I have said many times that BB is much like in poker. Today I had this funny feeling when I played poker, that the same types of players can be found in BB too.

Of course these types in poker exist only in lower stakes, but still...

The ones who play for fun without care:

This type of player does not really care about odds. He makes some risky moves before the safe ones, and doesn't think about the odds compared to some other possibilities. They like to do high risk, high reward moves.

In poker these players don't know nothing about pot odds and such. They call your bets if they have some kind of a hand or draw.

Both in poker and BB these opponents can be hard ones to play against. You position your players to make the most obvious action harder for opponent, and then he goes with the unthinkable one. And sometimes succees with that 6+, 5+, 5+ action without reroll.

Usually these players are called noobs. Usually they are beginners, but sometimes they have played the game a lot and they just love gambling and having fun without too much of a thinking.

Some of these players are thinking that they play the perfect game, and blame bad luck everytime they fail or lose. There are a lot of these in poker. And I have seen few here in FUMBBL.


The ones who play with calculator:

Total opposite of the previous. These players are usually good in math, and they go with the odds. Risk is something that doesn't belong to their vocalubary. They are better in limit poker than no-limit.

In poker these are the ones who make money out of the previous ones. They know that in the long run things go with the odds.

In BB this kind of playing is effective in the long run. Although it lacks the memorable moments and heroic efforts (except in last turns).


Those that belong to both:

Now most players are some kind of a mix between these two types. It safe to say that those who are closer to calculator are winning more than those who are not.

Notice that I didn't say "better coaches". If good coach is only measured by the win %, then it could be said. Both in poker and BB I don't rate "goodness" by winnings. I play both for fun, and when I have fun the opponent has been good.

(I play live poker for fun. When I play online, all I care about are the winnings. So that previous statement is written with live games in mind.)

So how did this all come to my mind? I was playing online, and this guy I was playing against was the type that didn't know anything about odds or pot odds. He basicly handed his money to me, and every time he didn't make his draw or I got mine, he whined.

Suddenly I thought that "if he played BB, he would be the one who whines when his Khemri skeletons fail 4+ dodges almost half of the time".

Is there a moral lesson in this? Yes. Don't judge player/coach goodness by just winnings. There's a lot more in BB and in poker than just winning at all cost. As long as both enjoy the game, it has been a good game.

Wins and loses come and go. Good games don't.