[Buffalo Head]

"Casual poker players are doomed by the fatal attraction of the inside straight."

Not always, it depends on the "pot odds". If the ratio of money in the pot to the amount of the bet is greater than the odds of making the winning hand, then it is appropriate to make the bet. Such calculations are the key to winning in poker over the long haul. It is easy to understand why you were unable to do better than break even.

Poker experts and professional gamblers understand the odds, practice discipline and win over the less informed. Not every hand, but over the long haul, because they only put money in the pot when they have favorable odds.

Successful poker theory applies to life in general.

[Congressman Billybob]

Yes, I know about "pot odds." But a lot gets left on the cutting room floor when any subject is reduced to three paragraphs. The general point is true, that losing players lose mostly because they do not get out of losing hands, early enough.

Anyone can make money on the good hands. It's what one does with the marginal and bad hands which separate the sheep from the goats.

John / Billybob