Poker News

George Epstein

It helps to understand the kind of opponents you are facing when playing winning poker. (That’s the only kind of poker we want to play!) We are all familiar with tight and loose players, timid, passive and aggressive players; often there are deceptive players (you may be one yourself); and, of course, we love “calling stations” - opponents we can count on to call our bets when we hold the nuts. Depending on the kind of players in the hand, we can adjust our strategy so that we have the best chance of winning as large a pot as possible - or avoiding calling bets doomed to be losers. (Beware of tight players who raise pre-flop in an early position.)

But there is one type of opponent we rarely read or hear about — but they are out there, fortunately not too often. I am referring to players whom I call “intimidators.” These are players (not you or I) who make a special effort to intimidate others at the table. In one way or another, an intimidator threatens or bullies another player at the table. Fortunately, they are quite obvious. You can easily recognize such a player. An intimidator often has high piles of chips stacked in front of him. (I have never seen a female intimidator, but certainly it is possible.) As he peers over his piled-high stacks, he seems to be warning everyone else at the table:

“You better watch out for me. I am a winner; I am a shark; and I am going to add your chips to my stacks piled high.” - the intimidator’s creed

Bullying may be part of his tactics: An intimidator often bullies another player during the game. Usually he will select one individualat a time on which to focus his attention, and proceed to harass him at every opportunity. >From my own observations, it seems that the intimidator’s target — or “mark”– is usually a middle-age or older gentleman; perhaps he thinks these people are more likely to be susceptible to his tactic.

The intimidator will challenge his target’s actions and interrogate his decisions. If the target says something, the intimidator will jump at the opportunity to find fault with the statement, deriding him to the others at the table. It’s a definite putdown. The intimidator’s facial expression is one of anger or disdain. There is neither respect for the target nor compassion.

Usually the intimidator will select a target seated one or two seats to his right. That permits him to raise - with a glower, scowling and staring challengingly at his “mark.” I would call it outright harassment…

Your Options: I have observed this type of “play” on several occasions. Fortunately it is rare; but it does occur often enough to warrant being prepared. On one occasion, I was at the table when the intimidator’s target finally got so angry as to challenge the intimidator to go out into the parking lot to fight it out.

On another occasion, I was the target. After trying for awhile to disregard the intimidator’s comments (being hard of hearing helped a little), I got up from the table and discussed the matter with a floorman. He agreed and told me that there had been other complaints - but no action taken to stem the behavior.

Fortunately you are not tied to play at that table; you can ask for a table change. Or you can decide it is time to take your winnings and go home for the night. . . After all, he can’t intimidate you when you are not seated at his table.

. . . So readers, what’s YOUR opinion?

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