See-sawing poker

by kavakristin

The reading this week was pretty interesting, and made me think of playing poker in Vegas. Appearance is kind of an important thing in poker, and I sat to the left of a really chatty player that most of the rest of the table found to be very annoying. He knew this, and in fact he even commented that he preferred it if people “didn’t like him” because at least, in his mind, it “forced them to think something of [him]”. I thought this was a really interesting statement. I wonder how often people realize exactly what image they put forth because we all do, to a certain extent. While I was reading the “See-saw” chapter, I thought of this poker guy and how he’s probably lowering his status at the table so he can be underestimated (and therefore win some more money by drawing more people into the pot – he seemed to be doing pretty well while I was there). I also thought about how sometimes other people will lower your status without you even saying a word, like how when I sit down to a poker table full of men they tend to think I don’t know what I’m doing because I’m just some blond girl in a red dress. They may write me off as just someone’s girlfriend who is being bankrolled by the boyfriend (to paraphrase something a guy told me at one of the tables on Sunday night). This may be a bit of a simplistic interpretation of the reading this week, but I can’t help but think about how as soon as the poker guy said he liked it when people didn’t like him, he changed his status in my mind a little bit, just like how when someone asks me what I do and I say I’m a scientist, their opinion of me changes. Also, I am EXHAUSTED right now. Can’t wait for some improv games!  😀