The Schwarz-Stare

In poker there are staredowns -- the kind in which two players look each other square in the eyes and don't even blink until one makes a move. There are one-way stares in which one player has made a big bet and the person charged with the decision to call, fold or raise stares him down to try and pick up the most subtle bit of information. And then there are the kind that Jan Schwarz unleashes on his opponents... God help them.

On a flop of {K-Hearts}

, Schwarz fired six orange chips into the middle -- a 30,000 wager, which was about 80% of Praz Bansi's remaining chip stack. Moments later, Schwarz cocked his head to the right and locked his eyes on Bansi. What made this moment awkward was the fact that Bansi and Schwarz are seated just four inches apart, in the five and six seats respectively.

Now, if Mike Caro were here, he might argue that Schwarz was trying to project strength, when in fact he was really weak. Often, such is the case, but let me tell you, this stare was fierce -- uncomfortably fierce.

Bansi kept his composure and shook some of the awkwardness by initiating a conversation with his now-intimate neighbor. In the end, Bansi folded, and Schwarz allowed him to choose one card to see; it was a ten.

After the hand, Schwarz stacked up 86,000 worth of chips. We counted Bansi at 67,000.

2008 World Series of Poker Europe

2008 World Series of Poker Europe

The Schwarz-Stare