Life of a Poker Player

FTP has become so mainstream that its commercials air not only during poker tournaments it sponsors but also during regular prime time hours on ESPN and ESPN2. Many of the commercials center on the charm of playing live, observing other people's tells, and soul-reading to make the hero laydown or call. However, it is incredibly ironic given that FTP is an online site! I have done almost no soul-reading online and rarely use any timing tells as a decision factor. Furthermore, I do not give off many tells, as I play fast (at least in hold'em) and randomize timing, when warranted. Annoyingly, my unstable internet connection also adds another timing variable that is sadly beyond my control. Other than the thrill of picking up a big hand, I have not observed the other charms that the FTP commercials attempt to illustrate.

I was reading Roy Winston's blog, and he makes an excellent point about the difference between showing up late for a tournament having already been registered and signing up late. In the former case, one's chips are blinded off, and in the latter, one arrives with a fresh stack. This is incredibly inequitable, and the simplest solution would be to disallow registrations once the tournament has commenced. Basically, there is an edge to registering as late as possible. I suppose one may arrive so late that registration period has closed, but at that point, I would argue the tournament is no longer worth playing.