Why did I lose it? I lost it simply because I asked my tablemates to "Please" be quiet for a moment?--during a key hand, and they continued to talk. If my tablemates did in fact go on talking after I asked for silence, then by TDA (Tournament Directors Association) rules they would be assessed a twenty minute penalty, and be forced to hold their tongues and/or leave the room. Did they really talk out of turn after I requested silence? At the time I felt like they had, and I wanted a ruling from show producer and long time poker player Morey Eskandani.
I asked Eskandani what penalties were in place to prevent blatant violations of the rules and etiquette of poker tournaments. He stated that they had no penalties in place as of yet, but that they would put some in place soon. This answer didn't sit with me too well--as my blood was boiling and I just wanted justice for the actions of Sheikhan, in particular. So I threatened to give up playing on future shows, and I got into it a bit verbally with Sheikhan. Finally, not feeling like justice had been served; I stormed off the set--only to return twenty minutes later.
At the time I felt like my tantrum was, at least in part, justified. Upon further review (when I saw the show), I saw a lot of innocent stuff going on. First Zolotow asked the players at the table to let me think, well before things went sideways. Duke, who was involved in the hand, never said a single word. Seed and Hansen were laughing and joking in a totally innocent matter, not fully realizing that I was in fact looking for complete silence. And even Sheikhan was as innocent as he is capable of being in that situation (although he did eventually open his mouth). It seems that I was the one who crossed the line here, and I apologize to everyone involved; and to all of the television viewers--for my conduct.
