Strange Situation

[DangerMouse]

On one of the fishing forums I frequent there was a thread posted that talked about an angler being banned from a club because he had won 10/20 matches. A fair number of the replies were saying that the guy needed to stop fishing these easy matches and go up against quality opposition instead. I couldn`t help but compare it to poker where a player finding a table full of weak opposition would be applauded for his good sense and encouraged to play that game as often as he was able to. Strange how different the attitudes are eh?

[TIME]

Different outlook. It reminds me of, I think it was Eric Drache, who used to say he was the 8th best stud poker player in the entire world. His problem was he played regularly with the top seven players!

In our game it is generally recognized that the majority of your profit does not come from the brilliance of your own play but rather from the weakness/poor playing of your opponents. Seek out a target rich environment and you will prosper!

[RyckyRych]

Different games too. I don't fish, but I imagine that skill would have a greater overall effect on results in fishing than in poker, especially short-term.

In poker, anyone can beat anyone in the short-term for a variety of reasons. Other sports and activities its just not as true. I used to play golf with a friend of mine all the time thru high school and up into our twenties. We played hundreds of times and he NEVER beat me. Not once. He came close a few times but I was always good enough to "win". Same in tennis, he would win a few games but I always won the match.

Of course in golf you can balance this with handicaps, I don't see how that can be done in fishing. :)

[DangerMouse]

Different games too. I don't fish, but I imagine that skill would have a greater overall effect on results in fishing than in poker, especially short-term.

Yeah skill does play a bigger part although there is still an element of luck. I`m not sure of the field sizes he was up against but I imagine it was less than 20. For a poker player to win 10/20 games against a field of 20 would be tough.

Of course in golf you can balance this with handicaps, I don't see how that can be done in fishing. :)

It can be done, simply apply a weight penalty. So you reduce the actual weight of his total catch by 20lbs or whatever is deemed fair.

[Tim]

I don't see why the guy should be banned because he's won too many matches - unless they're running beginner events and he's a professional. Did anyone mention variance?

In our game it is generally recognized that the majority of your profit does not come from the brilliance of your own play but rather from the weakness/poor playing of your opponents. Seek out a target rich environment and you will prosper!

The same could be said for fishing. In fact there are quite a few similarities between fishing and poker..... patience being one of them. I think people who enjoy fishing would also enjoy poker.

I used to play golf with a friend of mine all the time thru high school and up into our twenties. We played hundreds of times and he NEVER beat me. Not once. He came close a few times but I was always good enough to "win". Same in tennis, he would win a few games but I always won the match.

That's no fun. I've always preferred to play tennis with people who are on the same skill level or thereabouts. If you never lose you never really appreciate the high of winning. Although maybe you disagree with that.

[DangerMouse]

I don't see why the guy should be banned because he's won too many matches - unless they're running beginner events and he's a professional. Did anyone mention variance?

They`re club matches, so anyone who is a member can enter. Obviously the guy is a class above the field but not a pro afaik.

No, no mention of varience

The same could be said for fishing. In fact there are quite a few similarities between fishing and poker..... patience being one of them. I think people who enjoy fishing would also enjoy poker.

Yep both require patience, tactics, skill but there`s an element of luck in both. Especially match fishing where you draw for your peg (where you`ll be fishing)

That's no fun. I've always preferred to play tennis with people who are on the same skill level or thereabouts. If you never lose you never really appreciate the high of winning. Although maybe you disagree with that.

Agreed there has to be a challenge or it gets boring. I once had a pool match against a mate of mine where we played 100 or 101 games and at the end of the night, well the following morning actually, only one or two games seperated us.

[TIME]

That's no fun. I've always preferred to play tennis with people who are on the same skill level or thereabouts. If you never lose you never really appreciate the high of winning. Although maybe you disagree with that.

I agree completely. If you take away the element of risk (the possibility of losing) you take away the buzz! Many years ago on The Twilight Zone, which was a big TV show years ago, there was an episode where a gambler dies and then everything he does he wins. He thought he went to heaven but as the days passed and he couldn't lose even if he tried he realized that heaven was not the destination he had reached. The classic scene is he breaks a rack of pool balls and every single one of them goes in on the break.

[J_Verschueren]

I agree completely. If you take away the element of risk (the possibility of losing) you take away the buzz! Many years ago on The Twilight Zone, which was a big TV show years ago, there was an episode where a gambler dies and then everything he does he wins. He thought he went to heaven but as the days passed and he couldn't lose even if he tried he realized that heaven was not the destination he had reached. The classic scene is he breaks a rack of pool balls and every single one of them goes in on the break.

Oooh, there's a blast from the past. I used to love those. Apart from Scooby Doo, that was about the only "scary" TV show I would watch. I loved the episode where the science professor accidently summoned the Devil and had to figure out a way to get rid of him without losing his soul.

[TIME]

Oooh, there's a blast from the past. I used to love those. Apart from Scooby Doo, that was about the only "scary" TV show I would watch. I loved the episode where the science professor accidently summoned the Devil and had to figure out a way to get rid of him without losing his soul.

Yes, excellent. I sometimes come up with dated references lost on today's younger audience but this was pretty well known.

There were several openings but my favorite, narrated by Rod Serling was:

"You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension - a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You've just crossed over into the Twilight Zone!"

Good stuff ... I can almost hear Rod's voice and the cool music in the background!

[RyckyRych]

Oooh, there's a blast from the past. I used to love those. Apart from Scooby Doo, that was about the only "scary" TV show I would watch. I loved the episode where the science professor accidently summoned the Devil and had to figure out a way to get rid of him without losing his soul.

Was that the Devil or some agent of his? IIRC the way he did it was to tell him to "get lost", LOL.