Quote:
Originally Posted by UpHillBothWays
this thread is long. i haven't read it b/c there's only 1 correct answer here which is the REALISTIC one of:
a) DONT BE A FREAKING NIT,
b) you want to let people know you're not a nit (Esp fish), so
----> c) post as soon as you possibly can to play. if you sit down UTG, just post on your bb. if you sit down in the sb, buy the button. if you sit down on the button, ask if you can throw an extra sb in and play the button, then when they say no, post when the button passes and lament that you missed your extra hand.
people like people who like to gamble and came to play. be one of those people. don't be a nit.
there should seriously be red hats w/ white block font from some politician that say "Make America LAG Again" and "Don't Be a Nit". i'd vote for that candidate for sure. he knows what's up.
I think this is wrong in a way I think few posts on 2+2 are wrong.
Basically, it suffers from a fundamental misunderstanding of poker. I will call it the "observant fish fallacy".
The observant fish fallacy has an extremely weird conception of bad players. Basically, it says that bad players watch the game and gather reads just like good players do. Indeed, they are basically just like good players, with one exception-- they are bad and don't play their hands correctly.
Good players who believe in the observant fish fallacy obsess about their table image. They obsess about people discussing strategy at the tables. They obsess about players making table and seat changes. Their whole philosophy of playing poker is that your winrate comes in not tipping the fish off that you are good, because then they will either morph into good players or at least leave.
This is completely wrong.
Fish have varied reasons for playing poker, and varied strategies. But in general, they don't do ANY of the things as well as good players do. In other words, they don't just play bad strategies. They also fail at the other things. They don't control tilt as well. They don't manage their bankrolls as well.
And, yes, they-- wait for it!-- DON'T PAY ATTENTION TO THE GAME.
The fish aren't observant. They don't care if you post in between or post behind. They don't care if you buy the button, or if you wait for the next round. And they are not going to pick up and leave the casino even if they do think you are a nit-- where are they going to go? They came to gamble! They want to gamble!
Just don't worry about what the fish think. If you want to lose a bit of money by being impatient and you are too undisciplined to watch a few hands before getting involved, post immediately. If you want to do the sensible thing, don't post immediately unless you are in a favorable situation. But in neither case should you justify your decision based on what the fish will observe. More than likely, the fish won't observe a thing.