3. Raising the Morale of Losers

The good player raises the morale of losers whenever possible. Sympathy and understanding properly offered can keep losers in the game indefinitely—or until they are bankrupt. Yet, after suffering sharp losses, some players develop attitudes that could decrease the good player’s profits, such as demanding a slower betting pace or lower stakes. A good player can often change those attitudes by talking to the losers in private about their troubles. Private “little talks” usually have comforting and therapeutic effects on big losers.

New player Mike Bell is a valuable financial asset to John Finn. After losing several weeks in a row, Mike becomes discouraged. Fearful that he may quit, John moves to boost his morale. By leading him into several winning pots, he carries Mike to a winning night. Then with the following dialogue, he further boosts Mike’s morale:

“The way you’re winning, you’ll break the game,” John says. “How much you ahead?”

“A few big bills,” Mike says as he splits a high-low pot with Quintin. Suddenly he looks up at John and grins while adding, “I’ve been lucky.”

“Lucky? The way you caught that full house—I call that skill,” John remarks while adjusting his voice to a deeper tone. “Why’d you throw your ace and keep the ten kicker?”

“The other three players drew one and two cards,” Mike replies in a gloating tone. “They probably were going for low hands—so they’d be holding aces rather than tens. My chances were best for drawing another ten.” Mike Bell then glances around. Bored expressions cover all faces except John’s—he listens with an open mouth while slowly nodding his head up and down. Mike leans toward him and says in a low voice, “I drew the ten to catch the full house, didn’t I?”

“Right,” John replies. “Pretty smart thinking.”

“Ban Mike from the game!” Sid cries. “Smart thinking is illegal in this game.”

“Don’t listen to him,” John says as he puts his hand on Mike’s shoulder. “We respect a man who plays good poker.”

“Look who’s talking about good poker!” Sid cries again. “You win lowball games with full houses. You hear about that one, Mike?”

“Sure did. Scotty told me all about it,” Mike

answers. He then shakes his finger at John. “Don’t ever pull that on me. I’d call you from my grave.”

“At least John plays more than two hands a night,” Sid says. “If we all played tight like Quintin, the game would die from boredom.”

Mike Bell counts his winnings, smiles, and then says to John, “Guess I’ll be playing permanently in this game.”