(OT) Party poker randomization (just observations, no whining)

[good2cu]

[ QUOTE ]
The human mind is remarkable in it's ability to create patterns out of anything. If we didn't have this ability, we wouldn't really be able to accomplish much. Our brains would behave essentially like low-powered computers that had no creativity and couldn't do anything we weren't told to do.

On the other hand, it causes us to create patterns in things that really aren't there. Because seeing similarities is a pattern, they tend to stick out in your mind. If you're playing 8-10 tables, you will almost always find something. However, consider all the tables you're playing and how almost all of the other combinations that could have happened, didn't happen.

Suppose you're playing 8 tables and you notice that you have similar hole cards on two of the tables and similar hole cards. You've noticed two similarities. However, with 8-tables there are 28 different pairs of hole cards you could have compared. So you're shooting 2/28, which is hardly remarkable.

[/ QUOTE ]

Have you read "Fooled by Randomness"?