[benkahuna]

[ QUOTE ]
Whoa, I just thought of something that almost made my head explode.

If berating a fish and scaring him away is a fish move in itself, then wouldn't it also be a fish move to berate a fish FOR berating another fish since doing so scares said fish from his own games and likely into your games?

[/ QUOTE ]

In a word, no. It's a meta-fish move to say something to a fish to improve their play. While a bad play, it affects you directly and it's something you want to stop. Lou Krieger had the best quote basically saying you make money from the idiocy of your opponents, not your wonderful play. And when you cut off one good source of income at any table, you're making a huge mistake. One good leaky player can turn a slightly unprofitable table into a very profitable table. And words can easily plug the leak.

Additionally, while your post was sort of cute in its attempt at a hall of mirrors type thing, a fish that's fish move is to berate fish might otherwise have a good game so you don't necessarily want that critic fish in your game. You can predict that such a player is more likely to tilt because they're hyperemotional (and may be tilting and responding to a bad beat that just occurred). However, I still think you lose something if the critic affects the play of a loose, leaky fish. Additionally, a player with some skill on tilt is a much more difficult opponent with which to deal than a calling station type fish. It's certainly been the case in my experience.