Marcus Tullius Cicero, the ancient Roman statesman and philosopher who died in 43 BC, is credited with introducing the concept:“Cuiusvis hominis est errare, nullius nisi insipientis in errore perseverare.” Translation from the Latin: “Anyone can err, but only the fool persists in his fault.”
We all make mistakes now and then. Usually they are inadvertent. Hopefully we will learn from these mistakes. Sometimes the mistakes are surprising—unexpected—and should not have happened. Byron Ziman, one of the members of our Claude Pepper Seniors Poker Group (who is credited for introducing us to the idea of “tainted outs”) brought to my attention a conspicuous error by a top-rated poker celebrity, published in a column in a poker magazine. Apparently, the celebrity, who has won many poker bracelets in tournaments and often has been said to claim he is the best poker player in the world, made an eye-catching error. Oh, well, we are only human.
The Mistake. In discussing a key hand in the 1977 World Series of Poker no-limit main event, involving the late and legendary Stu Ungar, this celebrity poker player/columnist described the key, final—and historic—hand involving Ungar and one other player battling heads-up for the WSOP Championship:
Ungar’s Holecards:Ah-4c Opponent’s Holecards:As-8c
The Flop:Ac-5d-3h Turn:3d River:2s
Our celebrity columnist correctly noted after the flop that Ungar needed a 4 or a deuce to win the hand. When a 3 fell on the turn, the celebrity stated that Ungar now needed to catch a deuce, “and only a deuce,” to win. Byron pointed out to me that a four on the river still would give Ungar the winning hand with an aces-and-fours two-pair against his opponent’s aces and treys. Of course, Byron was correct. He added, “Although Ungar was ‘drawing thin,’ he actually had three more outs (the three fours) on the turn than the columnist indicated. But, no matter, the deuce came on the river anyway, giving Ungar his third WSOP Championship title.”
On Making Mistakes. You might say that making mistakes is par for the course. Whether you come up with the wrong answer in your college math exam, or misread your cards at the poker table, mistakes are a part of life. We all make errors of judgment, but some can and should be avoided. You didn’t have to go through the red light when you got the ticket from a police officer, but you did it, got caught, and now must pay the penalty.
Moral of the story: Avoid mistakes whenever possible; there are many you cannot avoid...
Some Famous Quotes About Mistakes:
“A man’s errors are his portals of discovery.”–James Joyce, Irish novelist (1882-1941).
“Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes.”–Oscar Wilde, Irish poet, novelist, dramatist (1854-1900).
“Do not brood over your past mistakes and failures as this will only fill your mind with grief, regret and depression. Do not repeat them in the future.”–Swami Sivananda, IndianYoga master, physician Monk, and founder of The Divine Life Society (1887-1963).
Whether playing poker or writing about the game, it is wise to avoid mistakes whenever possible. I promise to try.–George “The Engineer”.
George “The Engineer” Epstein is the author of The Greatest Book of Poker for Winners! and Hold’em or Fold’em?—An Algorithm for Making the Key Decision and teaches poker at the Claude Pepper Sr. Citizen Center in Los Angeles. Contact George at geps222@msn.com.
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