I trust the ladies have a pair of a lot of things (barring any type of deformity or amputation)…eyes, ears, nostrils, arms, legs, front teeth, thumbs, big toes, gonads, nipples, brain lobes, kidneys, split personalities (j/k)…etc. Same as the guys. A pair is a pair is a pair. Balls and breasts and fallopian tubes, etc…is just a side issue…let’s ask them anyways and see what they say.
I thought Williamson muttered something along the lines of “Should I call this guy?” to the railbirds and before any of them responded, Shiekhan reacted and she immediately left the railbirds and responded “They didn’t tell me anything.” or something of the sort. I practically watched the whole main event over the 6-8 hour period on ESPN on Thanksgiving while drinking wine and beer and helping my wife with cooking the turkey and other yummy things, so maybe I was SLIGHTLY distracted.
Hellmuth doesn’t ask the railbirds anything, but he does get up and walk around mid-hand to ponder on occasion, muttering to himself within an armslength of the railbirds…and that seems ok etiquette as long as there is no perceived interaction with them…that’s Hellmuth being Hellmuth. Williamson IMHO went one step beyond that and she was perceived as discussing her hand with someone else (regardless if it is a player, official, or a railbird), and sharing your hand with someone is a no-no, even though she didn’t get that point, it can be reasonably assumed that she might have done it in the eyes of the other players and officials.
All poker players pay their own way - that is, they are responsible for paying the entry fees into tournaments and providing the cash that is gambled with in cash games. I would argue that once you pony up the entry fees that you are licensed, in effect.
Also, the Supreme Court ruled in 1987 that gambling constituted a business which meant the IRS had to accept the fact that some people were in fact professional gamblers. That cite is from an interesting article on whether you should tell the IRS you’re a pro or not.
I see asterion is sporting the “Kick Me!” sign on his forehead. Word of advice, asterion… You don’t want Aholibah on your case.
(Man, I hope the mods don’t cream me for fixing the coding in that quote)
As I remember it, she got up and started walking toward the rail. I don’t remember her saying anything at that point. Sheikhan said something like “hey lady, you can’t do that, I object to that” and she turned around and headed back to the table saying something like “I didn’t say anything.” But I don’t clearly remember her comment, despite not having been distracted by either a wife or a turkey. I’m sure ESPN will run it seven or eight hundred more times within the next week so if we’re all so desperate to get the exact quote it shouldn’t be too long a wait.
I don’t object to Sheikhan’s heading her off from the rail either. But he apparently decided that she was beneath contempt either then or soon thereafter and started behaving very poorly.
Sorry, but why not (“ethically” speaking)? Live poker is a battle of wits, and I’ll seek to gain an advantage any way I can. I certainly don’t expect anyone to believe me if I declare my hand, I see it as part of the bluffing and tactics inherent in the game. As others have said, this convention seems to be regularly flouted even when explicitly stated in the rules for the event. I would draw the line at making comments once you have folded, however - I can see why that’s unfair and frowned upon. But with live cards, I enjoy the table talk.
