Pool and poker have always gone hand-in-hand, both serving as vehicles for gambling where a skilled player has an advantage and, in the right situation, can be profitable over time. The other night, I watched “The Color of Money,” in which Tom Cruise is an up-and-coming pool player with a lot of talent and Tom Newman is a wizened veteran trying to show him the ropes.

Earlier in the day, I read a back-and-forth between a few poker players about table image and how their actions at the table impacted their bottom line. Much like Tom Cruise’s character in the movie, they were missing the big picture.

The general idea the poker players were discussing was that they could come into a game and be very quiet, not say anything, and fade into the background, allowing themselves to play more pots without seeming like much of an active player. Or, inversely, they could be the life of the party and play tight to make it seem like they were looser than they actually were. The general consensus seemed to be that keeping a low profile and “getting away with more” was the way to go.

I don’t even want to get into the actual merit of the strategy. For the sake of argument, let’s assume that it would have the impact desired and, in the short-term, gain slight equity for the player. It’s like in the movie when Tom Cruise wins a $150 off a guy shooting pool, but in the process runs off a player who would have been happy to lose $5,000 and kills his action all over town. In pool, it’s about the hustle; in poker, it is about making the game fun.

There are plenty of people who just like to play and are happy to lose along the way for the entertainment value. Take the entertainment away, make the game as dull as watching paint dry, and those players will find their entertainment elsewhere. You’ll be left with a table full of people who can’t and won’t lose very much and are, like you, doing all they can to maximize their edge. While you may be able to beat them, you won’t be able to beat them by nearly as much as you can the player who is just playing for fun.

A few players can get away with pulling up their hoods and going into their shell, but if the trend continues, those players are going to find the games getting harder. The recreational players will retreat and gravitate back to private games where the environment is fun and the goal is a whole lot more than just maximizing your edge.

This is a topic I think about regularly and that is extremely important to the long-term vitality of the game. Poker is not a zero-sum game. The house has to take in at least enough to cover the cost of running the game; dealers and other staff have to get paid. All of that money has to come into the game from somewhere.

A table full of players who are, or expect to be, long-term winning players doesn’t supply the flow of money needed to keep things going. The players who think they are winning players but aren’t can sustain a game for a while, but those players don’t tend to last as long or play as big as the players who have accepted losing as part of the cost of an event, just like going to a nice dinner and a show might cost them.

The more you think of yourself as a pro and the more you plan to make playing poker, the more you have an obligation and vested interest in doing what you can to keep the games going and making sure the right kinds of players keep coming back. Please don’t take the strategy of pulling up the hood and sitting in silence for hours.

Court Harrington has worked on the business side of the poker industry in roles including tournament reporting for PocketFives, radio hosting for PokerRoad Radio, coaching for the WSOP Academy and privately, and a variety of behind-the-scenes responsibilities for poker media businesses. He also plays in cash games and tournaments. Harrington is currently doing consulting work and exploring business opportunities outside of the poker industry. You can contact him at Court@CourtHarrington.com.

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