WSOP 2000
As a huge believer in the chuch of Jesus (not that Jesus) this river card goes to show the might of his divine hand. T.J. Cloutier, aka "Second Place", (He also happens to be a poker great, but not remotely as visually iconic) made the right call. Going into heads up play, he was down a lot of chips, but had bled Jesus to the point where they were basically even. He had Jesus right where he wanted him; all he needed was NOT a 9 on the last card.* And yea, the deck parted, and the Lord brought forth the Nine of Hearts, and there was much rejoicing.
When a beat that bad hits you in Poker, can you complain? Not really. All you can really do is shake your head and get the strongest of drinks at the casino Bar, bitching at the Bartender how you made all the right plays, second place prize money in tow. Sure, you were supposed to win the hand, but you didn't. Why? It's simple; RNG.
What is RNG? It's short for Random Number Generator. Slung around the World of Warcraft competitive circuit mercilessly, it's when a player happens to roll a 100 sided die three times, and gets a 100 each and every time. What it means to you is, you just got fucked. In the WoW Arena, It means a Hunter traps you, pins you in place, and stuns you three times in a row, all the while drilling you up the ass with explosive shots (which, of course, are all critical hits). When that happens, can you complain? And would T.J. Cloutier would have something to say if you do?
Probably not. But it's important to who you direct your complaints. When you play Poker, Blackjack, or even Monopoly, you go in aware of the dangers, of the hopes and dreams RNG carries to the party. So when you pick up both Park Place and Boardwalk, or when you have to pay up on Marvin fucking Gardens for the fourth straight time around the fucking board, you find yourself in the same situation Cloutier and Jesus did in 2000. Your skill can take you so far before you drop your fate in the hands of the dice gods.
So sure, card games and board games have that accepted RNG element. But when RNG encroaches into games with a supposed higher skill than luck factor, bad things happen. In NFL Blitz, when you've got the lead in the 4th Quarter, your chance to fumble skyrockets and your friend gets the comeback of the century, not to mention major bragging rights. In a tight Mario Kart race, when the person barely in last place gets the lightning bolt and monster trucks his way to a first place finish. In WoW, the times a team plays a match perfectly against a Warrior team, only for their healer to get Mace Stunned (RNG element) by the Warrior three times in a row, sprinkled with a dash of criticals and an execute on top. Can you imagine if Street Fighter's Zangief had 20% chance on I caught you in a throw, I didn't? (If you're not a Zangief player that sounds great, but hear me out on this one)
When this happens, your players get mad. And I don't mean "Aw shucks" mad. I mean grasping the cord of your controller with both hands, maddeningly swinging it above one's head like ye olde ball and chain, and converting your television screen into a Jackson Pollack mad. That may be an exaggeration, but Cloutier certainly handled himself with more composure than the average frustrated gamer- and he lost a lot of money on that nine of hearts. Pro tip to the game designer; (Hey Sakurai, we need to lunch over tripping in Smash Bros. Brawl. Tripping? How does that even remotely get past the drawing board?) if you're making a game to appeal to gamers wanting a high degree of skill, don't give your hand grenades a 20% chance to erupt into balloons and pink confetti on toss. Make T.J. Cloutier proud, and do the right thing.
*Jesus could've split the pot with a 4 or 2, but that waters the thrill down, and who wants that?
Chase that river, it's the only way to live
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