Dancers posing in potlatch regalia, Fort Rupert, 1914
The scene was one of devastation. There was money all over the place and none was coming to me! The money was going to fishes, silly betters and mug punters. None was coming to me. Why?
Well I went through that unlikely periods which give every sane person the scare of their life. I had my own private poker potlatch. Potlatch is when you deliberately go out of your way to destroy any wealth you have. It is not going on ’tilt’ which is making stupid bets hoping to get a return. Oh no this is a decision to get rid of money hoping it will some how cleanse you from some evil feeling you are having. Or, it is a way of ‘giving back’ to the community because you want too….
It is a strange thing to be enthralled with chucking money and wealth away. As far as I know, the reason why it is prevalent in poker is because poker is not really betting. Poker is a game of skill in which 90% is probably skill and 10% is luck. Any human activity need luck, When Buster Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson that was luck. When Liverpool came back and beat A.C. Milan after losing 3 – 0 at half time, that was luck also. So any human activity will have an element of luck, how big is that luck determines whether a game or activity is skilful.
Hence, when a player is on tilt they are basically trying to defy the odds and for large sums. There is still an element of luck involved and they may get lucky and then wise up before it is too late. With poker potlatch you want to give the money away. Winning mean that you have more money to give away. It is a very strange sensation to be in.
The easiest way to see what I am trying to explain is to witness what Miley Cyrus did in the 2013 VMA awards, it is similar but imagine if Miley Cyrus started chucking real cash as well as doing the routine, then you have a idea what poker potlatch is like
Miley Cyrus Twerk & Robin Thicke MTV VMA 2013
Now that I have had my little poker potlatch I hope I do not have another one for a while. Hopefully my head will be in a better place from now on, lets hope so.