Even when we speak a different language, there is a shared language in poker, most notably with bad beat stories.
The funniest two people in poker both have the surname Spragg, one of whom released a hilarious video this week.
Marle Spragg just dropped this video called ‘The Universal Language of Bad Beat Stories’ and I won’t explain it further, enjoy: In all great jokes, there is a kernel of truth, and this is no different. There is something unique about poker talk that transcends language. I recall many years ago walking through the bar during the break at EPT Dortmund (a reference which will date me greatly) and had a vivid experience. Despite there probably being 20 languages being spoken at once, I felt like the whole room was telling the same poker hand history as I ventured through it. Regardless of language, it’s hard to not hear the relevant poker words when somebody is bemoaning a hand they played.
I’ve noticed this universal language phenomenon in other games too. Even if you know nothing of Magic: The Gathering , watch this video: You may not understand the rules or what the cards do, but we all know that guy got one outered on the river. That may not be what specifically happened, but it was the MTG equivalent.
I also recall working at a live event many years ago at a player party. There were a few online qualifiers who could not speak English. There was a Hungarian, a Korean and somebody from Poland. The organisers in their infinite wisdom felt the best thing to do with these players was to just stick them together. They may as well not speak English to each other, than to the rest of us, the logic went.
Yet, in a bizarre way, it kinda worked out. They somehow were able to converse in ‘poker talk’ and seemed to be getting along just fine. I may have too romantic an image of the event, perhaps it was the most socially awkward experience of their lives, but at the very least poker provided a surprisingly accessible ‘small […]
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