[Nate.]

When I first meet live opponents, middle-aged women think I look just like their nephews, young pros peg me as an Internet poker whiz, and hotshots peg me as a poker geek. After a while the hotshots often think I'm less geeky and the pros often think I play bad, but first impressions can lead to memorable exchanges.

I was a regular at the 40-80 mix at the Bellagio this summer. The pre-WSOP influx of poker players to the city was a welcome development, both socially and professionally. One New Yorker was unfamiliar with stud hi-lo no qualifier, an archaic game rarely seen on the East Coast but common in mid-limit Bellagio rotations. As he was struggling with the transition, we got to talking.

Me: "So, you're from the City?"
Him: "Yeah."
Me: "All the clubs got shut down, right?"
Him: "Well, really you just have to know someone. It's just that there aren't places where anyone can walk right in. They don't like to let you do that any more."
Me: "I gotcha. But there are games?"
Him: "Yeah. [pause] You aren't a cop, are you?"
Me: "No."
[awkward silence]
Me: "I mean, people have told me I look like a snitch, but never a cop."
Him [immediately]: "Oh, you definitely look like a snitch."