This deep insight has eluded me for my entire life, tx for mentioning it.

I have a friend who owns a restaurant and one of his dishes involves food served on a sizzling plate that draws attention as it is presented. Often, a customer will think it looks good and order it. Non-poker gamblers also get excited about food comps.

So, I consider this no big deal.

Also, watermelon is best slightly chilled and not ice-cold, with salt.

I only eat foods that can eaten with utensils at the poker table. I will eat pizza with a fork and knife. I was playing at the Westgate one time and they brought in sandwiches for the players. I ate one wrapped in a napkin so I didn't touch it with my chippy hands.

I prefer to drink my sodas at room temperature.

Salt on watermelon?

Yes .. very common. Not bad to mix it up that way either ... GL

You just want a little bit of salt, not so much that it actually tastes salty. If you have a very sweet watermelon (and they actually taste sweeter when room temperature), then maybe you don't need to add salt, but it does bring out more sweetness if the fruit is on the bland side. It's one reason why the watermelon-feta combination works well.

Salt and fruit in generally often work, as seen in combinations such as melon and prosciutto. A fruit salad that's not particularly fresh is a pretty common quick food item that I have gotten in multiple poker rooms. Adding salt usually makes it more tolerable.

See Muskmelon, Cantaloupe and Honey Dew ... GL

room temperature soda sounds like actual hell.

like drinking warm liquid sugar uuurrrrk

You taste the flavor more when it is warmer. Melt some ice cream in the microwave and see how much stronger it tastes.

Most people eat disgustingly in general. Some can't even wait to swallow a bite before opening their pig mouth again with food still in it and making noise like a concrete truck while their tongue tries to grab the food that wants to fall out.

The only ones that have some decency are people that think other people are disgusting and don't want to be like that.

This is the one that I can't unsee: Some guy's eating a hot dog w/ mustard and relish. A big gob falls off onto the felt. He picks it up and shoves it into his mouth and continues to play the hand. I can't unsee it and it keeps popping up in my memory.

I wouldn’t eat any food at the table that my fingers are going to come into direct contact with. After what the chips have been through, I reckon you’d get a similar bacterial load by swabbing one of the toilet bowls with your burger before chowing down. I food load before I go and then snack on muesli bars after about the four hour mark. Always blow my mind when people shovel pizza in with their bare hands, I’m no germaphobe in a normal environment but after a couple of hours handling chips and cards, hell to the no.

Oh great, now I can’t unsee it either.

I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take it any more

I am honestly more concerned that they will slow down the game by getting grease on the cards and necessitating a deck change.

You said it mate. I can't stand being in poker rooms around lunch/dinner time because it's disgusting AND slows the game down when half the people are eating from a plate behind them while trying to simultaneously play a hand. Is it really that crazy for these ****s to just take a five or ten minute break from the table to eat their meal?

That’s fair, I am actually more concerned about them spreading their disgusting pizza/body grease combination onto the cards as well. I don’t care if their stupidity gets them a case of salmonella as long as I don’t have to share it.

Ha ha ha, what, consideration, manners and self-discipline from the average table degenerate? Good luck with that.

Playing against a young British dude who ordered a well done t-bone steak and eggs. He didn't see the metal knife underneath the steak so he puts the plate down on the rail (there is a side table behind him, mind you) and tries to use the plastic knife and fork to cut it. The knife breaks immediately, so he tries to drag it apart using the nub and fork. All tines break off the fork. He tries to drag pieces off using the two nubs, which break apart into smaller pieces.

Now he picks it up with both hands and starts biting pieces off it. Every time it's his turn to act he thoroughly licks off both hands, wipes them on his shirt, then plays the hand. This must have happened at least 10 times as he finishes the steak and eats the eggs with his hands.

I suppose I should have told him the knife was on his plate and that they can bring more but I just couldn't stop watching.

I will eat at the table but only something I can eat without touching (rice or noodle dishes are good for this) and I always make sure I've finished my last bite and wiped my hands before the dealer pitches the next hand.

I did once order some pad thai and someone else asked if it was good. I said yes, so he orders 4 servings to go. His wife was out of town for the weekend and he didn't want to have to cook.

People who order their steaks well-done are horrible.

That story is hilarious.

I eat only **** when i play. Not good

I hope they were over easy.

Amateurs.

I used to ONLY play while I was eating. It was fantastic.

The key is to act like you never think about anything. Bet, and then grab a 3-bet in hand (this is LHE btw) while you eat and push the 3-bet in while your back is turned.

Degen cred++

One time we were playing 3- or 4-handed and I couldn't play the current hand, stack the previous pot, and eat at the same time, so I played and ate and just kept a massive pile of loose chips in front of me.

Degen cred++

You could have stopped there. Ludacris! Good story tho. That's true degen mode.

That almost literally made me hurl all over my desk.

Pretty much all casinos have bathrooms where you can wash your hands. That being said, the only pizza I had in a poker room was during Circuit events, where they bring it out on a break. Otherwise, I've never had food at a poker table.