| The National – I Need My Girl Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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Lots of discussion about the line "I know I was a 45 percenter then". Obviously broadly he is saying he was an underdog, i.e. less likely to win, but this is almost certainly a poker reference. Poker players will talk about their odds in a hand as a percentage, for example, you might say something like, "When the money went in, I was a 60% to win that hand." In poker a 45% chance to win is very common, it is the odds you have when you are playing two higher cards against a pair. For example, if you have an Ace and a King against a pair of 7's. The Ace & King have a 45% chance to win. Lots of amateur players think the odds in this kind of situation are 50/50, but the author here knows enough to know he is 'only a 45 percenter.' This is reinforced by the line before 'I'm under the gun again'. 'Under the gun' (UTG) is a position in poker. It means you're the first player to act in a hand. With a few exceptions this is generally the worst place to be statistically, as you have the least information about your opponents, so you are at a disadvantage. A hand that you might play in a later position you would be mathematically correct to fold 'under the gun', For example, if you have a pair of 4s and you are first to act, the best play is to probably fold. There is likely to be someone behind you with a better hand and you would be betting blind as you would have to act first. Conversely, the same hand (a pair of 4's) in a later position might be a legitimate hand to play. So, feeling 'under the gun again' implies someone who feels perpetually at a disadvantage, as if the world is conspiring to make things difficult for them. |
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