Some people ask me, ‘Isn’t poker evil since you’re taking other people’s money?’ I tell them, good and evil exist in the heart, not in the world outside. In reality, all people do is take. This is a shark eat shark world. 

There’s no company that runs on hopes and dreams, since even a charity has funds and salaries. 

There’s no noble profession besides being a monk, since each person with a job anywhere grabbed that opportunity from others. 

There’s no virtuous merchant, since each company that sells a product took that sale from a competitor. 

This is the nature of the world. Accept it or don’t, but don’t whine to me because you lost money gambling.

It was New Year’s Eve, the festival of hope. This was a day when everyone imagined they were a snake preparing to shed its skin, fated to evolve into a beautiful butterfly come morning. The result was inevitable...the snake remained a snake. 

If your motivation to change is fueled by the many motivational quotes during a holiday, then you’ll run out of gas as soon as that holiday passes. It was a trend Joey observed over many years. However, even for him, this year felt different. He had to admit he couldn’t remain indifferent to the naive hope that this year he could evolve from a snake. There was one major reason. He wasn’t alone anymore.

Joey and Ellie were in a rental car driving to Splitting Rock. The two traveled to the casino because it was rumored to have legendary poker action tonight, and was a good place to escape from the city.

Majestic as usual. That’s what Joey thought when they arrived. Nothing much changed except it seemed much busier this time. When they checked into their room, Ellie ran downstairs saying she was too eager to play poker. Joey watched the blushing rabbit run away. “You can’t escape, wiw wabbit…”

He also got ready to go downstairs. ‘Whatever, I’d like to play too. Everyone told me today has the best games, let’s see if that’s true.‘ He went downstairs to the poker room to find it packed, with every available table in use. Joey put his name on the 5-10 list. He‘d been playing 5-10 at Pocket Rockets the past week and became accustomed. He knew how to better manage his mental energy at least. An hour later, a staff member called him and he took his seat.

As this was Joey’s first time playing 5-10 here, he didn’t recognize any of the players. He didn’t need long to take their temperatures though. There were some talented players, but compared to Pocket Rockets, the level here was worse, at least today. These players weren’t much better than the 2-5 players in Queens, a welcome sight for Joey.

His 1000 chip stack grew at a steady pace that only accelerated as he gained more information. After a few hours, he had 2500. Another hand ended. Joey busted an all-in player who called it quits. A new player came in. The entrant’s most conspicuous feature was the manner in which he walked to the table. He wobbled!

He wore a fisherman’s hat, with casual designer clothes and a luxury watch. The impression he gave off was of a rich city man visiting for fishing and gambling. With hazy eyes and uneven movements, he took a seat at the table, buying in for 1000. While people were multifaceted, with deep emotions and complex motivations, this guy, well you could sum him up in one word—a drunk!

The faces of the other players became excited, like a school of piranhas that smelled blood in the water. Here came the prey—the legendary drunk tourist! There was only one exception within this excited mob, Joey. He watched the tourist and felt something off, but he wasn’t certain yet.

The game resumed and the tourist took his first hand. What was notable about this was that he elected to post his big blind early. In the usual case, when a new player sat down, they would wait until the big blind reached their position. Then they would enter the game on the natural big blind. This was because a house rule existed almost everywhere: a new player couldn’t be dealt in until paying a big blind. Still, there was an option to post it early.

If players wanted, they could be dealt in right away if they posted a big blind anywhere they sat. Then they wouldn’t wait and would receive cards at once. The problem was they would have to pay the big blind again when their turn arrived. Most players didn’t do this. The reason was that paying extra blinds was taking a loss. The cost of seeing hands preflop was paying the blinds once a round when your turn came. Getting good cards preflop was like winning a lottery. If you discovered kings or aces, that was a jackpot.

The cost of being dealt cards preflop and waiting for the jackpot was paying the blinds once a round. They were like taxes. So just like businessmen, smart players tried to avoid paying these blinds taxes. Sometimes, players would post early if they sat in late position, near the button, which could be argued to have its own benefits and was fine. In the tourist's case, he was in early position, already near the natural big blind. He only had to wait two hands and he could play, but his move defied all expectations! 

He didn’t even have the patience to wait two hands, posting the big blind and signaling to the entire table-I don’t care about this money, I’m eager to play! This was a powerful sign of a loose, action player, a juicy target for anyone. It was like a man-sized filet mignon walked over, salted himself, and invited everyone at the table to have a bite. The rich, meaty scent hung over the table like a cloud. All the players licked their lips in anticipation, drooling at the meal.

The following round of hands was very interesting. The drunk tourist played almost every hand if no one raised, limping in for the 10 minimum. He even threw in a small raise himself several times preflop, once showing down a very garbage [T♦6♦]. This guy was a live fish! That’s what everyone at the table thought as they set their sights on him. The drunk tourist seemed oblivious to the 8 red laser dots on his chest as he played his cards with glee.

The game’s development moved in a direction no one expected. Instead of dumping off chips, the tourist won several big pots! He even doubled up off one player, showing down a monster and shocking his opponent who expected to see garbage. Everyone at the table was confused. They displayed various bewildered or angry expressions. Nevertheless, their eyes still shined with the devilish green of greed. 

They were happy the drunk was winning! It meant he would have more to lose! All those chips would become theirs eventually so what was the problem? So what if the drunk was running good? It had only been a short while so luck was a big factor. It was easy to rationalize their previous losses.

‘He’s only getting lucky.’

‘He’ll give it all back. it’s only a matter of time.’

‘I’ll just play more hands with him. He’ll pay me off for sure.’

The only person who stayed calm was Joey. He had a very different idea of what was happening. It was like everyone at the table was in the same movie theater, but viewing two different films. Most of the players were watching a detective movie, following the perspective of the police and the robbed banks. They tried to piece together clues and set a trap at the next bank, planning to catch the robber and take everything he had. Meanwhile, on the other side of the theater, Joey was watching a heist movie! 

He saw the viewpoint of the thief!