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Full boat? Fold.

I remember reading somewhere (probably ATL, maybe here) about a newly minted associate asking what sort of car he should buy so that he could roll into his firm's garage looking 1) professional enough to avoid the "he drives THAT?!?" commentative end of the automotive spectrum, but 2) modest enough to avoid the cocky/radical/crusty-old-partner-thinks-its-too-flashy end. I remember musing to myself, "I will never compromise my taste in cars for a job", accompanied with the haughtiest of laughter. As it turns out, I haven't changed, and my first non-frugal splurge post-graduation will prove it (it'll be a 69' Mach 1 (is it a coincidence that the tinyurl path I got was "yakcky"?)).

Anyway, I don't think my resolve extends to poker. The most recent ABL PHT talks about a potential showdown between an associate-poker-stud and junior partner-poker-host. The general consensus seems to be that the bruise to rapport isn't worth the potential take. I agree... in any sport, people take pride in their performance, especially if they consider themselves above average. Even though the junior partner may not wield a particular amount of power currently, by the time your consideration for partner comes up, his bitterness (subconscious or not) may have swayed others against you. 90% is a tough number to get to, and egos are fragile.

The best strategy (as a commenter noted) would be to rake in against the other players, but throw the game to the partner if you meet head-to-head. This can be applied to other contests as well, so long as your loss seems genuine. So would you fold the nuts or take him for all he's worth?

Full post as published by Nuts & Boalts on August 27, 2009 (boomark / email).