One of my favorite movies of all time is My Fair Lady. I have watched it
numerous times and it always entertains me. There is one particular part
that I always get a big kick out of. The part I'm referring to is when
Professor Henry Higgins gets frustrated with Eliza, and asks his friend
Colonel Pickering, the question, "Why can't a woman be more like a
man?" This leads into more conversation about the differences between
men and women, which is then followed by one of the movie's best
songs.
Now the war between the sexes has been going on for years, and I
have always been on the side of the guys. We are the chosen sex;
therefore, I have always agreed with Professor Henry Higgins question,
"Why can't a woman be more like a man?"
The first hint of a problem, that I might reconsider what side I should be
on in this "War", occurred at the beginning of the Legends of Poker
tournament. It was there that it began to hit me about the differences,
between how males and females handle the frustrations of poker.
Gentlemen, let me assure you, I quickly found out that there are more
"gentle ladies" playing poker than gentlemen. The ladies, without
exception, handled themselves in a much better manner. Whether it was
losing a hand, getting changed to another table, getting knocked out of
the tournament, or any other undesirable situation, they were always
"gentle ladies".
I played with one particular young lady, Kathy Kohlberg Keller. Kathy is in
my opinion one of the best players on the circuit. In the Legends of
Poker tournament, I held over her, which means I beat her almost every
hand that I played against her. I ended up knocking her out of three
tournaments in a row. On the third occasion, I caught up with her later
and said I'm sorry to be beating up on you so much. She smiled at said,
"Oh, that's okay, I understand". It's not that this is an unusual response,
except that I looked at her, and realized she really meant it.
During the tournament I made a special effort to note how the women
reacted to all the different frustrations of the tournament. I didn't see
one case of anger manifest itself. The ladies just don't get mad. I made it
a special point to watch the lips of the ladies as they got knocked out. I
didn't see their lips moving at all. Trust me, if you watch the men as they
get knocked out, their lips are moving. You may not hear any words
coming out of their mouths, but a lip reader would have a field day.
As I began to search my mind for more cases to illustrate my point for
this column, the thought occurred to me that I don't remember ever
hearing one of our lady tournament players using profanity. I could be
wrong, but to the best of my recollection, I don't think a woman has ever
received a penalty for this offence. You know, 20 minutes for abusive
language.
As the tournament progressed, I realized there is one main area where
we men are lagging way behind. That is in the area of "anger control."
The ladies are different from us in that area because they just don't ever
want to fight. Men are always inviting each other to go outside and
settle some dispute. On the other hand, I can state as an absolute fact,
that in the almost 40 years that I have been playing in card rooms and
casinos, I have never seen a woman invite any other woman or man
outside to fight. I guess I'm trying to be funny with that last comment
but in reality it is something to seriously think about.
I did notice another characteristic that men have that the ladies seem to
be void of. What I'm referring to, is the need of a lot of men, when they
lose a pot to you, to tell you how many "outs" you had. They will say
something like, "Nice river card! Do you know you only had 4 outs in the
whole deck?" When they are on a draw and miss the hand, this same
group will now exclaim, "How could I miss that hand! Did you see I had
27 outs?"
Women are not that much into "outs". They are a lot less likely to discuss
the workings of the last hand played. They just want to see the next
hand dealt.
I sometimes kid my wife who plays in some of the free roll ladies'
tournaments, or sometimes maybe $1 and$2 hold-em on a cruise. I chide
her that she doesn't have a competitive bone in her body. I say things
like, "Honey, when you say 'nice hand' to someone, you really mean it--
don't you?" She always gives me the same answer, "Of course I do.
Don't you?"
Why can't a man be more like a woman?
For what it's worth …
numerous times and it always entertains me. There is one particular part
that I always get a big kick out of. The part I'm referring to is when
Professor Henry Higgins gets frustrated with Eliza, and asks his friend
Colonel Pickering, the question, "Why can't a woman be more like a
man?" This leads into more conversation about the differences between
men and women, which is then followed by one of the movie's best
songs.
Now the war between the sexes has been going on for years, and I
have always been on the side of the guys. We are the chosen sex;
therefore, I have always agreed with Professor Henry Higgins question,
"Why can't a woman be more like a man?"
The first hint of a problem, that I might reconsider what side I should be
on in this "War", occurred at the beginning of the Legends of Poker
tournament. It was there that it began to hit me about the differences,
between how males and females handle the frustrations of poker.
Gentlemen, let me assure you, I quickly found out that there are more
"gentle ladies" playing poker than gentlemen. The ladies, without
exception, handled themselves in a much better manner. Whether it was
losing a hand, getting changed to another table, getting knocked out of
the tournament, or any other undesirable situation, they were always
"gentle ladies".
I played with one particular young lady, Kathy Kohlberg Keller. Kathy is in
my opinion one of the best players on the circuit. In the Legends of
Poker tournament, I held over her, which means I beat her almost every
hand that I played against her. I ended up knocking her out of three
tournaments in a row. On the third occasion, I caught up with her later
and said I'm sorry to be beating up on you so much. She smiled at said,
"Oh, that's okay, I understand". It's not that this is an unusual response,
except that I looked at her, and realized she really meant it.
During the tournament I made a special effort to note how the women
reacted to all the different frustrations of the tournament. I didn't see
one case of anger manifest itself. The ladies just don't get mad. I made it
a special point to watch the lips of the ladies as they got knocked out. I
didn't see their lips moving at all. Trust me, if you watch the men as they
get knocked out, their lips are moving. You may not hear any words
coming out of their mouths, but a lip reader would have a field day.
As I began to search my mind for more cases to illustrate my point for
this column, the thought occurred to me that I don't remember ever
hearing one of our lady tournament players using profanity. I could be
wrong, but to the best of my recollection, I don't think a woman has ever
received a penalty for this offence. You know, 20 minutes for abusive
language.
As the tournament progressed, I realized there is one main area where
we men are lagging way behind. That is in the area of "anger control."
The ladies are different from us in that area because they just don't ever
want to fight. Men are always inviting each other to go outside and
settle some dispute. On the other hand, I can state as an absolute fact,
that in the almost 40 years that I have been playing in card rooms and
casinos, I have never seen a woman invite any other woman or man
outside to fight. I guess I'm trying to be funny with that last comment
but in reality it is something to seriously think about.
I did notice another characteristic that men have that the ladies seem to
be void of. What I'm referring to, is the need of a lot of men, when they
lose a pot to you, to tell you how many "outs" you had. They will say
something like, "Nice river card! Do you know you only had 4 outs in the
whole deck?" When they are on a draw and miss the hand, this same
group will now exclaim, "How could I miss that hand! Did you see I had
27 outs?"
Women are not that much into "outs". They are a lot less likely to discuss
the workings of the last hand played. They just want to see the next
hand dealt.
I sometimes kid my wife who plays in some of the free roll ladies'
tournaments, or sometimes maybe $1 and$2 hold-em on a cruise. I chide
her that she doesn't have a competitive bone in her body. I say things
like, "Honey, when you say 'nice hand' to someone, you really mean it--
don't you?" She always gives me the same answer, "Of course I do.
Don't you?"
Why can't a man be more like a woman?
For what it's worth …
Let's Act More Like Ladies
By Vince Burgio
By Vince Burgio
