Looking in the mirror

I have to admit I watched the broadcast of my Late Night Stars of Poker heat with a mixture of trepidation nd curiosity. The trepidation was down to the fact that having been on TV before (though not for poker) I fully understand that the power of editting can make a man look like a monk or a monkey. While I couldn't remember any glaring errors, I did realise that a few of the marginal decisions could easily be spun one way or the other in the commentary. Luckily, I think both the editor and the commentary were by and large kind.

The curiosity arose from the chance to see myself for the first time ever at a poker table as I appear to others. I think one of my strengths as a poker player from the start has having an acute sense of my table image at any particular point or with a specific opponent, but of course it's always been a fairly macro "He thinks I'm a rock who only plays big cards" or "He saw me shove Q4o down in Waterford with this kind of stack" view and I've never had the chance to stare myself down and see what others can see. It was something of a relief to be able to confirm that there are no obvious tells. The one surprise to me was how obvious it was that I watch my opponents carefully when I'm in a hand. I mean, I obviously know that I do this, it's a conscious decision, but I was perhaps not aware of how obvious it would be to other observant players at the table. One of the advantages of sunglasses is you can stare at people more discreetly, so maybe I should start wearing them again.

In other news, my connection is in bits at the moment, rendering online play -Ev. Eircom are sending out a technician: a neighbour had a look and could see the problem but not the solution.

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