I wrote a post then I deleted it. If some of you saw it you might have agreed with me that the undertone of that post was a little harsh even though I didn't mean it to be. It is not that I am a censorship advocate, but rather I didn't want to come off harsh. So I will re-write this post while I'm waiting for my 78suited to raise with. Yeah, I'm not kidding.

Honesty

Thank you everyone for giving me some feedback on the situation. I don't have any sort of drama in my life so I need to take anything I can and change it to some sort of moral issue. After reading all of your posts and also dwelling on my own observations after replaying the hand in my head, I have come to terms with what I want to say and what to make of the situation which wasn't a big deal in the first place really.

To help illustrate the conclusions that I have come to, I have organized them into different sections and hopefully you will see how I see the situation. You might agree or not, but this is how it is for me.

How I View Poker

Obviously all of you know that I take the game very seriously. I think it is one of the most perfect games of all time. The reason is because you can win the pot without having the best hand. You have deception, strategy, math and people skills all at your disposal. Even if you aren't awesome at the math part like me, I can rely on my gut instinct which has saved me bets from time to time.

I realize that I play my most serious game whether I am at the card room, online or at home chilling with friends. I know sometimes I get caught up in the moment, but I think I am very good at keeping my play and the number one priority of having some time to chill with friends separate. If one of you were to put a bad beat on me I might be a little ticked at the poker gods, but not you personally since I understand that THE only thing that matters is us chilling.

Saying that, I think we all understand what I am about to say next. Whether or not someone like Anthony who doesn't play with us all the time understands this concept, it is not my place to teach him.

Sitting = Signing A Waiver That Your Money Is No Longer Your Money

If you sit down at ANY poker table and you buy chips then that money is GONE. It is no longer your money. You have chips. These represent markers. These markers represent who is "winning" in the game. Until you or I get up those markers do not have anyone's name on it.

Anthony decided for himself that he felt he could lose 10.00. We told him that you can buy in for as little or as much as you want. He opted for 10.00. He also understood that he could get up whenever he liked especially since he saw Bryant get up after running all of us over.

Sitting = Understanding Poker Is NEVER Fair

This section is to argue Tony's point. If you play any game where money is involved as well as luck, things will never be fair. You said that my play was unneccesary. I don't think it was. The reason is (and I left this out by accident, but realized I left it out after everyone already blogged) Anthony said outloud that he thought I might have QJ even before I announced that he "couldn't have a seven". I was up and down all night and I wanted chips or markers. More markers mean you either had lots of luck on your side or you won with some skill. I'll take either...and I didn't have a lot of markers. I needed to prove to myself that I could be the threat at this table.

Unfortunately for Anthony he had lots of chips because he sucked out on my dad on the river looking for the only 4 cards that could help him. My dad lost about 8 dollars in that pot without Anthony realizing the miracle he recieved. I try not to make it personal, but the only thing I was thinking was, "man...that sucks. But it will be a lot easier getting those chips from Anthony than my dad."

A little off track there...basically I felt I needed to win to prove to myself that I could win over someone with less experience. Sure you can say i've proved it, but it is ONE LONG SESSION. You must always strive to prove to yourself that you are one step ahead of the game. I wanted full value for my hand and unfortunately for Anthony, he had all the chips on the table.

Was the acting unnecessary? Sure if maybe I played Anthony every day and knew that I didn't need to try to win chips that very night. Yet I hardly see Anthony at the poker table so that coupled with the fact that he was well aware of what the nuts were for this particular hand...I needed to extract coin now.

Sitting = Unfair Advantage Part DUEX

This also goes with Tony and Andy's opinions that what I did was questionable. The truth of the matter is that with Tony's soccer argument again, he talks about exploiting something even though he already has an added edge would be wrong. If I just played my cards for what they were with no deception on my part then the game would be the worst game I've ever played. You are at the mercy of the deck. In fact if you were to say that acting was questionable, then you might as well say that I cannot use my gut feeling because I called Tony's bottom pair and was off by one increment. The bottom line is that I will use whatever tools I need to win the chips in the middle. If you see that as exploitation...then at least you are seeing correctly. That is exactly what it is and table talk within the confines of the rules is one of THE pivitol weapons in my game.

Now onto Andy. Andy by me saying that he "cannot have a 7" does imply that my hand is weaker than his. Yet the rules say that I cannot say anything about my hand as long as there are no other players in the pot. I never did. And how can I be punished for guessing what his cards are outloud as long as we are heads up? If implying is the name of the game here, then CHECK RAISING should also be penalized. By check raising you are implying that your hand is shit...then BAMMO...you jump up and smile because you just trapped the fish. Isn't that talking about your hand in an indirect and implied way?

Playing soft even though someone doesn't know the rules ruins the integrity of the game. Yeah...that is how serious I take poker...I'm worried about it's own integrity. To play soft against someone is giving them a handicap. That's all fine and dandy, but I'm tired of not being able to park in the fucking handicap spaces. I see people exploiting that just as much as I exploit other people's weaknesses and lack of knowledge at the poker table.

No Limit Cash = Cruel

I agree with Jonathan on this one. NL will be restricted to tournamanets unless we all decide that we are going to play NL cash. And again, if you sit down at the table regardless who you are or who you bring, it is not my place to play soft in order to accomodate the other players. Bryant thought 5.00 was enough for him to risk and he walked away a winner. We tried our best to limit your losses in case you did lose, but ultimately it was up to the individual.

However, back to the conversation we had way long time ago about me being concerned with other people's enjoyment and time...whatever you guys want to play is fine with me. Shit, I'd rather play Razz than Hold'em. =)

Shearing Sheep

Anthony doesn't play enough with us to be qualified as a sheep. Also I'm not sure who is holding the fucking clippers because I don't think any of us are good enough to even hold those clippers and also Anthony lost 10 whole whopping dollars that was his before he bought in. Last I checked he won a tournament so he is still up on us. He's probably calling us fish.

Brendan Is A Bitchcock

Yes I am. I'll say it. I personally don't think exploiting people on the felt is wrong. I don't think it was questionable at all. But I will say that it was a dirty way to transfer Anthony's marks to my stack. I'll admit that any day of the week. So what is the conclusion here? Where is the Doogie Howswer all powerful diary entry? Right here.

The Line; Bottom Line

A.) I'm sorry to Anthony for taking your stacks in one hit.
B.) He was the one that said "all-in". What am I supposed to do with the nuts? Fold?
C.) Anthony, while not knowing the odds, is underrated I think by those who thought I hustled him. You forget that he has a superpower of knowing when his outs are coming. Give him some credit. Sure he takes a lot of risks, but they are his risks with his chips...and as with anything...big risk usually means big rewards.
D.) The acting was NOT illegal and it never will be no matter who you are or where you are at as long as you are as Jonthan said, headsup. I'm sorry to Anthony again if he or any of you thought it was unnecesary. But come close to the monitor...I'm going to say something...
E.) I'll fucking do it again without hesitation...why?
F.) Because that is the beauty of poker and yesterday I wasn't sure about this...but I am now after thinking it through...me feeling bad will be squashed by my respect for the game and every which way you play it.