Poker's a lot like...

It's my favorite Poker TV phrase. No matter what your profession, the interviewer always gets you to start a sentence like that. Like "Poker's a lot like playing professional soccer" or "Poker's a lot like being a waste manager for the city of Chicago." At some point it reaches a ridiculousness level where you either have to just laugh or cry. I choose laughter. (For a good poker analogy, check out the Kermyfrag's latest blog.)

All this stuff led me to think about what I would say if I was interviewed. Back when I was working at the wildlife rehab place I had a great line: "Poker's a lot like rehabilitating wildlife. Some days are rewarding, but other days you just get shit on."

Now that I work in a more mainstream line of work, that line doesn't fly quite as well. But the other night while we were bowling, I picked my new poker analogy.

I will never claim to be a good bowler. I think I'm averaging a 130-somthing, which is actually really good for me. But for some reason I'm leading all the women in our league with the most games won. I have 25 wins under my belt out of a total of 33 games played (I think... correct me someone if I'm wrong). And I roll against good bowlers too! But for some reason they keep bowling badly against me and I keep scoring the big Ws.

How is this possible, you may ask. I can't rightly say, but I will give you my theory. I show up to bowling on Mondays, grab one of the alley's 12-pound balls, and during warm-ups consider myself lucky if I get one spare. My opponent thinks, sweet, here's an easy 3 points for me. But then the real bowling begins. I go out and get a few spares, maybe a strike or two, and they realize that I'm not quite as bad as I first seemed. Then they get all thrown off that this mediocre chick is beating them, and they just get worse. Perhaps they start drinking more heavily to try and deal with the pain they are feeling. By the end of the night they are both wasted, and they got their ass handed to them by a girl who doesn't even know how to put spin on her ball.

By the end of Monday they leave broken men. And the Pickett racks up another 2 or 3 points.

So... in my future poker interview, I'll say: "Poker's a lot like my bowling league. I'm such an unassuming person that other players think I suck. They'll go easy on me because they think I'm out of my league. And then before they know it, this young lass with a beguiling smile has taken their stack. And their dignity along with it."