Interesting site; analysis criticizes HEPFAP

[ddubois]

Anyone have an opinion on the merit of this essay?

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/People/mummert/poker/

[Nottom]

Here is Mason's response to this article:

Mason's thoughts (http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=holdem&Number=300714&Forum =All_Forums&Words=New%20Guide&Match=Entire%20Phras e&Searchpage=0&Limit=25&Old=1year&Main=300714&Sear ch=true#Post300714)

[TimTimSalabim]

[ QUOTE ]
The key decision any hold'em player makes is whether or not to play the starting 2 card hand they are dealt.

[/ QUOTE ]

He started off on such weak footing, I didn't bother reading the rest of it.

[SpaceAce]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
The key decision any hold'em player makes is whether or not to play the starting 2 card hand they are dealt.

[/ QUOTE ]

He started off on such weak footing, I didn't bother reading the rest of it.

[/ QUOTE ]

You consider that statement to be incorrect? Every single decision you make in the hand from that point on stems from your single decision to play the hand or not as the case may be. You analyze your position, your opponents, who is in, who is likely to be in, how likely you are to be raised or reraised, etc. Exactly what is weak about his statement? Without the decision to play the hand, [i]there are no other decisions to be made[/b].

SpaceAce

[TimTimSalabim]

What I'm saying is that compared to the decisions you have to make post-flop, whether to play a hand or not is a relatively easy decision, at least once you understand the basics. Learning what hands to play alone will not make you a winning holdem player, except maybe in the softest games. If you got a bunch of world-class holdem players together, they would all probably differ on what starting hands they see as playable. But one thing they would all share would be an ability to make expert decisions after the flop, and it is that ability that is most important to their success. Just because it's the first decision, does not make it the most important.