It’s not a new problem, not at all.  But it’s been this player’s observation that in the last five years or so, the syndrome has grown and expanded its reach.  Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised, considering how politicians and media stars throw it out there.  Big egos and delusions of grandeur are the name of the game these days.  And hey, all the guys do it on the WSOP Main Event, so it must be cool, right?  Lately, I’ve even been noticing more and more women who suffer from this condition.  They seem to think they will be struck by lightning if they crack a smile at any time.  Actually speak to you?  Hell no! You might not think they were the Albert Einsteins they are in their own minds if they did that.  They are good at glaring and disdaining, however: that, they have down to a science.

If you are a player of long standing and this is your modus operandi, I doubt you are going to change.  If you are newer to the game, however, let me throw a few thoughts out for you to consider:

1)  The old trite expression about “assuming” has some truth to it

When you’ve played this game as many years as I have, you hold one truth to be self-evident:  you do not ever assume that anyone at your table is as dumb as you would like to think they are.  We are all held hostage by a wide variety of pre-programmed stereotypes in our own heads.  They may be different for different people, but no one is immune.  Become aware of your own, and question their validity.  It is extremely popular, for example, for men to automatically assume that attractive women must be stupid and have no clue what they are doing.  The truth is, one has no bearing on the other.  There are hideously ugly players who are idiots, and gorgeous ones who play well.  For some reason, it is easier for many men to attribute intelligence to other men than to any woman they encounter.  Perhaps it is wishful thinking.  For sure, it is, as Stuart Smalley used to say, “stinkin’ thinkin’.”  Namely, it will get your tush caught in a sling more often than not.

2)  Age and treachery do indeed often outsmart youth and skill

Most sayings become chestnuts because they have held up in veracity through the ages.  Consider this, if you are of the younger category:  those who are older than you have been your age before; you, on the other hand, have never yet been theirs.  Therefore (hard as this is to believe for many who are under 30!), they may actually know a little bit more about life and situations and how to read people than you give them credit for.  Few will have just taken up poker the year before; most have been playing for decades.  They’re apparently not broke yet, so give them some props, or they may show you their skills by taking your chips.  The man who took down the Seniors event at 2010 WSOP was 78 years old, had never been on a computer, and outlasted 3100 players over a three-day event to win almost half a million.  Oh yes, I can already see some of you smirking, chuckling that he “only” beat a field of people past the age of 50.  That field included long-time pros such as Hoyt Corkins, David Sklansky, Susie Isaacs, T.J. Cloutier, and Tom Schneider, not to mention a whole bunch of Vietnam vets who survived sniper attacks and months in the jungle back in the day.  And did you notice there were no reports of any obnoxious young guys (or girls) crashing this event, the way several boys did the Ladies Event this year?  Perhaps intuitively, they knew they would be picked up by their collective pants’ seats, and thrown out the back door of the Rio into the parking lot, had they tried.

3)  At the end of the day, being a self-important snot really doesn’t help you make money or collect tourney chips

Let’s give you the benefit of the doubt, and say you really are the most brilliant player to hit the game since Daniel Negreanu.  Why on earth would you want to let people know how good you really are?  Wouldn’t it be far more profitable to act the fool, if you are going to talk at all?  Telling people how great you are, how amazing your math skills are, making power play moves against anyone and everyone (no matter what cards you have,) or generally acting like a pompous ass will only do one of two things:  either you won’t get the calls you want (because players are intimidated by you), or you will get called down repeatedly (because they are excited by the possibility of knocking you out).  Save it for when you negotiate an online pro contract, if you must.  To be anything but deceitful at a poker table is foolish and counter-productive.

4)  A lack of humility is a lot like carrying explosives:  sooner or later, you are likely to go down with your own firepower

Of course, skill and experience count in poker.  But let’s be honest:  there is a good deal of luck involved as well, particularly in tournaments.  You need to suck out with the worst hand once or twice, make a number of successful bluff-steals, and of course, have your pat hands hold up against your opponents’ one or two (or 16) outters.  But what about all those pros who seem to cash deep in tourney after tourney, you say?  Not to take away from their play in any way, but remember they are also playing in hundreds of events a year, often not on their own bankroll.  They also have the comfort of plenty of extracurricular income from endorsements and backers, allowing them to, at times, make moves that a less well-funded player might think four times before doing.   And even with all that, we have all seen pros or semi-pros make anything from bad to unfathomable moves or calls in major events with thousands or millions of dollars at stake.  Remember that not only can anyone get lucky on the right day against you, they can also outplay even a very good player once you start thinking they can’t.  An attitude of careful caution and regulated respect for everyone at the table will almost always serve you well.

5)  Class and good manners are never a bad concept

Maybe it started when poker was being played in the saloons of the Wild West:  this idea that being boorish, rude and offensive somehow enhances your game.  It doesn’t; it simply makes you look like an oaf.  Even someone as colorful and successful as Phil Hellmuth wears tiresome somewhere down the road.  Certainly, his skill at the game has nothing to do with his tendency to insult other players, (often when he is already beaten,) and I, for one, am surprised that no one has ever thrown a glass of booze in his face after one of his personally directed, insulting tirades.  Leave the 14-year-old kid at home, and bring your Indoor Manners to the table.  An ability to control your own temper is actually an important game skill set.  Practice it and master it, even if you have to fake it till you make it!

Finally, don’t confuse self-confidence and know how with braggadocio and obnoxious retorts.  Because, believe me, no one else will!  Play your game, and be on your game, and you will likely be a player for a lifetime.