Conscience in poker?

i started this thread cos i felt really bad after felting a old lady at the table earlier today. she looked about 70ish, was leaning heavily on a cane, helped by her granddaughter. u know the type, with a heavy cardigan, big glasses and snow-white hair.

first hand she was in, i was on the button with QQ, and raised her bb, she called. to cut things short, the board ran out Q428K, rainbow. i bet every street and she called my all-in at the end. i showed the set of queens and she turned over 5 3, saying in a weak voice, 'straight'. of course, there wasnt a straight on board. and she was so sad when the dealer corrected her that all she had was 5 hi.

it was a big pot, 800bucks. but i never felt more terrible when she stood up slowly and turned to hobble away with her granddaughter. i couldnt concentrate anymore after that and left.

now, im still thinking bout it. i know it wasnt my fault that she misread her hand. but the look on her face, the whole image, i dunno how to put it. i just feel so guilty.

poker's a cutthroat game. no room for emotions. i understand that. but... is it wrong to still have a conscience when playin poker....?

I played a tournament with a man in a wheelchair.

Everyone else treated him differently because of his predicament, folding much more to weaker bets and playing a lot more "sympatheticaly" than they had been before he came to the table.

As far as I could pick up he had nothing wrong with his mind nor the arms he used to play those cards and so I knocked him out.

I was kind of disgusted by how everyone else on my tables game had changed due to a (apparently) physical disadvantage.

However those who may not have the tight/strategic advantage due to whatever (either inebreated, beginner or slow) then I feel not at all guilty because its normally these people who make unlikely calls and get lucky.

I always get knocked out by first time drunks.

Yeah you can't have a conscience for aparent Dissadvantages or you will get no where. thats where online deffinately has advantages.

Ummm sweetie...remember that 'lil old lady was trying her best to take YOUR money.

At the poker table, show no mercy, there are no friends. Away from the table, that's a different story.

... and herein lies one of the many beauties of online poker.

that was my grandmother, u ruined her..............
nah, seriously, no conscience/sympathy at the tables, they wanna play, then i wanna take their money.

Be ruthless, people choose to play poker. Your obligation to yourself is to clean them out .

Heh, probleably i whould feel same as you, its not best way how to win, just becouse she cant see well, thats very sad. Thats a poker and there is no place for sad emotions about your enemy, if can call she like that Just like some1 tryed to bluff you with talking... look on it from the right side, if she were there and played on that money, in my opinion she have a lot more money to spend

The fact that you are bothered by the incident with the old lady shows you have a lot of humanity.

But, when you baby people you are in the long run hurting them because you are giving them false confidence. I hoped she learned a big lesson.

Personally, I think poker tables need to be redesigned so it's easier to see the community cards. Mirrors or video monitors might help. But when you have bad eyes like I do and like that old lady probably did, and are on the side, it causes problems. Add to that they need to go to four-color cards.

As to the old lady, there's nothing wrong with taking her money at the poker table. And there's nothing wrong with, after the game, giving her a little stake to help her on her way. The two can be completely separate.

Like someone sad, she was there to take your money. So feel for her after the fact,, but take her money.
C'ya'll

It's hard, but I treat everyone at the table the same, even it it's close family. If not, you won't make any money, and would only be playing for fun.

I wouldn't feel that bad about it. She chose to play the game. It is not your fault that she misread the cards. I think this is just part of poker...

yea that must been really hard for u but in poker u cant let it get to u

u have to just play your game and not give anyone any special treatment, u know unless your at a home game playing with your own grandma or ma but at a casino no way lol

I totally understand how you feel, tbh I prob woulda folded, been tempted to online sometimes at some of the avatars of old ppl. I just convince myself it is someone young putting up a pic like that to get sympathy, lol.

You bastard. I read about this. Seems the little old lady had a heart attack after going to the casino. She lost the money she needed for some special heart drugs. I hope you sleep well tonight.

Ehh, you see enough little old ladies winning jackpot after jackpot on the slots. About time one lost some money!

Like all of us, we are there to win, but when one wins, another has to lose, and we have all been on the losing end as well.

