Anyone have any thoughts on this?

[Mike Gallo]

http://www.thepokerforum.com/runehansen2.htm

[jasonHoldEm]

I found it hard to get past this...

[ QUOTE ]
Poker rule number one can therefore be stated as: Expect to lose.

[/ QUOTE ]

I've never played poker expecting to lose and I think this sort of advice leads players into a weak/tight candy coated shell (with a gooey center). You should expect to win over the longrun and have a good understanding of exactly what the longrun is...that should be poker rule number one.

I did my best to read the rest of the article, and the author gives some decent points about studying hard and the like, but leading with this sort of drivel makes everything he says afterwards completely flawed, IMHO.

(I hope I haven't offended anyone, it's late and I'm cranky).

jHE

[Mike Gallo]

I did my best to read the rest of the article, and the author gives some decent points about studying hard and the like, but leading with this sort of drivel makes everything he says afterwards completely flawed, IMHO

I agree with you. Now you see why everyone should feel fortunate we have a site like Two Plus Two.

[blackaces13]

I feel like its good avice for 90% of all people who play poker or will play poker and really BAD advice for the 10% who possess the requisite intellect, study habits, dedication and will to win and get better, a lot better. Granted, most people aren't willing to put it the hours studying and thinking about the game and the finer points of how it can be beaten. Furthermore, most people probably SHOULDN'T put in the massive effort because their interest in the game is borne out of entertainment purposes and they prefer to be a casual player who actually enjoys the inherent swings of the game and is willing to pay a little in the longrun for the excitement, just like craps players. There's nothing wrong with that attitude and in fact it may be healthier than the attitude of many on this board, myself included.

I don't look at poker as a hobby that I should pay for BUT I've probably spent thousands of hours reading and talking about the game and I only started playing about 4 months ago. I've actually woken up in the morning after a long session and looked at the alarm clock saying 6:35 and thought in my head, "6-3-5, damnit, not the flop I wanted with my AK, I bet one of these jokers here has 4-7 too. I'm gonna fold" Then as the alarm keeps beeping I'm thinking in my head, "What? I already folded, my cards have been mucked." Then I realize that its really an alarm going off and I should get up for work. Most people people probably wouldn't want to get to that level of obsession over a card game, can you blame them?

If you took a guy off the street and forced him to read the amount of material I've read and talk about poker and play the amount of poker I've played in the last 4 months it would probably be like a prison sentence for him. And what do I have to show for it so far? Maybe 2 or 3 hundred bucks from $.5-1 which I've slowly been losing lately. Is it really even worth it? Well, to 90% of all people I would say absolutley not. But to me, I actually love the process of trying to get better and my main goal IS winning and it will remain winning.

So the advice in the article does not apply to me, and I'm not bragging when I say this. Poker took hold of me like a disease and there's no way I'm getting over it anytime soon. But to the majority of players I say the advice is wise to take to heart, because they WON"T win. And more than likely, the amount of work it would take on their part to become a winner is simply NOT worth it.

[subq]

maybe you should have written an article instead

well said [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[benfranklin]

My thought is why would I read an article written by a loser? So I didn't.

[southerndog]