MTMWSOMAJFSH Wiki

MTMWSOMAJFSH is a Poker Group comprising of alumni of Repton School. The name stands for "McClary The Man Who Stole Our Money And Joy From School House". All but one of the current members of MTMWSOMAJFSH were members of School House at Repton School. The group was originally set up in 2006 to allow school friends to play poker together, however it has now become a more elite club whose membership is coveted.



History
The original members often played poker, as well as several other gambling games, whilst they were at school together. The stakes were always very small, often £1 per person. Gambling was against the school rules, however due to the small stakes that were being used, several teachers turned a blind eye. Nevertheless, one teacher, Mr McClary, would often search particularly for this group of friends to see if they were playing. The group would often pretend that they were not playing for money, so Mr McClary would often search the room to see where they had hidden the stake. If he found it, he would declare that he would donate it in the chapel collection. Some members were suspicious that he did not follow through with this promise, however this is unconfirmed, and their accusations are likely to be borne out of resentment for the termination of the gambling.

MTMWSOMAJFSH was subsequently set up from this group of friends in 2006, and originally comprised of 7 members. Each member received a letter from the founder and chairman, "Ace Man", and was invited to attend the first meeting, hosted by the Chairman himself in Parwich, Derbyshire.

Since the first meeting, 14 more meetings have been held, hosted by many different members, in various locations around the world. 5 more members have been added, whilst 1 member has been removed from the group.

Membership
All members were allocated nicknames, and during such meetings the members are only referred to using these aliases. Members may apply to join the group by writing a letter to the chairman, expressing their desire to join the group and explaining the reasons why they should be allowed to join. Their membership will then be discussed at the next meeting and a decision will be made. The Chairman reserves the right to remove anyone's membership from the group. There have been 5 successful applications, and one member has in fact been removed from the group for lack of commitment. A guest was permitted to attend for the preliminary stages of an evening on one occasion, however this was highly frowned upon. Dealers, however, are welcome, and will often be tipped generously.

There are several people who still desire to be a part of the group, and are resentful that their applications were rejected. They believe that the group is unfair in excluding others as it forms an alumni group which is unnecessarily elite. They also resent the fact that others have been allowed to join who they deem as less worthy than themselves.

There is a loose hierarchy within the group, which is largely dependent upon the commitment of the individuals in the group. Whenever matters are put to a vote, the votes of those members higher up the hierarchy carry more weight. The positions in the hierarchy are re-evaluated at every meeting.

Format
Meetings are hosted approximately twice a year, and different members offer to host each time. All members are invited, and meetings only take place if at least half of the members attend. There is a uniform that all members must wear when attending, and there are consequences if this is not adhered to.

Each attendee must bring £30 in cash as their stake for the evening. If the meeting is being held abroad then the local currency is used, and the amount should be approximately the same value as £30 using the current exchange rate.

Several games of Texas hold 'em are played at each meeting. At the first meeting, 5 games were played, with the stake being split between all 5 games. Currently only 3 games are played, between which the £30 stake is split. However many games are played, the proportion of the stake apportioned to each game increases with each game (i.e. the last game is always worth more money that the first).

Minutes
Before the poker commences, it has become customary to hold a short meeting in order to cover any administrative matters. These meetings are chaired by the most senior member of the group present, and minutes are taken by the secretary. See the catalogue of minutes from these meetings on the minutes page.

Members
The members are listed here in the order of the hierarchy as of September 2015.

Ace Man
Ace Man is the founder of the group, and has retained his role as Chairman ever since. He is generally liked by all the members of the group, despite the fact that his methods of leadership sometimes alter in order to suit himself. His commitment has been strong despite the fact that he has spent much time working overseas. However, his poker ability is quite poor and is generally more interested in the social side.

Two Pair
Two Pair is the nominated secretary of the group, and some people might see him as the right hand man to Ace Man. His attendance has been strong, but this is largely due to the fact that he manipulates the meetings to ensure that they are only on dates when he is able to attend. Initially he was often accused of not drinking in order to perform better at poker, however, in reality, he did not drink as much as others due to his lack of ability to drink. More recently this has changed due to the increase in his drinking prowess, but this seems to be inversely proportional to the quality of his poker playing.

