Personality traits affect game (long)

[rory]

I think that occasionally you will find people you can pigeonhole very strongly into these categories, but to do so is generally a mistake.

The mind is a wonderful thing and it is very good at forming somewhat accurate fuzzy pictures from very little evidence. I think rather than sitting at the table trying to categorize them by these traits, you would be better off if you just asked yourself "Why is this person at the casino?" Being at the casino sucks so everyone has to have a good reason to be there. Is he there to win? Is he there to gamble? Is he there to pass the time? Is he there to show everyone how good he is? Is he there to make people angry? Is he trying to learn? You get a lot further trying to really understand people instead of sticking them in a box.

It helps if you can care about the people. You don't have to talk to them or anything like that, but just watching them and listening to them talk to other people and seeing how they react to winning or losing or whatever if you keep asking yourself, "Why are they here?" you can actually kind of wind up caring about the people you are playing against. Oh, that really obnoxious guy who is needling me, he just lost a big pot and that made him quiet and now I see that he is here and acts the way he does because he feels really bad. He probably loses more often than not and goes home and feels bad about it, because he wishes he was really good but he doesn't have the discipline yet. That is kind of sad. No wonder why he loves sticking it to people. And that gives you a lot more insight into what his bets and raises mean, since you are on the road to understanding him.

No boxes. If you tried to put me in those boxes, it would screw you up. I speak quietly, walk with my head down and don't talk to anyone at the game. I don't like people but I'm nice, just not engaging. I can be really loose or really tight or gamble it up or whatever depending on the game condition. I can be really confident and really not confident, depending on what it is about. I play in big games and small games. I don't like gambling but I don't mind gambling if it is the right spot. If you were to put me in your categories, I would probably wind up being rigid or impulsive depending on the cards I was catching and the game, sensitive or misanthropic depending on how you interpreted me ignoring everyone and timid or confident depending on the cards I was catching and the game. What does that tell you about me? Nothing.

If you instead looked at me and asked yourself why I was at the casino, the only conclusion you could possibly draw is "He is at the casino to win money and is serious about it." That is much more useful than trying to stick me in artificial boxes.