you're locked in a room...

[fimbulwinter]

with a deck of cards and the rules for limit holdem printed on a page. you have food and water and nothing else. you've never played poker before in your life

how long until you figure out the gap concept?

discern the importance of position?

understand the game well enough to beat a semi-skilled game (like maybe 20/40 live)?

fim

[Ianco15]

I will answer this as soon as I learn what the "gap concept" is.

[JoshuaD]

Probably never. I'd spend my time building card castles.

[AngryCola]

This is actually a pretty interesting question.
I have thought about and changed my answer at least 5 times already.

I will go with never.

No matter how much one learns about the cards and game itself, it is hard to become a good player without actually competing against other people.

[Mammux]

I think Doyle has said that he did this. Well, not locked in a room. But he would play out thousands of hands against himself, just to think about the different situations that would come up.

-Magnus

[TStoneMBD]

i would definitely be able to slice a banana with a thrown card before i could figure out what the "gap concept" is.

[mack848]

[ QUOTE ]
semi-skilled game (like maybe 20/40 live)?

[/ QUOTE ]

What does this say about the game that the majority of 2+2ers play?

[Pepsquad]

Am I locked in the room BECAUSE I don't know what the gap concept/importance of position is? If so, I'll bet I could figure it out pretty fu**ing fast.

If not then, yeah, card castles sound good.

Pep.

[jtr]

Can I have some chips? Or stones, or a notepad, or something? I think that would accelerate the learning process a bit, as you'd need to keep score: "this guy who raises every time is doing poorly, this guy who calls every time is doing even worse", etc.

Edit: ah, I notice we have food and water. OK, large piles of frozen peas will have to stand in for chips.

[Jersey Nick]

Did Shaman put you up to this? Am I a pool player, a chess player or a golfer?

[Zetack]

[ QUOTE ]
with a deck of cards and the rules for limit holdem printed on a page. you have food and water and nothing else. you've never played poker before in your life

how long until you figure out the gap concept?

discern the importance of position?

understand the game well enough to beat a semi-skilled game (like maybe 20/40 live)?

fim

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not clear...do we get to play or do we just sit there with nothing do to except think about things including this game we have the rules to but have never played? Because if we don't get to actually play then the answer to all the questions is never. I don't even ever get the hand rankings memorized.

--Zetack

edit: seriously, I think you'd have to be on a genius level to figure those things out on your own without ever playing or even watching the game.

[Bluffoon]

[ QUOTE ]
with a deck of cards and the rules for limit holdem printed on a page. you have food and water and nothing else. you've never played poker before in your life

how long until you figure out the gap concept?

discern the importance of position?

understand the game well enough to beat a semi-skilled game (like maybe 20/40 live)?

fim

[/ QUOTE ]

I had enough trouble figuring these things out even with a big stack of books.

[jtr]

I think with absolutely nothing else to do, plus some way of keeping score and enough paper (or a PC) to keep records of your discoveries, you'd get some sense of starting hand requirements after a few months of dealing out hands and playing around the table.

The gap concept? Six months, a year, I don't know. Position -- longer. Getting good enough to beat a real game -- well, I'd say you could probably be expected to do that after five years in the room. You'd be recognizable as that smelly, bearded guy down the end of the table who looks like the Count of Monte Cristo.

[stonecoldnuts]

never.

[dansalmo]

Is the deck of cards the kind with the nudie girl pictures on back? If not, may be 1347 days, if so then probably never.