She sat down with her own money and made a horrible mistake of misreading her cards. Don't get down on yourself. If she took it to heart that much, she never should have been playing with that much in the first place.

u cant feel guilty about that. Its not your fault she read her cards wrong.

It's nice of you to feel a little badly. But she had hobbled over to the cage and got hundreds of dollars of chips and sat down at your table and proceeded to play with that money. If she could not afford it, her granddaughter should have steered her to the $1 limit table.

The community cards are, in fact, hard to see for those of us with old eyes. Some places have larger-faced cards, but most are small enough that I do a lot of standing and leaning over to see the dang things. It is not optimal, and is one of the reasons I prefer to play online. Howeveer, she chose to be there, and chose to play that hand as she did. And she lost. So be it.

Who knows, she might not have even been an old lady at all. Are you certain about that?

yeah its good to feel kinda bad about it, you ruined some old lady's night. you may as well have clothes lined her out on the street and then bounced off someone's car and hulk hogan leg dropped her WELL YOU KNOW WHAT MENE GEEEEN LET ME TELL YOUUUUU SOMTHINNNN BROTHERRRRR! but really, i gotta laugh. there's no telling if she thought a small straight of some kind was acceptable or if she even fully understood the rules. passing up a QQ just to make some old lady feel better would have left you in regret. i'm sure you weren't even remotely nervous when the king hit the river. it sounds to me like she had the money to lose, and was going to play the first hand all the way to the end no matter what. she basically did a donkey thing, calling all the way down with a 53. you know, maybe i would have slipped her a few chips back after immediately feeling bad...but then i would have gone home and immediately imitated her saying 'straight' to my friends over and over again till we potty pants danced. my family played a nl holdem game once...i'm not sure what for. you know who was the first to go out? my grandmother...who called every hand and every bet all the way to the end no matter what she had...this story made me think of that. she probably just had no idea and just wanted to try it. come on now, everybody repeat after me, in your old lady voice ...'straight' hahahah! don't call me insensitive either. i'mma use that in a CC freeroll, remind me. i might call you down with a gutshot or open ended that doesn't happen and go 'wtf...straight!'

Yeah, coulda been Phil Laak.

Seriously, I would have felt really bad too -- but as others have said, she was there to take your money as well. It's unfortunate that she lost so much because of poor play and poor eyesight, but not your fault.

Yes, there's a place for a conscience in poker. It would be scary if none of us had one. But if you're simply playing the game with other willing participants, you can't let someone else's losses bother you too much, even if they're at your hands -- especially if they're at your hands, or it will (and did) impede your game.

Last time I was in Vegas I was in a pot with a man who told me with apparent sincerity to fold if I valued my money. This was on the river after I'd fired on the flop and turn with top pair, then checked the river and appeared to be considering a call of his bet (though I was going to fold anyway). I did fold and he showed me I was beat. Some people take it a little easy on me at the table because I've been told I look sweet and innocent. But I'd have been happy to stack the guy, nice as he may have been.

Granny would have also been pleased to have taken all your chips, and probably plays up the oldie image to her advantage at least a little if she's smart. You'll never know whether it was a tragic case of her gambling away her social security check, but don't let it haunt you. Every player is there of their own free will and makes their own choices -- and mistakes.

He wasn't trying to do you any favors. He was trying to act strong hoping that you would take that as a bluff (when weak, act strong routine) but he was playing mind games with you.

Are you sure you were'nt on a hidden camera show.....Maybe they were seeing who would give the chips back to her. Being serious though, you did nothing wrong. I would feel a little guilty though too.

You can feel bad, but let it go. But if she went there to play, she is an adult who is aware of the risk. Her granddaughter will hopefully figure out that it's not a good idea to bring her there.

I feel a bit strange playing with players I know can't afford it. At our home games we tend not to invite those friends, but if they insist, I am totally taking their money.

lmao, he took her pension/welfare away. She needed that $800 for cat food, god dam u!!

