It's the Little Joys...

Like sitting down at a poker table and getting dealt AQ the first hand, and knocking out two people without ever thinking you're going to lose...

I have noticed that there is a certain competitive edge to being an asshole. I first noticed this capacity in myself playing my Warlock in Dark Age of Camelot. When I go out in the frontiers with that toon, I am firmly convinced that no one, and I mean no one, can kill me straight-up. When I go out there, I see myself as a force of nature, that realm points are my god-given right, and only lag and disconnection can prevent me from staking my claim.

And the crazy thing is, it works. I do stupid shit all the time with all my characters, but with every other toon I have, it sorta backfires at some point. With the Warlock, it doesn't. Granted, Warlocks are a tad overpowered, but at the same time, the confidence that I just swell with when I play that toon helps tremendously. I go flying off the tops of towers at a moment's notice, I completely ignore my surroundings, and I wander aimlessly into territory where I know I'll get jumped, purely because of the fact that I know I can't lose.

Now, of course, I do lose, quite often, but it also doesn't affect my mood with the toon. I still think I'm invincible, and that fact helps me do things I otherwise wouldn't or couldn't.

This is why I have more respect for people like Barry Bonds and T.O. now. I learned from watching Mike Matusow and Phil Hellmuth on various poker broadcasts that the best players in every game are assholes for a reason. That reason isn't the need to inflate themselves, it's the need to be utterly convinced in your own superiority, because if you're not, you lose your edge.