Mis-regs - A significant problem? (1 Viewer)

[Mojo1312]

I haven't seen anyone post a thread addressing this subject, so I am wondering if my experience is isolated or if it has become an issue for others?

Two local mis-regs destroyed the dealer's choice game at the private bowling club late last fall. By destroy, I mean the board permanently bought the game to an end.

There is a separate mis-reg at the weekly NLHE $1/$2 home game I play in that is sucking what little joy I get from playing hold-em. He never gives it a rest. Throughout the night he will attack, berate and tear down players for the way they play their hands - particularly against him. Sometimes his criticisms turn ugly. One regular who has to travel an hour to play removed himself from the list last week. I am close to following suit.

 

[cpac54]

With regards to being disrespectful to other players, I’ve got that pretty clearly outlined in my House rules. Being rude or disrespectful to others is a one way ticket to never being invited to my home game again. Zero tolerance for that shit in a home setting, especially my home.

That said, not an issue in my group.

 

[krafticus]

What’s a mis-reg?

 

[NotRealNameNoSir]

Mis-reg, miserable regulars. Those that think they're better than everyone else, call themselves poker players but seem so unhappy to be there.

Miserable regulars should be a casino only problem. Stop inviting those that are rude or uncomfortable to be around. Get them outta there.

I said Not a Problem but the only time I see it is when I go to the free bar leagues lately, people rolling their eyes or telling others how to play. We're sitting in a bar playing for gift cards, relax, I hit a set, it happens.

 

[LowerBama1714]

Misfit regular?…douche bagular?

 

[krafticus]

What’s a mis-reg?

Honestly, i didn’t know. I don’t have them in my game or the other ones close by.

 

[Moxie Mike]

I am wondering if my experience is isolated or if it has become an issue for others?

Not an issue in the games I host. About a year ago I had to ban a new guy who berated my dealer. The guy who vouched for him is also no longer allowed to introduce new people to the game. But that's about it.

He never gives it a rest. Throughout the night he will attack, berate and tear down players for the way they play their hands - particularly against him. Sometimes his criticisms turn ugly.

Sounds like a bully. There are many ways you could go about dealing with this - my personal preference is to stand up to bullies but everyone is different. Avoidance works too but doesn't really address the problem.

Honestly, i didn’t know. I don’t have them in my game or the other ones close by.

Yeah man this is a pretty easy problem to identify and solve if you're the host. Sounds like weak leadership is allowing this to persist.

 

[dizzyChipper]

Mis-reg, miserable regulars. Those that think they're better than everyone else, call themselves poker players but seem so unhappy to be there.

Miserable regulars should be a casino only problem. Stop inviting those that are rude or uncomfortable to be around. Get them outta there.

This. Casino problem. Shouldn't be a private game problem. First tell them not to tap the glass, to just be personable and print. If that doesnt work theyre off the list.

 

[mdt11]

This. Casino problem. Shouldn't be a private game problem. First tell them not to tap the glass, to just be personable and print. If that doesnt work theyre off the list.

My experience with mis-regs is that they can’t be “personable and print.” Because they’re not actually winners. They just think they are.

The source of their misery is the constant losing, which they think is due to suck outs, others playing poorly and getting lucky, etc… but is really because the game has passed them by and they refuse to change. So they’d rather take out their frustrations on others instead of changing their game or growing as a player, because that means admitting that they aren’t as good as they think they are.

 

[NotRealNameNoSir]

My experience with mis-regs is that they can’t be “personable and print.” Because they’re not actually winners. They just think they are.

The source of their misery is the constant losing, which they think is due to suck outs, others playing poorly and getting lucky, etc… but is really because the game has passed them by and they refuse to change. So they’d rather take out their frustrations on others instead of changing their game or growing as a player, because that means admitting that they aren’t as good as they think they are.

Bingo. New players or old players, either way they feel entitled to a pot. Insecure about their play so they have to tell all of us what they're doing and how they'll get a hand and bust us so we stop that dang raising before the flop.

I catch myself caring about what other people think at the poker table and try to remedy it, especially in a casino setting. No use trying to explain my play or talk strategy with people I'll never see again. Free tavern poker, tight lady raises 5 bb preflop when she never raises; I call with K4s because its A) free poker and we're deep to start, B) I know she has JJ-AA, and C) if I catch 2pair or flush its all going in. Flop comes and I hit my 2pair, all goes in eventually, she berates me. Am I gonna spend any breath explaining implied odds to the woman who called with JJ all the way to the river shove with an Ace and King on the board? No, I'm gonna shrug and say it was suited and move on.

