When most poker players think of a survival task, it involves wondering how they will get by while waiting for the empty plate of hot wings to be replenished. This isn't just poker players, most people in America and Europe are not equipped to deal with any hardship bigger than forgetting where the nearest Panera bread store is when the urge for a Mocha Latte hits. With this in mind, despite the fact that it is a rather silly reality television show, a large percentage of population could not handle being a cast member on the show Survivor. Well, poker player and club owner Jean-Robert Bellande gave a good accounting for himself on the grueling show until he was unexpectedly voted off the show recently.
He was hoping his skills as a poker player would help him navigate the maze of interpersonal hazards that may result in ticking off enough people to be on the wrong end of an elimination vote. He expressed the advantages his card playing background gave him with the following words: "One of the things you do in poker is you're always looking a couple of moves down the road at an end-game strategy."
He described his strategy as a two tiered plan where he would be a "lazy jerk" during phase 1 and become more likeable in phase 2. The mistake here was that Bellande overestimated just how much tolerance his co-contestants would have for somebody who presented themselves as highly dysfunctional. Before he could really get to the "they like me, they really like me" part of the plan, he was voted off the show.
The fact that he read "the table" so badly should be a signal to anyone who plays him at poker that this is a guy who has real trouble reading people. He claims he was completely surprised by the vote. If he couldn't figure out people he was living, eating, and sleeping with, he may be seriously challenged when forced to put somebody on a hand who he has only known for a few hours.
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