I don’t always enjoy watching any kind of game or sport “from the peanut gallery,” as the saying goes. If I’m not playing, I’m usually not much interested. But I do enjoy watching poker on TV, and I love standing around a table of poker players taking the risk of public humiliation (or riches!) on ocean cruises. Better them than me in that setting, I believe!
When do you enjoy watching poker?
I enjoy watching live poker from casinos I visit all over the world. Not much of a poker tv watcher. But of course my favorite is being a player at these tables.
There’s actually a name for that very common behavior: Those who do it are called “railbirds.” If you watch serious live events, you’ll ALWAYS see them. If they are also strong partisans of one of the active players (romantic partners, for example), then they’re called “sweaters” because they sweat every action along with their hero.
I love having new vocab! Thanks.
@Alan25main .I thought railbirds were spectators that stand at the rail during live horse racing events. (At least that’s what the dictionary definition of rail birds is ). I usually sit down in bleachers or chairs watching live poker final tables .
In this case, both racetracks and poker games are true at the same time. Long before there were large, publicly viewed tournaments, if a person entered a large poker room like the Bicycle Club in Gardena, the rail around the play area would have many railbirds watching–and likely hoping to borrow enough of a stake to play themselves. Thanks for reminding me of the racetracks.
Good to know. I have some good poker trivia now to use, thank you.