A meta-perspective
I'm posting this mostly because Tommy, who should (and deep-down, does) know better, said "I'm all for soft-playing."
People, look around you - on the Travel Channel, on ESPN, in Barnes & Noble, where Positively Fifth Street is leaping off the shelves. Or at the "Play Money" games online.
There are tens of thousands of people standing just outside the door to cardrooms, both B&M and virtual, all over the world. They're nervously peeking through the door, fascinated by what they see. They want, oh so bad, to sit down and play. But it's scary. It's smokey (in some places). Everybody looks grumpy.
But in spite of all that, some of these people muster the courage to sit down and put their hard-earned money on the table.
What do they see? The pro's, the regulars, soft-playing each other. "Oh," thinks the new player, "they're just going easy on each other - they plan to take my money."
So he gets up and walks out.
I have a 6-8 page paper that I'd like to write about how we, as a poker community, do a lousy job of attracting and encouraging new players. Even as those tens of thousands of new players are standing at the door, just hoping somebody will politely invite them in.
Better for your game, better for my game - who carers? It's lousy for the game. Bet your damn hand.
Regards, Lee
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