In Part 1 of this series, we discussed three styles of players whose talent was to follow the curse of the Greek stories of Sisyphus, Tantalus, or Hercules. That's because they only know how to create crises an t the poker table and will try harder, will tantalize themselves with how good they'd like to be, or will keep making the same mistakes. We called them:
1. The Try Harders.
2. The Double Bind players.
3. The Zero Sum players.
Here are at least four other types of players whose main skill is creating crises at the table. They are:
4. The Peddlers.
5. The Addicts.
6. The Sulks.
7. The King Pyrrhic players.
The Peddlers could easily be called the Blamers. They are good at looking for blame in what other players do-not in their own actions. These players learned early in life how best to peddle guilt. They never have to look at themselves as long as they have someone else to blame. They remain the innocent one in ten who play a psychological game of "If it weren't for you ..."
There are all kinds of way to be addicted. Underlying all addictions is the addiction for excitement. These pleasure addicts can't get enough excitement and their play is designed to create as much as possible. In their continual search for the holy grail of fun and diversion, these players only know how to substitute real excitement with crises that they create. Odds seem to be the source of their excitement. The lower the odds are, the higher the source of excitement become. While other players are looking for favorable odds, these players are looking for odds that contain the necessary element of high risks.
And then, there is the more passive-aggressive player that we have labeled the Sulk. That's because their main skill is to remain aloof, withdrawn, and strike-out if you attempt to get close. Although they are mostly withdrawn, it does not mean that they are not paying attention. But they wear an invisible suit of armor. Once in a while they will raise the visor on their hood and say, "Screw you!" then quickly slam it shut. They will often do this by a clever trap they set. As they collect a big pot, you can almost hear the visor slam shut.
Finally, in our quest of crisis-oriented players, let's discuss the King Pyrrhic players. When Pyrrhus, the King of Epirus, led his Grecian forces into Southern Italy in the year 281, his men met and defeated the Roman forces. Pyrrhus' army-25,000 men strong-was remarkably well equipped with cavalry and elephants. Although they defeated the Roman army, Pyrrhus lost more than 15,000 men. He was compelled to utter his celebrated lament, "Another victory like this and I shall be ruined." There are many players who follow this lament. They win occasionally and never seem to pay attention to how much they have lost. They stay until they are ruined. Yet, have they failed? If their goal was to create anxiety in others, to have some excitement, and to take unnecessary risks, then they have won at losing. That seems to be the common denominator for crises-oriented players-making straw out of gold.
Whenever you are playing at a table with one or more players who seem skilled at creating crises, look for one of these seven types. If it seems to be a negative atmosphere and you can't find the culprit in the first 15 minutes, it's probably you.
