I have been part of this community not since the beginning, but reasonably close. I have not always been an active poster. Many times circumstances prevented me from playing poker, so I watched, from the shadows, as this community evolved into what it is today. I would like to congratulate the Admins of this site for managing the explosive growth that FTR has experienced.
Unfortunately, the larger and more complex something grows, the more it takes to hold it together. I have noticed over several months, the steady decline of quality posts. Fnord used to refer to it as Signal: Noise. No longer is a thread titled “Did I play this right?” really informative. The poster, wanting quick analysis, or validation, is not to blame for this, the people who read it are.
Why? You may ask. The answer is because those who read the post quickly scroll to the end to input their opinion; however, they do not read and absorb the knowledge presented by more experienced players. If they did, I would not have to sift through several KK QQ JJ questions every day, looking for ‘gem’ posts.
This can be taken a step further by looking at ‘copycat opinions’ if someone has already stated how and why something is or should be done, there is no need to restate the same idea in different words. It takes up valuable reading time that could have been spent on fresh ideas. If someone posts you should make a call/fold/raise and WHY (<-very important), then don’t post the same thing unless you have something to add.
Every angle of a problem should be discussed, there should be no right or wrong. Poker is like the English language: for every rule there exists 1000’s of exceptions. I encourage new players to learn the fundamentals of the game, but after absorbing super system and theory of poker (maybe even adv. Holdem) it is time to start thinking outside the box. An obvious example of this would be comparing Fnord’s style against Ripptyde’s. Which is better? Neither! Both have their merits and follies.
I see players on here idolize soupie and Ilikeaces. This may stroke their ego, but it is horrible for new players. You cannot be soupie, you cannot play like soupie. You can however, pick his brain for knowledge that you can adapt to your style. You CAN play as well as, or even better than the soupies of the poker world, but you must work towards this. soupie is a great player because he understands that nothing in poker is static, everything is dynamic. What was correct the last time may be incorrect this time around. You must have a thorough understanding of the game, fit into a style that suits you, in order to consistently make correct decisions.
I would like to see fewer posts asking whether or not something was correctly played, and more posts asking creative hypothetical questions. Hypothetical questions are great because they allow a poster to tailor his question. Did you make a mistake because you lost with KK, I don’t care, because I didn’t see the hand. Hand History’s are only good for pointing out glaring mistakes in your game, they are relevant for only the noobs. By the time you’re a profitable player, you should have evolved beyond the need for these posts. Why? Because you already know that you Fucked up. A good player is one that spots his own mistakes. Hypothetical questions, are absolutely fantastic for expanding your poker mind because they have no simple answer. To reach a conclusion with a good hypothetical question, there must be open debate.
For example: Fnord wrote this question. (thread topic is included)
Deep money cash NLHE - Why are you raising pre-flop?
http://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=21234
Simple question, but I suspect a lot of people don't really get it...
100-200BB effective stacks. Why raise pre-flop?
What are the merits of the following openers:
2BB
2.5BB
3BB
4BB
Bigger
This question is absolutely beautiful, and it spawned a great many responses, where everyone chimed in with an opinion. A new player reading this thread would be able to consider what everyone has said and form their own opinion on opening raises.
So please guys, less noise, more signal.
Ok, I’m going to get off the soapbox now. Thanks for reading this, and I hope that I helped expand your mind in some way shape or form.
