The Best Thing About Poker is Not the Money You Win

The best thing about poker is not the money you win.

The best thing is all the characters you meet.

Money is good to have. To spend on the necessities of life like food, drink and buy-ins. But memories are the icing on the cake and the cherry on top.

What would a dinner among friends be if you had no stories to tell? The best thing I know outside of family fun are long and good dinners with gambling friends.

I don't even need to flip for the check; I'm happy if somebody else picks it up. It's all the old poker war stories that make me truly treasure those dinners.

There would be no stories without all the fantastic characters in our world. That most certainly includes those who make your life miserable.

One Easy Big Blind Per Hour

Let me tell you about "Le Pig." When he says his own name with his heavy accent it kind of sounds like "Le Pig."

Tried every angle.

It's a perfect nickname for him because he completely behaves like one, so we called him that.

Behind his back, of course, because he wouldn't approve.

There wasn't one session where he didn't try to tilt opponents with rude remarks, or by blowing smoke in their face, or slow rolling, or just being obnoxious.

You could write a book about all the angle shooting he did because he covered every one.

He was not shy about leaning over to look at the drunken fish's cards.

The line between angle shooting and cheating was non-existent for him.

One of his favorite tricks was to throw one chip as the big blind on top of the small blind's post. Then three seconds later nudge the mark and say "small blind please."

The drunken fish would look at the only two chips on the table bunched together, certainly looking like the big blind, and then toss in the small blind once again.

That was one easy big blind per hour for Le Pig.

I Guess He Couldn't Help Himself

Hard to play good poker.

He was a very heavy consumer of alcohol -- and other drugs, too, as he proudly informed us. He also bragged about how he used to beat up his "imported" girlfriend that was 30 years younger than him.

Strangely enough he had one friend at the club. That man was liked by everybody and not just because he was the biggest fish.

When I think back on it I really can't see why they hung out.

Le Pig had a sense of humor and was a funny guy if he wanted to be. That must have been it. Characters like that usually get away with it because of their good judgment and charm.

He was also the best cash-game player at the club. He kept notes on everybody's tells and was a consistent and big winner.

There was no reason for him to behave like he did. I guess he couldn't help himself when intoxicated.

It's Hard to Quit When the Juices are Flowing

When he was sober he was one of the tightest players in the club. He was totally predictable, never bluffed and very easy to bluff.

The point of no return.

When he was drunk he was completely helpless. Playing every hand and bluffing every pot.

In between, Le Pig was one of the best players I've ever seen. He played controlled but fearless and he could make any move at any time.

That state could last for quite a few hours so you needed to survive that phase until he went beyond the point of no return.

Everybody knew it, including him. But it's hard to quit when the juices are flowing in your veins and you are a serious alcoholic and gambling addict.

He Was a Sleazebag, Too

There was another guy at the club who was an expert at keeping the game going. That almost always included bringing alcohol to Le Pig, even when he said no.

Let's call him "The Little." He was a sleazebag, too, but a lot more gentle mannered than Le Pig.

Needless to say they hated each other.

This all built up to a nasty turn of events. Which you can read all about on Friday.

About Ken Lennaárd:

Sweden's most controversial poker blogger Ken Lennaárd has been around the professional poker circuit for almost 20 years. Among his numerous accomplishments are Swedish Championships both live and online, three WSOP final tables and over $1.5m in live earnings. He's now bringing his singular poker voice to the English world via PokerListings.com. Look for new posts every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Note: Opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not represent the views of PokerListings.com.

Source: The Best Thing About Poker is Not the Money You Win