Tale of Two Brothers
By Jane Barnstuble (a.k.a. NewJane)

This is a tale of two brothers. It's a love story, really. A story of commitment, encouragement, and most of all, pride. I suppose I could subtitle it: Everybody Loves Raymond.

Let me backtrack for a minute. For decades, Raymond has sat on the sidelines and cheered for his brother, Steve. Steve excelled at sports. Raymond watched. Steve married and fathered two great kids who also compete in hockey and softball. Raymond sits on the sidelines and cheers for his niece and nephew now. Raymond is everyone's biggest fan. You see, he has cerebral palsy, a cruel disability that affects muscle tone and movement, leaving him incapable of enjoying the physical activity that most of us take for granted. He mostly moves about with a wheelchair. When he does walk, it's tentative and aided with a leg brace or the arm of a loving brother. I met Raymond and Steve (nvflag) recently at the PokerSchoolOnline 4th Annual convention. It was a meeting that will stay with me long after the memories of the poker games have faded.

Raymond joined PSO about eighteen months ago, and at PSO he found a second family. At the virtual poker table, he is known as "pirates", in honor of his beloved Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team. Not long ago, Raymond and Steve began to make plans to attend convention at the Orleans in Las Vegas. Steve was a bit concerned that Raymond might not fare well at a "real" poker table. He posted about his concerns on the forums, and was met with many reassuring responses. We assured him that Raymond would be allowed to have a helper if needed, and that the dealers would be cordial and gracious. After all, the PSO event that Raymond would play in would be his very first live poker event, and most of us recall that day in our own poker backgrounds. Remember how it felt to sit down to that very first real game with blinds to post, cards and chips to manipulate? A daunting proposition to say the least. Try it from a wheelchair with a brain disorder that sometimes causes the muscles in your arms and hands to have a mind of their own. Imagine trying to stack your chips after you win a pot when your fingers don't quite work the way you want them to.

Enter Steve. During the PSO Championship event at the Orleans, Steve planted himself behind Raymond's chair, and there he stood for five hours. Leaning over to help Raymond get a glimpse of his cards. Leaning over to help stack chips. Reaching down to move chips into the pot when Raymond said, "Raise". Leaning over to whisper a word of encouragement. Never impatient. Never hurried. Never questioning Raymond's calls or raises. At the break, Steve and Raymond talked in hushed tones about hands Raymond had played, or overplayed. This time, it was Steve who was rooting for Raymond. This time, it was Steve on the sidelines. On this day, Raymond was competing, Steve was the spectator.

Sometime during the course of the PSO Championship event, it became apparent to those watching from the rail that something exceptional was happening at Raymond's table. Not only was he playing his first live event, he was playing an awesome game of poker! He went on to outlast 70 others, finishing in the top 30 of a very tough field.

And there is more to this story. A couple of nights later, Raymond entered the Orleans Second Chance event, another NLHE game that PSO had sanctioned as a Live Tour event. 29 other PSO members joined Raymond; all with hopes of being the final PSO member left standing in the field of 145 players.

Again, Steve took his spot behind Raymond's seat at the table. Again, he patiently and lovingly offered whatever help he could that didn't involve the actual play of a hand. I wondered if the players in this event would be as accepting as the all-PSO event had been. But it didn't take long for my fears to be put to rest. Dealers and players alike seemed to embrace Raymond. No one seemed to notice or mind when he took a bit longer than others to move his chips into the pot. No one seemed peeved when Raymond accidentally knocked his chips over trying to post his blinds. No one seemed rushed. Most of all, no one seemed to even notice Steve. Standing. Helping. Smiling.

The field narrowed and sometime around one in the morning, the final 19 players were making a deal. Take some cash off the top and pay the 19th person. Pay 19 instead of 18. Raymond was in the money. Raymond cashed in his second poker tourney. Players from the other tables as well as those on the rail came over to congratulate Raymond. Cheers went up. Joybell and I had tears in our eyes. Steve moved away from Raymond ever so slightly so Raymond could absorb the accolades. So Raymond could take part in the high fives around the table.

Now, before you assume that the deal was made to "include" Raymond, think again. Raymond finished 18th...he would have made the money without the 19-way split!

Poker is a strange animal. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. At the Orleans this past week, we all won. We won because Raymond and Steve were there. We won because poker leveled the playing field, and a guy from Ashburn, VA was just a tournament player with a dream of cashing. He wasn't Raymond with Cerebral Palsy. He was Raymond, poker player. And no one in the room cheered louder or felt prouder than his brother.

Players' Pages | Send Us Your Tale

Comments? Please post them in our Poker Forum.