 

[Frogzilla]

Misregs are fun to stack and they usually aren’t amazing at poker. Ever bluff a
misreg, flash someone next to you the cards then try to muck, knowing the misreg is going to miserably complain “show one show all!!!”. Ok fine see the bluff. We all laugh now. It’s very fun.

Would be annoying if it’s breaking the game though. I dunno

 

[Mojo1312]

It is next to impossible to control the player roster in a members only club that anyone in the community can join.

What strains credulity, is how the game came to an abrupt end. JMH, a very successful business man, accomplished golfer and treasurer of the aforementioned venue loves to spread his wealth around at the card table while buying drinks for the players. How wonderful!

Every home game would be thrilled to have one or two like him. The host and every other regular would go to lengths to make such a person feel welcome.

JMH will sit and play a couple of hours every week like clockwork, long enough to buy a couple of rounds for the table and lose two or thee hundred dollars.

Ideal. What could possibly go wrong? Well, JMH likes to play lit up and loose. If he sees a path to victory, he is apt to call you down. (However thin the path, depends on the number of drinks he has consumed that evening.)

The game is, was dealer's choice and it is was structured to be friendly - $1/$1 NLHE or PLO, or $8/$16 FL hold-em or Omaha-hi.

He and the former VP of the club, a hothead in his late 30's who was down $600, got involved in a $8/$16 FL hand of Omaha. JMH flopped a naked inside straight draw and the latter flopped top set. Our hothead raised every street, but couldn't get JMH to fold. The inside straight draw came in on the river. Fireworks ensued.

Mr. Hothead jumps out of his seat and yells "You called me down with nothing but an inside straight draw!" followed by a string of choice expletives loud enough for all on the floor to hear. He didn't stop there however, he had to go on venting his wrath like a temperamental baby who dropped their binky.

This scene carried on until another player in their 60's responded by forcefully slamming both fists on the table while simultaneously hollering out: Shut up and sit down!

It is important to note, that preceding the events of that game, we had received fair warning two or three weeks earlier that any future outbursts could lead to the game being shut down. Everyone playing that night was aware of the fragile state of the game. But alas, a little self control proved to be a bridge too far -- even for the former VP of the club.

 

[surfik]

Cement socks should sove your problems.....

 

[detroitdad]

What’s a mis-reg?

That was going to be my question.

If I don't have fun playing with you, I simply stop inviting you to my game. My house, my rules.

 

[NotRealNameNoSir]

That guy isn't happy in life.

You say it's next to impossible to stop him from playing but it sounds like that was your only option.

 

[Mojo1312]

That guy isn't happy in life.

You say it's next to impossible to stop him from playing but it sounds like that was your only option.

I presented my case for banning troublemakers who are incapable of being civil rather than shit-canning the game, but from their perspective the easiest solution is to simply not allow us to play cards.

There are picture of the original bowling club on their Facebook page. Built around the turn of the century, the club had a dedicated card room along with a pool room on the second floor. The building was set on fire by an arsonist in 1959. My understanding is that card playing tradition continued up until the great recession. Hard times coupled with the advent of the digital age kept people at home -- ushering in the end of the game.

Members in their 60's and older often talk and reminisce about how great the card games were in the 80's, 90's and early two-thousand odds. These recollections provided the catalyst for rebooting the game. Fixed limit for the OG's and NL/PL for the Moneymaker crowd.

Couldn't make it work because of two hotheads and a poor loser in his eighties who would turn on everyone when he wasn't running well.

 

[Jimulacrum]

The best solution is to 86 anyone who acts out like this (presumably after a warning or two). Not even a close decision.

Sounds like that was not an option here, and instead of losing one stupid bully, you lost the entire game. Tragic.

One approach I like for people like this, in a cardroom where they won't be ejected, is to calmly, passive-aggressively antagonize, ideally without raising my voice or even directly addressing the offender. The goal is to overload the emotionally uncontrolled bully with calculated bullying. This is kinda the social nuclear option for me, short of yelling at him until he cries.

IDIOT, standing up and flailing arms: "Blah blah inside straight! Blah blah you're such a fish, Fish!"
ME, to FISH, with my body halfway angled at IDIOT so he knows I'm directing it at him: "Don't worry about Idiot. He just acts like this because he never wins at this game. Maybe someday he'll get those two brain cells close enough to rub them together."

[a few hands later]
FISH calls a bet against IDIOT.
ME: "Careful, Fish. Remember last time you beat this guy out of a pot and he threw a toddler-level bitch fit about it."
IDIOT begins a stupid rant.
ME [deadpan, without looking at him, in a deep and commanding tone]: "No one was talking to you, sir."

