The Horror, The Horror

Let me tell you what the most heart chilling declaration in a poker game is. Although, "I'll put you all in," and, "How much more do you have?" are scary, those are not it. It's not even, "I believe they call it the boat." The most dreadful statement in poker is, "Well, I'm tired and want to go home anyway. I'll call."
This kind of call is the worst one because it ruins any play you are trying to make. If you are bluffing then the person is not paying full attention to the hand and isn't laying down what he thinks is an inferior hand. If you want a call and you hear him say this, you now know you are going to be drawn out on.
This occurred to me the other night while playing in a light, fun game of ten people. I had been playing pretty well. For the first 45 minutes, the only hands I was able to play were pocket pairs, but they were good to me and I had quadrupled up after about two hours of playing. I had made a few bluffs on some people for some nice size pots. I was laying down good hands because of a few reads on people. Yet, it wasn't good enough because I started to dwindle when it diminished to six players. Then I received a wired pair of eights.
I raised it pre-flop to reduce the playing field and I got a few calls. The flop came with 9-4-2. A pretty good flop for my pair. I bet a little bit at it. Brent called me. The turn was a 2. I thought about how the hand was going and I looked at Brent. Don't ask me how I knew, but I was pretty sure I was winning the hand then. I said, "This might be a mistake, but I'm going to go all in." Brent thought about it for a little while and then he said it. He emitted the sound, "I'm tired. I'll call."
I lowered my head in shame and said, "Well, I'm beat." A guy asked if I was bluffing and I replied with, "No, I'm winning right now but I will be beaten by the end." Sure enough I was winning. Brent was holding K-4 offsuit. The river flipped over with a 4. I was beat by a full house. I believe they call that the boat.
Here is a tip for any new poker player. Never, no matter how tired you are, say, "I'm ready to go home. I'll call." It is bad etiquette.