[CaptainCrunch]

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It had to be repeated to me a few times when I first started reading the forums. And as tempting as it is to say 'quit whining' I think we need to remember where we came from.

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Well, as one of the guys this thread is undoubtably aimed at, thanks for this thread.

I know its damned annoying to see "newbs" whining non stop. I try to not whine so much as I plead for info... anyways!

Regarding this info needing to be repeated, I think it absolutely needs to be repeated down here in the micros! Not everyone is comfortable with math, or able to understand past a superficial level what SD will mean to their play. I myself am an artist... I ain't never been good at math (borderline learning disability) but damn it all if I'm going to let that stop me from comprehending this stuff! The average new player to the micro forum is not going to catch every cricical thread even in his first month of reading. (After all, you have to know what to look for before you can look for it) And once they've caught up with the critical reading, how long is it going to take before experience gives them a framework for comprehension, before they think ".....oh! Now I get it!" I think maybe I'm somewhere around that point.

It also helps that this thread was couched in more comprehensible language than they tend to be. Thank you.

Oh, and I did have a question re: Standard Deviation. Is that a statistic that is at all controllable? I don't mean "I am going to shave 5% off my SD" More like, how much of the SD rate emerges from our choices at the table, and how much emerges from the randomness of the cards dealt all around, and how much is the choices the other players make?