Poker News

James McKenna, Ph.D.

Some tables in the poker room seem to be more distressful than others. Several years ago, I was playing blackjack while on a waiting list to play poker. The dealer said that there was a fight in the poker room earlier that day. He said that they were even throwing fists. I said, “It must have been on the Omaha Hi-Lo table!” He said, “Yeah! You’re right! How did you know?” It seemed to me that there were more arguments at that table than any of the rest. So, I started doing some research to see what was different about the Omaha table. My conclusion is that the game attracts too many of the same personality types and when there’s a problem they are all right and none of them will concede it. That personality type is the “Boss” that I discuss in my book Beyond Tells.

The “Boss” is described as being very structured and very aggressive. This personality type is highly opinionated, and expects others to play the game in a perfect manner. Their distress pattern is predictable and for this reason when there’s a problem, each will be pointing the finger and judging everyone else except themselves.

I began to ask dealers what they thought. Each dealer I talked to agreed that there are more problems at the Omaha tables than any other. One expressed it this way, “They all think that they know it all and that everyone else is to blame when things go wrong!” Well, that describes the distress pattern of the convictionoriented personality to a tee. So, let’s review that pattern.

When a player goes on tilt, it is what psychologists refer to a first degree distress. It’s also referred to as a “Driver,” which is predictable behavior that will lead a person into the basement of their distress pattern. The driver is similar to the basement door. From there it can go into second degree-the basement.

First degree distress is common at all poker tables. Second degree seems to be more common at the Omaha tables. In second degree distress either you or the other person is to blame. For the “Boss,” it’s always the other person. Here’s what that pattern looks like for the “Boss.”

Playing Style

Fisrt Degree Distress

Second Degree Distress

Third Degree Distress

(Conditional

Okayness)

(It?s you or me)

(Script Payoff)

Bosses

Be perfect

(for me)

Push Beliefs

Distrust, get rid of

others

When distressed, this type of player often is blaming others and expects other players to “be perfect.” Each of the other five personality types discussed in my book will have their own unique distress pattern. If these driver behaviors don’t help to quell the distress, players will go into second and third degree distress actions. Some will start making more mistakes, like the Hunch Player. Other will attempt to over-control the table with raises and re-raises (such as the System Player). In second degree distress, actions are serious and either the player becomes more down on themselves or others become more the blame for what’s happening.

Some will just passively wait, as in the case of a distressed Loner. Others will handle distress at this stage as the Party Hardy and blame others. In second degree distress, the Boss will push his or her beliefs. When distress goes into the third degree, there is usually “tissue damage.” That means that the person will get more disturbed, may hurt themselves, or will hurt others. This stage is seldom seen in a public poker game. It could explain the fist fight described earlier. However, that is rare even at the Omaha tables. Second degree distress is more normal.

Being driven by tilts is common to all the tables in poker. There are ways to manage tilts and get out of these distress patterns. At any rate, take a walk when you are on tilt and park your driver.

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