Lather, rinse, repeat until the guy is so bent out of shape he has to go take a cold shower. Do it well enough and maybe he never comes back. Solid approach for anyone you catch angle shooting or otherwise acting unethical at the table. Just talk openly and out loud about the person's behavior, to other people.

Don't be afraid of him attacking you physically. Most people who act like this are total pussies.

 

[dizzyChipper]

The best solution is to 86 anyone who acts out like this (presumably after a warning or two). Not even a close decision.

Sounds like that was not an option here, and instead of losing one stupid bully, you lost the entire game. Tragic.

One approach I like for people like this, in a cardroom where they won't be ejected, is to calmly, passive-aggressively antagonize, ideally without raising my voice or even directly addressing the offender. The goal is to overload the emotionally uncontrolled bully with calculated bullying. This is kinda the social nuclear option for me, short of yelling at him until he cries.

IDIOT, standing up and flailing arms: "Blah blah inside straight! Blah blah you're such a fish, Fish!"
ME, to FISH, with my body halfway angled at IDIOT so he knows I'm directing it at him: "Don't worry about Idiot. He just acts like this because he never wins at this game. Maybe someday he'll get those two brain cells close enough to rub them together."

[a few hands later]
FISH calls a bet against IDIOT.
ME: "Careful, Fish. Remember last time you beat this guy out of a pot and he threw a toddler-level bitch fit about it."
IDIOT begins a stupid rant.
ME [deadpan, without looking at him, in a deep and commanding tone]: "No one was talking to you, sir."

Lather, rinse, repeat until the guy is so bent out of shape he has to go take a cold shower. Do it well enough and maybe he never comes back. Solid approach for anyone you catch angle shooting or otherwise acting unethical at the table. Just talk openly and out loud about the person's behavior, to other people.

Don't be afraid of him attacking you physically. Most people who act like this are total pussies.

If you are looking for side jobs?

Help Wanted: Calculated antagonizer of mis-regs.

 

[CraigT78]

We love it when @Frogzilla comes to play. So if say mis-regs are great for the game!!

 

[Jimulacrum]

If you are looking for side jobs?

Help Wanted: Calculated antagonizer of mis-regs.

Works in a lot of situations where aggressive hostility is not viable. People who run their mouths are surprisingly vulnerable to words.

 

[Budha]

I haven't seen anyone post a thread addressing this subject, so I am wondering if my experience is isolated or if it has become an issue for others?

Two local mis-regs destroyed the dealer's choice game at the private bowling club late last fall. By destroy, I mean the board permanently bought the game to an end.

There is a separate mis-reg at the weekly NLHE $1/$2 home game I play in that is sucking what little joy I get from playing hold-em. He never gives it a rest. Throughout the night he will attack, berate and tear down players for the way they play their hands - particularly against him. Sometimes his criticisms turn ugly. One regular who has to travel an hour to play removed himself from the list last week. I am close to following suit.

Does everyone just sit there silently while this jack-wagon goes off on people….?

 

[mdt11]

The best solution is to 86 anyone who acts out like this (presumably after a warning or two). Not even a close decision.

Sounds like that was not an option here, and instead of losing one stupid bully, you lost the entire game. Tragic.

One approach I like for people like this, in a cardroom where they won't be ejected, is to calmly, passive-aggressively antagonize, ideally without raising my voice or even directly addressing the offender. The goal is to overload the emotionally uncontrolled bully with calculated bullying. This is kinda the social nuclear option for me, short of yelling at him until he cries.

IDIOT, standing up and flailing arms: "Blah blah inside straight! Blah blah you're such a fish, Fish!"
ME, to FISH, with my body halfway angled at IDIOT so he knows I'm directing it at him: "Don't worry about Idiot. He just acts like this because he never wins at this game. Maybe someday he'll get those two brain cells close enough to rub them together."

[a few hands later]
FISH calls a bet against IDIOT.
ME: "Careful, Fish. Remember last time you beat this guy out of a pot and he threw a toddler-level bitch fit about it."
IDIOT begins a stupid rant.
ME [deadpan, without looking at him, in a deep and commanding tone]: "No one was talking to you, sir."

Lather, rinse, repeat until the guy is so bent out of shape he has to go take a cold shower. Do it well enough and maybe he never comes back. Solid approach for anyone you catch angle shooting or otherwise acting unethical at the table. Just talk openly and out loud about the person's behavior, to other people.

Don't be afraid of him attacking you physically. Most people who act like this are total pussies.

Want to join our game? Have a seat open for next week!