Where's My Cow
Where My Cow is an original member, whose company is enjoyed by all. However, his attendance has been poor, largely due to the fact that he lives in Taiwan, was sent on National Service, and has taken up a religion that does not allow gambling. In many ways, it is odd that he has managed to retain his membership in the group. Nevertheless, he was recently elected to spiritual leader of the group, and has suspiciously attended every meeting since.

Not Quite the Man
Not Quite the Man is an original member, however his commitment was regularly questioned. He failed a to attend a meeting for some time, and also had several failed attempts at hosting meetings, before finally managing to host one in glorious setting. Despite this impressive event, it became evident that he did not agree with the ethics of the group, claiming that they were "puerile and immature. He threatened to quit the group, but it turned out that this was just a publicity stunt, and used it as a bargaining chip to make himself Vice-President of the group.

Lamehand
Lamehand's commitment has been erratic, although he has shown good attendance more recently. His poker playing ability often surprises you.

Same Suit
Same Suit has the strongest attendance, mainly because he has nothing else to do, apart from one incidence where he pulled out at the last minute inexplicably, despite the fact that he had previously agreed to provide transport for other members of the group. Same Suit is generally regarded as the best poker player, however he has often struggled to prove this. He also refuses to consume much alcohol during the meetings in order to make sure his mind is fully on the game, much to the distaste of the other members.

Half a Hand
Half a Hand applied for membership to MTMWSOMAJFSH in 2007, and was invited to attend the 4th meeting, hosted by Same Suit in August 2007, on a trial basis. After joining, he became a very enthusiastic member of the group, and was elevated to the highest position of any non-original member. However, his true colours have recently shown through, displaying evidence that he may hold such things as "cricket", "Melbourne", "Emily" and "Bates" in higher regard. This is currently under investigation.

River Queen
River Queen is the only female member, and the only member who was not a member of School House at Repton School (she was a member of Field House, at Repton School). She was invited to attend the second meeting as a dealer. Her company was very much enjoyed, and was subsequently invited to deal at the third meeting. However, after late drop outs from Bet Small and Not Quite the Man, she was invited to play. Once more, she performed impressively on the night, and was subsequently invited to become a full member of the group.

The Magician
The Magician has always shown strong commitment in attending the meetings, but his recent emigration to New Zealand has been thought to be quite disrespectful to the group. He is also an extremely poor poker player. He does however use some impressive distraction techniques, which include continuously talking to Green Monkey, a stuffed cuddly toy, and asking him for advice. He also has a huge ginger beard..

The Flop
The Flop applied for membership of the group in 2012 and was offered a trial at the June 2012 meeting. He was subsequently voted into the group, but proceeded to fail miserably at making a case to enter the hierarchy above the bottom spot. Therefore, he resides at the bottom, and it could take considerable power to lift him up, for several reasons.

Nine High
Nine High applied for membership and was invited to attend the 4th Meeting, hosted by Same Suit in 2007, on a trial basis. Some members were disgruntled as he managed to clean up in the poker on his first visit. However, socially he has been amicable, although has not been able to attend many meetings, nor has he hosted one. This is partly due to the fact that he lived in the Isle of Man. He has recently seen the error of his ways, and therefore moved to London solely to be able to attend more MTMWSOMAJFSH gatherings.

Bet Small
Bet Small was invited to the second meeting as a fully fledged member, against normal protocol. However, after this meeting he made little/no attempt to attend another meeting, and subsequently was removed from the group.

Green Monkey
Green Monkey is a soft cuddly toy that The Magician often asks for advice during poker games as a distraction technique. As a result, Green Monkey was kidnapped after one of the meetings and was held to ransom. Following this he did not make an appearance at meetings for some time. However, he recently returned to the poker table for a fleeting few hands in January 2012.

Random Guy
At the second meeting the host, The Magician, had accidentally double booked the evening as he had also agreed to go for a drink with a Random Guy. As a compromise, the group allowed the Random Guy to play the preliminary rounds of the evening. During these rounds the Random Guy was £10 down, and now will have no opportunity to win this back. Therefore, in some ways, the members of MTMWSOMAJFSH are happy with this outcome as the group is better off financially as a result.

Mr McClary
Mr McClary was an English teacher at Repton School. He was also a house tutor at School House.