I will say that I find this a real topic. People play the game of poker for many different reasons. One example from my experience was in a bar tournament in the basement of a bar, with a $50 buy in, with re-entries for the first hour.
There were around 50 players, first was around $1200, second about $800 I believe. I was at the final table against a very unrefined player, as most bar players are, but I knew him, he works for the local telephone company burying lines and such. Any way, at the final table with about 5 left, we got in to a pot, where I had top pair, with a gut shot and a flush draw. I got myself pot committed, and the player simply did not understand how someone could call ANY amount of money without a made hand, particularly if you put the opponent on a hand that is ahead of yours, but have to call.
I told him I put him on the over pair, and had made the mistake of trying to push him off it before the river on a very threatening board.
The
hands turn over and the money is in, I hit my flush. The guy is shaking, was literally spitting mad when he saw my call after putting him on his hand, AA. He pounded his fists off the table and looked me dead in the eye. His face turned bright red, and his shaking continued, as a stream of blood started rolling out of his nose. His wife grabbed him around the shoulders and people pulled him back. I wasn't scared, I could take him, I just wish he hadn't taken it so personally. But he said at the top of his lungs, "What?!! I play this game to feel something!"
He was playing to feel an extreme, to feel the emotion of competition, beyond reason. Meta thoughts, calculating
odds, and bet sizes, it has nothing to do with the player trying to feel a rush. And I feel that as a poker community it is important to be aware of the different players, and respect and appreciate each of them, even beyond unflattering actions. Not even to simply see them as prey, but to be happy someone else is excited to play the game of poker, and get in there and "bore around a lil' bit" as the bar regulars used to commonly exclaim.
I feel that for someone who wishes to be a leader in poker, and gain respect, controlling your emotions are a big part of earning that. We all have to respect the players that bring the hype, and bring the emotion, even as we dismantle them, but they should never lead to us compromising our own self-respect...
Just my 2 cents...