UltimateBet.net Poker Challenge: Quote

[Big_Jim]

I was just watching the UltimateBet.net Poker Challenge on Fox Sports and heard the announcer say the following:

"You know the saying with planes, 'Any safe landing is a good one?' Well, it's kind of like that in poker, any pot that you win, you played it right, somehow."


The quote above immediately followed this hand:

6 handed, all stacks fairly fairly close to $10000

Blinds at $200/$400

<font color="red">UTG+1 Raises to $800</font> with K/images/graemlins/heart.gifQ/images/graemlins/diamond.gif
Button Calls with A/images/graemlins/spade.gif 5/images/graemlins/club.gif
SB Calls with Q/images/graemlins/heart.gifJ/images/graemlins/spade.gif
BB Calls with T/images/graemlins/club.gif3/images/graemlins/diamond.gif

Flop ($3200) : 8/images/graemlins/club.gifT/images/graemlins/diamond.gif4/images/graemlins/spade.gif
<font color="red">SB Bets $400</font>. BB Calls $400. <font color="red">UTG+1 Raises $400 to $800</font>. <font color="grey">Button Folds</font>. SB Calls $400. BB Calls $400.

Turn ($5600): [8/images/graemlins/club.gifT/images/graemlins/diamond.gif4/images/graemlins/spade.gif] 9/images/graemlins/club.gif

<font color="red">SB Bets $3000</font>. <font color="grey">BB Folds. UTG+1 Folds</font>


Poker on TV is a [censored] joke.

[Jordan Olsommer]

John Allen Paulos had a great bit about this type of phenomenon regarding the stock market in his book "A Mathematician Plays the Stock Market" - the market rewards you for being right, not for being right for the right reason. He was telling the story of a grade school teacher asking around the room for anybody to give her two examples of pronouns. She calls on an aloof underacheiving boy, who when he hears his name, replies "Who, me?"

That person is rewarded in the market (and in poker) because he got the correct answer. It doesn't matter at all whether or not he got it for the right reason (to further clarify this principle, ask yourself how many times you've had to submit an essay justifying every move you made in a hand before the dealer would push you the pot).

The reason we try to make theoretically correct plays is because those plays correlate with "the right answer" much more often than any other method of playing (e.g. going all-in with nothing but a two-outer and hope) - nevertheless, a person who makes the right theoretical play 100% of the time doesn't stand a chance against someone who continually goes all-in with two-outers and hits them every single time.

[Big_Jim]

That doesn't change the fact that the announcer's statement is absurd.

Just because you won the pot does not mean that you ever did anything right.

[Jordan Olsommer]

[ QUOTE ]
That doesn't change the fact that the announcer's statement is absurd.

Just because you won the pot does not mean that you ever did anything right.

[/ QUOTE ]

I was describing in my post what it seemed to me the announcer meant (note the "somehow" at the end). Notice how this is different from an announcer saying "He won the pot, so clearly he played his hand correctly."

[detroitplayer]

Reminds me of this hand - I am in the CO.

UTG - 2 /images/graemlins/club.gif 8 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif
UTG+1 - 9 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif 7 /images/graemlins/club.gif
CO - 2 /images/graemlins/spade.gif 2 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif
SB - claims he held a 10
BB - K /images/graemlins/diamond.gif 3 /images/graemlins/heart.gif

Preflop: UTG raises to $2. UTG+1 calls. CO calls. Button folds. SB calls. BB raises to $4.25. UTG calls. UTG+1 calls. CO calls. SB raises to $8.50. BB calls. UTG calls. UTG+1 calls. CO calls.

Flop: 4 /images/graemlins/spade.gif 10 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif 10 /images/graemlins/club.gif

SB checks. BB bets $1 (into a sixty dollar pot.) UTG raises to $2 (trying to thin out the field). UTG calls. CO calls. SB folds (trips apparently - cuz he starts cussing in chat saying he meant to call.) BB calls.

Turn: A /images/graemlins/heart.gif

BB goes all in $19.70. UTG (smooth) calls (with what looks to be an obvious set up for UTG+1 in an attempt to get his extra $3 bucks with his 8 high.) UTG+1 reraises all in $22.40. CO folds (ok, i've had enough fellas. lets see your sets and two pairs.) UTG calls (thinking his 8 high must be good.)

River: 6 /images/graemlins/heart.gif

BB wins $130.60 with high card: K. UTG+1 wins $5.70 with high card: 9.

UTG+1 to BB after the hand: "well played, I thought you had a full house."
UTG says "damn!"

[Autocratic]

[ QUOTE ]
Reminds me of this hand - I am in the CO.

UTG - 2 /images/graemlins/club.gif 8 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif
UTG+1 - 9 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif 7 /images/graemlins/club.gif
CO - 2 /images/graemlins/spade.gif 2 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif
SB - claims he held a 10
BB - K /images/graemlins/diamond.gif 3 /images/graemlins/heart.gif

Preflop: UTG raises to $2. UTG+1 calls. CO calls. Button folds. SB calls. BB raises to $4.25. UTG calls. UTG+1 calls. CO calls. SB raises to $8.50. BB calls. UTG calls. UTG+1 calls. CO calls.

Flop: 4 /images/graemlins/spade.gif 10 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif 10 /images/graemlins/club.gif

SB checks. BB bets $1 (into a sixty dollar pot.) UTG raises to $2 (trying to thin out the field). UTG calls. CO calls. SB folds (trips apparently - cuz he starts cussing in chat saying he meant to call.) BB calls.

Turn: A /images/graemlins/heart.gif

BB goes all in $19.70. UTG (smooth) calls (with what looks to be an obvious set up for UTG+1 in an attempt to get his extra $3 bucks with his 8 high.) UTG+1 reraises all in $22.40. CO folds (ok, i've had enough fellas. lets see your sets and two pairs.) UTG calls (thinking his 8 high must be good.)

River: 6 /images/graemlins/heart.gif

BB wins $130.60 with high card: K. UTG+1 wins $5.70 with high card: 9.

UTG+1 to BB after the hand: "well played, I thought you had a full house."
UTG says "damn!"

[/ QUOTE ]

No way this actually went down. No.

[UATrewqaz]

Most likely a slip up by the announcer, as nobody could possibly believe that stupid statement.

What about a hand where you flop a royal flush against a large, aggressive field and check it down to the river?

Ya you're gonna win that hand, doesn't mean you played it right.

[js13_tps]

I remember hearing any hand you win, compared to airplane landings, but cannot say for certain he said you played it right. Something along those lines though.

I was about half asleep. Norman Chad is a great announcer compared to the two on that show, I was hoping for an ex wife joke to liven things up.