> And there's a prime example. If you're actually holding the *best > possible* hand -- that is, you know the odds of any other player > having a better hand are *zero* -- then knowing the odds certainly > will influence how you play your hand! > > I guess I can believe that people *have* been bluffed or bullied while > holding the best possible hand -- but I have a hard time believing in > such stupidity. It's actually more often the other way around: trying to represent that you have the best possible hand (technically called "the nuts") by betting strongly into the guy who actually has it. I have learned that, in the long-run, this is not a money-making venture. In actual practice, if you are playing limit poker (the amount you can bet at any one time being limited by rule) and it is a low limit, then if you have the patience to wait for a good hand before putting your money in, and then bet strongly, you can beat the game. Astonishingly few people have the patience and discipline to wait for a good hand. "I didn't come here to fold," being the battlecry. When you get into higher limits where the good players live, or no-limit poker, or tournament poker, then you need additional skills.