Re: Is it a disadvantage to be at the featured table?
[ QUOTE ]
THe really good question is how does being at the featured table affect the play, since you know you are going to be on TV.
My hypothosis is that people try more "fancy" plays on the TV table (bluffs, check raising, "big laydowns", etc).
[/ QUOTE ]
Your hypothesis is quite reasonable, but, in my experience, the opposite is true. People try fewer fancy plays, because they are afraid of looking foolish. It may be that I have the evidence that you're bluffable on a given hand, and I should try to bluff you when I have no hand and no draw. However, if I know I'm going to look foolish on TV if it doesn't work out, I might choose to forego the play.
This year, on day 1, I was with a group of players on an outer table. At the end of level 2, they moved us to the TV table. You never saw a game tighten up so fast. No more calling raises preflop with 1-gappers and such. These guys, at least most of them, became very tight and very predictable postflop, and it made it much easier for me to control the table.
It didn't hurt that I caught a rush of cards and flops, either.
Later, Greg Raymer (FossilMan)
|