Give Arieh a Break

[Daliman]

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Please, the call was terrible. He should either move in or muck. Sure maybe he is planning to bet out on any non AK flop but we will never know.

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Right, we will never know... except that he CHECKED IN THE DARK.

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This was obviously and, I belive even credited by DW as such, a Luske-inspired play. He made a point of saying to the dealer, "check in the dark, make sure you say i said check in the dark"
WHat exactly does this do for you tactically, btw? I could probably figure it out, but i'm not thinking real clearly lately...

[challenger84]

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I've got news for you golfers and tennis players, this ain't golf or tennis! If you don't like people making comments about other people's bad play, don't play poker! Don't watch poker on TV! Go back to playing tennis and golf. Arieh was right, and since so much was at stake, he couldn't believe the guy made such a big mistake and Arieh got angry. I would too and I might've thrown some chips in the other guy's face. "Take some chips, son, you're gonna need 'em the way you play poker!"

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You are the idiot that table coaches at Party 2/4... Nah, probably .5/1 and 5+1 SNG's. Congratulations.

[MRBAA]

I didn't think the call was horrible against the range of hands I could put Arieh on there and the stack sizes/blinds at the time.

Here's my ass rating for the tourney:

1. Matusow
2. Arieh
3. Andersson
4. Hellmuth (he didn't last long, but his ridiculous comments and assumption he "should" win earn extra credit).
5. Marcel Luske -- may be an okay guy but his annoying singing and waving are particularly rude considering how long he's been playing.

These guys should look at Harrington, Brunson, Lederer, Ivey, Raymer, Seidel and lots of others and realize you don't have to be a jerk or have no personality to win.

[B Dids]

My only thought on the check is this.

Williams stack is so short than he's probably moving in with most good hands. So the difference between being kinda short and very short may not have seemed meaningful to him. As such, he was able to call with a low PP, check in the dark because he's:

A - folding if he doens't get the flop he wants and/or doesn't like his read on Arieh.

B - pushing if he gets a flop/read he liked and this way he may get more of Arieh's chips.

That's not how I'd play 55 in that spot, but without more context it's really hard to make any judgement.

About Arieh:

I don't defend his actions, but if I knew nothing of Greg's history (which based on his "most experienced" comment, Arieh doesn't) and say this guy taking tons of coinflips and winning a vast majority of them, I might take a "bust this mf-er" attitude as well. (and keep in mind that Greg had earlier moved in on Arieh, Josh folded, and Raymer showed T8). The difference of course, is that I wouldn't say that outloud knowing that it could be on national TV.

I understand that to be competative on a high level typically requires a high level of confidence. I mean, hell, every time I sit down at a 20/2, I believe that I'm the best player at the table. That said- it's also important to be self-aware enough to realize that those thoughts are in some way an intentional delusion and that it's not something that you should say on national TV if you care the least about what people think of you.

[cowpie]

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You are the idiot that table coaches at Party 2/4... Nah, probably .5/1 and 5+1 SNG's. Congratulations.

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You are the idiot that table coaches at Party .2/.4... Nah, probably .05/.01 and .05+.01 SNG's. Congratulations.

[cowpie]

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All this post proves is that you are an ass too. Congratulations.

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Send me the check in the mail, or meet me at the poker table and I'll win the money that way. You play limit hold 'em $0.05/$0.10? I'm sure I've seen you there when laughing at the losers. I'll still win $1000 from you at that level.

[Cashcow]

Agreed

[Cashcow]

You really have no idea what class is do you.
You can be upset, angry, whatever without being a dick.
Arieh was simply a dick and thats all there is to it.

[young nut]

Have you guys never heard of a thing called "having an edge."

Yes, this is poker remember, where psychology matters! Similar to football when linemen talk trash to one another to try and gain an edge over eachother. Perhaps Arieh was trying to get the other players off their game and pissed off. By doing so, he makes them start playing angry when in a hand with him. GIVING HIM AN EDGE.

Any edge in poker makes for a huge advanatage, so if someone wants to celebrate like crazy, throw lude comments out, or juggle firey rings at the table to give themselves an edge, then I say go for it. Poker is all about being different and finding the best angles to win against your opponents. When the game is over you can show respect to the other players, but while the game is in progress, you are tying to WIN: plain and simple.

So I don't critisize Arieh for his comments, I commend him for finding a tactic that gives himself an edge.

[jedi]

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I didn't think the call was horrible against the range of hands I could put Arieh on there and the stack sizes/blinds at the time.



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If we're still talking about Williams' 55 hand vs. Arieh, I disagree. He called off 1/3 of his stack with 55 against a known agressive player, then checked in the dark. IMO, there are only 3 options here: 1) Fold 2) Raise all-in 3) Pull a stop-and-go. Williams did none of these. Of course, I'm just a $30 SnG player, so what do I know?

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Here's my ass rating for the tourney:

1. Matusow
2. Arieh
3. Andersson
4. Hellmuth (he didn't last long, but his ridiculous comments and assumption he "should" win earn extra credit).
5. Marcel Luske -- may be an okay guy but his annoying singing and waving are particularly rude considering how long he's been playing.


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Okay, why the hell is Mattias Andersson getting so much flack here on this thread? He's never berated an opponent, never said he had teeny, tiny, little balls, and never even really complained when he got beat. About the only thing he's done is yell and scream when he wins and while that's very annoying ("Act like you've been there before, kid"), it's nowhere near what Arieh and Matusow have done.

Similarly with Luske. He's having a good time at the tables. A little singing, a little table talk, but he never berated anyone after a hand and always had respect for his opponents.