$80-$160 Hand: Request For Comments

[Dynasty]

the "clueless" referred to Jim had no knowledge of the player, not that the player was playing with no clue.

Why would yo think that? Jim's exact words were "The small blind is a clueless tourist." That sure sounds like Jim has assessed this player's skill level as very low.

You are also wrong about what S&M have said about unknown players.

[Ed Miller]

I don't know about making assumptions in an 80-160 game, but if I assumed that every new player that I didn't know in my games played poorly... I would be about 95% correct.

[skp]

Given that the majority of poker players lose money, it's logical to assume that an unknown player does not play very well. You then have to keep watch to see if he proves otherwise.

In a small cardroom, a stranger will almost always be a poor player. If he were a good player, he would probably play a lot more often and wouldn't be a stranger. In other words, guys who play very little are generally poor players. That doesn't mean that guys who play a lot must necessarily be good players. I know guys who have been losing their shirt year in and year out. What's more, they make the same mistakes they made 5 years ago. I have no idea how they mange to continue enjoy playing. I don't care how rich you are, consistently losing money in a poker game (even if the money means very little to you) can't be a whole lot of fun.