A few days ago, after I had finished playing a tournament, I decided it was time to write a column that I had been thinking about for awhile. I thought I should do it while it was still fresh on my mind, and I hurried home and tried to knock out this new column. I had been toying with the idea of doing it, but I wanted to wait a certain length of time just in case, on reflection, I might think it was stupid.
Today’s experience at the club reinforced my need to do this column. I’m not going to say anything that will change the poker world. All I will do, hopefully, is to get something off my chest.
It has become one of my pet peeves in the poker world when certain words are used that I do not think are applicable. I also do not think these certain words are very accurate. The certain words that I am referring to are “amazing” and “unbelievable.”
Today while I was playing, I must have heard those words a hundred times. It seemed every time someone got a hand beat, it was either “amazing!” or “unbelievable!”. Maybe It’s just me, but when I think of the definition of “unbelievable,” I think of something like Charlton Heston parting the Red Sea. “Amazing” would be like sending a rocket with 3 men on board 240,000 or so miles to the moon, and have them get off the rocket, walk around and then have them come back to Earth. Check out UFA
I decided I should call Ripley’s Believe It or Not, because they are experts in the “amazing and unbelievable.” If I could get them to come and monitor a poker game in one of the clubs for a couple of hours, they would be able to tell me if these occurrences were really “amazing” and “unbelievable.” Besides, if I were wrong and these occurrences really were “amazing and unbelievable,” Ripley’s would have enough material to open scores of new museums and have the material for several new books.
First of all, it was not easy to get the corporate headquarters of Ripley’s Believe It or Not. Secondly, after you get them on the phone, getting the right person to talk to is even harder. As hard as it was, I finally succeeded in finding the right person, a very pleasant young man. I explained the situation that I had encountered so many times. I said I would be glad to accompany him to one of the clubs so he could determine whether or not Ripley’s would be interested in what was happening there.
The young man then asked me specifically what some of the occurrences were. I explained one case in a Hold-em game where a player had 2 queens in his hand, another player had 2 jacks and on the flop, a jack came, and the player with the queens lost the pot. The player who lost kept saying “Unbelievable! Unbelievable!” I proceeded to tell him a few other hands that were “amazing and unbelievable.” After the fourth or fifth hand I told him about, he asked for my telephone number and said he would get back to me.
I waited by the telephone most of the next day and the telephone never rang. As the next few days passed, I realized he was not going to call me back. Isn’t it “amazing” how many people say they are going to get back to you, and never do?
As is my custom when I’m through with a column, I let my wife read it. She usually has something very profound to say. As usual, today was no exception. She read this column and looked at me straight in the eye and said, “Honey you’re writing is unbelievable.” It’s nice to get compliments.
