I was watching Masterpiece Theater on PBS tonight when the following thoughts came to me.  There was a series called Inspector Morse, that my wife and I enjoyed years ago.  The main character passed away, but after several years hiatus, they have updated and adapted the series to feature his loyal assistant who is now Inspector Lewis.  It takes place in the rarified world of Oxford, England with all its privilege, pomp and pride.  The episode was titled "The Quality of Mercy" which comes from a speech by Portia in William Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice.

It begins...

The quality of mercy is not strain'd,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes...

The scene has become famous for the aggrieved demanding his "pound of flesh". The essential message that I took from the speech is to not be too harsh in your request for vengeance or revenge, as we are all in need of mercy.  That sympathy and understanding are of the most noble and godly of sentiments.  There is something to be gained from giving as well as receiving mercy.  We are all flawed and only by trying to understand the other do we find true knowledge ourselves.  None of us, if properly examined, could stand the scrutiny.  The characters main faults in most Inspector Morse and Inspector Lewis episodes lie in their inability to reconcile their outer projected appearance with their inner demons and struggles.

It is a classic struggle that I see every day at the poker tables as well.  Poker is a game judged by results and fueled by confidence or the lack thereof.  Typically, most players fall into one of two categories; those with a God complex or those with an Oh Gawd complex.  The God complex results from positive results.  They may be players who truly have an edge over most of their opponents and crush their games, or they might simply be those that have benefited from lady luck.  Each are rewarded with confidence and profits.  They view their play as superior to that of their opponents.  The world is theirs to conquer and destroy.

To many, poker is a simple game.  If you win, you are a good player.  If you lose you are not.  The educated player may determine that you can continue to make EV+ moves and remain unrewarded (e.g. those who constantly display their EV adjusted graphs).  But in the long term, it is results that matter.  Even speaking with numerous successful pros, they have described how thin the line can be from tremendous confidence in their game to utter despair, with their results often being the determining factor.  They had mediocre or inconclusive results until they had a big score or hot run and suddenly they are a better player and more confident.

On the other hand, the Oh Gawd groups lives closely with their misfortune, whether it be self inflicted or not.  All manner of injustice befalls them.  They just run bad. The poker sites are rigged.  The rng hates them.  They don't understand how those other donkeys can beat them. They steam.  They tilt.  They blame others for their poor results.  They rarely give credit to being outplayed.  The world just isn't fair.

In my opinion, it is the same world.  There are not two groups of players, but one.   We can find ourselves in either group.  The common factor being our hubris or delusion.  As someone once said, we are rarely as good as we think we are when winning and not as poor as we feel when losing.  Only in self knowledge and understanding for both sides of winning and losing can we deliver and receive the mercy needed to prosper.  We all need mercy.  I know I do.