Hmmm, how to start this topic off? Perhaps I will throw in a very small thesis on why poker is the greatest family of card games on Earth. It's perhaps the most nonviolent way of testing someone's endurance. If you've ever played in a tournament, you will already understand why. For those who have never had the misfortune or pleasure, perhaps even playing in a very minor tourney, let me try to describe the feeling an average person would experience in a tournament. For the first hour or so, you're sitting very tight, you're focused, in the zone, getting good reads and taking good notes on opposing players. Then you start to slow down. Around the 4th hour, things start getting very intense. The cards aren't coming your way, you start to think you aren't winning enough hands, you feel that your opponents' chip stacks are too large or you're trying to protect your stack. Around hour 6, most people start collapsing like crazy, making very bad decisions or not playing well at all. They'll usually exit the tournament without winning a thing around hour 8. Despite the presence of the element of luck that is usually associated with card games, poker can take quite a lot of skill and quite a lot of endurance. Why do you think the same people keep winning more often? Luck may have something to do with it, but what happens when the pros start successfully calling out the cards that appear on the table? Poker allows you to do something you can't really do in other games, and that is to master the chaotic nature of the game. Psychology and mathematics are large components to the game. One of the most critical misconceptions about poker is that it's a gambling game, which leads to humorous discussions. Perhaps I'll simply express a quote from a player, "Gambling is when you go in knowing you're at very long odds and you're hoping for a miracle. Playing poker is when you go in knowing you have pretty good odds and you're hoping your opponent doesn't suck out on you."
With that said, it wouldn't be a bad idea at all to start a topic on poker games. Any experiences with poker, favorite games (I figure there may be a few people on here who have had run-ins with 7-card stud), etc? Perhaps just expressing your opinion on poker in general?
With that said, it wouldn't be a bad idea at all to start a topic on poker games. Any experiences with poker, favorite games (I figure there may be a few people on here who have had run-ins with 7-card stud), etc? Perhaps just expressing your opinion on poker in general?