Read my quote below.... She's an idiot to b gamgling if she cant see/read the cards properly, spesh $800...thats alot for a granny innit? O.o

Let's face it. Anybody who has been in a casino, Keno parlor, race track, off track betting, or other gambling venue has seen people who look like they can't afford to gamble. But, it's their choice. As long as they meet the minimum standards of age, behaviour, and personal hygiene, nobody is going to prevent them from losing everything they own. The same applies to online poker and casinos, except for the personal hygiene part.

When you get older and less mobile, there are less things for you to do. A casino, for example, is a great place to go when you want to get out of your four walls and be entertained. You get out with people, have some excitement, get drinks delivered, have a good meal, and maybe see a show. If you have trouble getting around, there will always be someone there to help you when you need it. They want you to have a good time so that you'll come back.

The elderly lady and the granddaughter that started this thread is a good example. We have to assume that this lady had plenty of money. Why? If she didn't, and if I were the grandchild, I would make darn sure that nana wasn't blowing my inheritance at the casino. Was misreading her hand a silly mistake? Absolutely, but I saw the same thing happen with a pro at the WSOP. If I remember correctly, it was Mike Matusow.

I don't play a lot of poker in B&M casinos but I do have one rule. If I'm not willing to take every last nickel from every player at the table, I won't sit down.

My only problem is that I haven't yet figured out how to get all "last nickels" after I sit down.

I so empathize with you I would probably had a problem with my conscious too they say you cant let ur feelings get in the way but we are after all down to the very basic human beings filled with all sorts of emotions both good and bad and with a conscious so how could that not affect you at least a little. Just dont go to hard on yourself because it is at the end of the day just a game and she will live to lay again another day. Pe@ce.

There is no way I would ever feel guilty of taking someones money at the poker table. Ihave never seen anyone misread cards live but I am sure I would get over it. Online however while multi tabling different games (NLHE and O8) I have forgot in the O8 game that I needed to play 2 cards from my hand and saw four suited in the community cards with me holding the ace and instinctly called only to lose and have to go to hand history to find out why before it dawned on me my mistake.

Please tell me where this casino is........

not ur fault...
omg thers so many old ladie that have no exitment exept gambling!!!omg my great granny 90 she so ANNOYING!!!!!
she wanna go to gamble all the time..she only playes slots though.
anyway..forget about her dood!

Reminds me of my mom calling me down with J10s - hitting nothing - just to (quote) "keep you honest".

Hello,

I agree with you about feeling badly.

She made a mistake. That's the way it goes however the biggest mistake she made was calling your preflop raise with 3-5?

Have a nice day, you did nothing wrong poker wise!

Gotta agree with the general group - I know it's hard when you've got someone who pulls the heartstrings, but the game is separate from the human component. You can have compassion as a human, but you've gotta play poker as a poker player. Think about all the pros who are good friends with each other but who play cutthroat to win at the table.

I began playing live tournament poker at the pool hall with a group that was dominantly elderly (60 and older).. I have built an immunity to go soft on them. They will take you for all you are worth!!

Seriously though, do not feel bad! This reminds me what my trainer told me after I lost my first fight. In my first MMA fight, I ended up losing in the 2nd round by a choke. I hardly threw a punch throughout the whole fight, and relied on my throws and takedowns, and went for submissions. At one point in the fight, I had my opponent in a full mount and could have ended it at the end of the 1st by pummelling my opponent for a TKO. I hesistated, because I would have felt bad for actually hurting him.

After the fight, my trainer gave me some tips, told me what I was doing right and what I was doing wrong, but most importantly, what he said was, "Don't worry about hurting your opponent. You both know what you're getting into, and he didn't hesistate to hit you, did he?"

What I'm trying to say is, 70 or not, that lady knew what she was getting into by sitting down at the table and risking her money. She would have done the same thing to you if she got the chance.

Well it's better she lost the money at the poker table then in those worthless money sucking slot machines you see retirees playing all the time. At least in poker even a bad player wins some times.

I understand how you feel, I think its something that a poker player have overcome to be a better player overall. I doubt she will feel bad if she took that $800 pot. In poker you only look out for one person and that's yourself.