security should kick'em out. It's pretty easy to tell who the customers are and who are the bums, so I think it would be an easy job for security at the casino to put pressure on these guys. But, I do like the layout of the poker room at Binion's compared to the Mirage or Bellagio. Binion's makes it easy for the tourists to observe the games.


Good Luck


Mark

Am I to believe that Daniel Negreanu lost a huge portion of his bankroll after the WSOP because of loans to railbirds. He is such a nice guy that he just gave away tens of thousands of dollars to folks he barely knew. I'm purely a low limit recreational player, but a faithful reader of poker "stuff." No disrepect meant toward Mr. Negreanu, but that story sounds a little farfetched.

Luce's post reminds me of the ad gw bush ran against John McCain in the NY primary in 2000. It claimed McCain was against curing breast cancer. I would have loved to see ol' silver spoon say that to McCain's face.


Good response, Mr. Malmuth.

Not all spectators are railbirds, and not all railbirds are spectators. I am sure the people that Barry referred to are the non-spectators.


In a way I do agree with what Barry was trying to say, however, I wish he would have worded it just a tad bit differently.


I have no problems with Barry, I think he is a great person, a great player, and a great ambassador to poker. I just wish people would stop over-reacting to what he was trying to say before they think the whole thing through.

I read this article with great interest. I didn't see it so much as about railbirds as being the parable of the Young Man, probably from a good background, in the big city. Railbirds are everywhere. In poker rooms, pool halls, country clubs; in corporations big and small. Everywhere you go, there is somebody trying to mooch his way through. Learning to say no is stage of life everybody goes through sooner or later.


Now if you are talking about railbirds getting in my personal space, sending my hand over, or insulting people, I have no problem asking management to boot them. I often wonder how women or the elderly feel about some of the characters I see hanging around poker games.