Posted on by Californiacontrarian

Man or Mouse ?

Back in my early teenage years my friends and I used to play a lot of cards, usually Penny-ante poker. Although at this point I cannot precisely remember a lot of the details, one of our favorite games was a three card poker game called “Man or Mouse.” That particular game involved three cards being dealt to everyone, betting, followed by a draw (exchange) of up to two cards, more betting,  a declaration that you were either a “man” (going for the high hand) or a “mouse” (going for the low hand). Because “Man or Mouse” was a game in which the high hand and the low hand split the pot, there was no pejorative in consistently being a “mouse.” We usually had a group of five or six playing at once, and for the most part we all were aware that certain guys usually were “men,” while others were usually “mice.” Interestingly the declarations, over time, followed the individuals personality. For instance, B.D. who was rather outspoken and self-confident, more often than not,  would be a “man,” whereas J.G., who was quiet and somewhat introverted would more often than not, be a “mouse.”

[While my recollection is that I was usually a “man.” In all honesty, … err … the more I think about it, I think that yes, my recollection is correct … I was, more often than not,  a “man!”].

At an early age I learned that in real life, the psychology and predictability of that penny-ante poker game often held up. For instance, if your boss, who is a mean s.o.b., suddenly is “Mr. Nice Guy,” something funny is going on. And vice versa, if your boss is a schmaltzy ne’er-do-well, you would not predict that suddenly he would turn into “Mr. My Way or the Highway.” 

Likewise, when a schmaltzy ne’er-do-well politician threatens to act tough despite demonstrating his lack of a backbone in the past, should anyone believe him? … Specifically should Putin believe him?

BTW, I’ll bet Putin probably played “человек или мышь” as a young teenager.

4/12/22

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