Table Sargent

As a tournament director you run into all types of people and all kinds of situations that happen while a tournament is running. You need a good sense of humor if you are going to run bar poker games because eventually you will see it all. Today I am going to talk about that guy you have all seen, the table Sargent. There are other terms for this person, but I am going to try and be politically correct and call him the table Sargent. This is the person that has to in charge of the table at all times. To a tournament director they can be a great help and at the same time be a pain in the ass. It's a help when they pull the pots to the middle and help make side pots when someone is all in. It's no help if they can't add or don't know the rules of poker. Just remember if you are going to be the table Sargent that you need to nice to people and not degrade or make another player feel stupid because they don't know the rules or make a mistake. For a lot of people bar poker is a place to have fun and learn the game of poker for entertainment purposes. The more people that play the more chance the bar has to increase revenue, the more prizes they can giveaway.

Now on to last nights fun incident. In fact I was involved in the hand to be talked about. I was on the final table with 8 players left and I was one of the short stacks. I was waiting for a hand to push all in before my big blind. I look down at Q-9 suited and push in. I have less then the big blind so I know I am getting at least one call. Everyone folds except the small and big blinds. Pots are arraigned. There is a small side pot of a few thousand. Flop is Q-7-2. Great I flop top pair. Small blind checks and then big blind who is the chip leader by quite a bit bets out. Small blinds mutters a little about the bet and folds his hand. I turn over my Q-9. Big blind turns over 3-4 off. He has nothing. Small blind goes off immediately. What are doing betting me out with nothing. Anyway, I end up winning the pot and end up 5th for the night. Small blind guy is on tilt for the rest of the night over the bet with nothing and pesters the guy all night about what a bad play it is. He must not have read my blog about check downs. Now I don't think I would have bet into the pot with nothing as I would always try and take another player out, but is that the right move. Big blind had nothing and by betting the other guy out he was able to win some of his chips back. So is it really a bad play! In the end it didn't effect the outcome, I still would have won the hand and it put a player on tilt for the rest of the night. Big blind ended up winning the tournament so I guess that maybe it was the right play.