yeah , you cant really blame them its the fake politeness that all western world is accustomed to, but no one crossed the line too much to make it really cringy , at least i didnt register it. its up to them to make this balance and i am sure its not easy, you have a triad boss everyone is basically afraid of and a bunch of chinese who they dont know what to expect from, its not easy to relax, i think all in all newer americans did a decent job at that, given the circumstances, but Nikita did a better job, not because i think that things he said are more interesting, hardly its pretty generic boring stuff, but he seems to have a bit more confidence maybe and i think russian mentality could be a little closer to Chinese mentality then American would be.

lol i dont even know if the triad boss stuff is real or trolling, but it's definitely a pretty fine line to walk between showing respect and being insincere- you cant join in the fun slowrolling and needling people if you aren't already pretty familiar/chummy with the guys, so it's a pretty tough spot to be in if you're jason.

i think this stuff is part of what makes it so interesting to watch, and i like how they leave the volume at the table high enough that you can hear all the chatter. that alone imo makes it way better than any formally produced "poker show" that we've seen prior to this.

It's probably genuine. I hear a lot about how kind-hearted and sincere Jason is from people who know him well. Before having heard all that, it was the same impression I got from a few interactions, and that's not really the sort of thing that stands out about a lot of poker players.

I believe its genuine, its still politeness, that just doesn't go so far in these types of interactions. Do they think he is a nice guy, i am sure they do. Having said that , thats pretty much all he can do in that spot, unless he has more to offer, which he prolly dont, which is fine too ofc.

yeh well said, i think there is only so much they (Americans) can do, i mean look at Patrick and Ivey , they are not even trying, which is a good thing, there is nothing worse then trying to be someone you are not and fake, that will get you never invited again, so overlall it may look slightly awkward but its normal , just dont try hard and show respect until you are more confortable to allow yourself a little more , but even then its hardly realistic that they can all have fun together like they would betweem themselves, its just not happening and doesnt have to, the american players are invited for branding purposes i can imagine , its a business.

I know it wasn’t at the table, but the Ziigmund/Negreanu one belongs here too.

Serious question: Do the Greenwood brothers have some sort of speech impediment?

It's unbearable how nitty some of those regs are. One of them even has NIT in his name for crying out loud.

serious question: who are the greenwood brothers?

I know what you mean about him acting so foolish at the table, but that is why I wanted that loop, as it showed his mask slipping for a fraction, as he is so much sharper than he likes to reveal, so plays the role of a happy idiot at the table to trap the likes of Dwan!

It reminds me of a really nice fun friendly guy I played with, who won a hand, and as he rakes in the chips said, "feed me you scum" to the players at the table, and it was to see a glimpse of his real thinking about who he played against, as at every other time he was so nice and friendly, so I saw that was just a mask.

So yes, the loop is like a five second summary of the duplicity of poker!

Earlier in his poker career Phua played the top players on the proviso they showed their winning hand, so he could learn how they played. So he is damned sharp, and that is why his drunken sprawling at the table does not fool me every time!

lol, i wouldnt take mucj from this as you are making it out to be, this is likely a very unstable person with mental issues, if he thinks poker players are scum and he has such principles why would he sit at the table and play poker? people that have this type of stigma will never enter a casino in their life, let alone play a hand of poker, so this what you are saying is more likely a case of individual likely from cultures that frown upon gambling, middle east, arab? Also, if i heard that i would have confronted him for sure.
If by duplicity of poker you mean mixed feelings like laughter, drunkiness, seriousness, yeah they can all happen, in 5 second loops even, mostly to people who are not used to the drink so much. To me it just looks like he realised he went a bit too far with his drunken behaviour (not saying he did, but that might be his own perception of himself) and snapped back to extreme seriousness for a second.