Love in an Elevator

People in a New York City elevator tend to do one of three things: look up at the floor display as it ticks up or down; look down at the floor; or stare straight ahead in a somewhat unfocused manner. (This ignores people who may know each other or work in the same office who ride the elevator together. They usually engage in extremely banal conversation, to the point that any sane person would want to jam an ice pick in his ears so that he didn't have to listen.) Very few people look at any of the other occupants of the elevator, which allows me to play a little game without being perceived as overly creepy.

As I take four elevator rides a day between the ground floor and 46th floor of my office building, I like to try to guess what type of elevator rider a person is when they get on the elevator. By and large, people fall into the categories you think they would. The meek-looking people stare at the floor; the impatient and Type A-looking types drill holes in the floor display with their gaze; and the most non-descript, middle of the road types stare into nothingness. That's not to say that everyone is a perfect fit. I am surprised on a regular basis by floor-starers who I thought would be display-watchers.

I don't really have a point here; I just find it interesting that almost nobody takes any note of their fellow elevator riders or, God forbid, tries to engage them in conversation. But if you want me to have a point, I'll say this: take note of your opponents when they sit down across the felt from you. Before they're dealt any cards, their mannerisms and appearance can help you form an initial read as to the type of player they are. Just don't be afraid to jettison that read if their actions dictate it.

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Still running pretty good with my resurrection at limit holdem. Most interestingly, I am only losing from ONE position - the small blind. I am dead even in the big blind, and every other position shows me in the green. I've been spending a fair amount of time working on blind defense, since 6-max seems to be where the best money can be made and the blinds come more frequently in 6-max, and so far it's paying off.