Stop using the standard attacks. Use the unorthodox. Don't let your pursuit of trinkets cloud your reality. Remember what I taught you general, if you're to succeed in combat against the best of the Jedi, you must have fear, surprise and intimidation on your side. What, if any one of element is lacking, it will be best if you retreat. You must break them before you engage them -- only then you will ensure your victory. -Count Dooku to General Grievous, "Clone Wars" on the Cartoon Network Was it ever in doubt? -Poker pro Josh Arieh during the 2004 World Series of Poker DOES IT HURT?, the maniac typed. Her trash two pair with 23o left me reeling with only five dollars and change at Full Tilt's .25/.50 NL table. I could imagine a glee on her face, as red as Darth Maul in Star Wars Episode I. It's like being in some Western, the bad guy standing over the good guy who just got knocked on the ground, blood on his lip, the sun in his face. It's just variance, I typed in. A good chunk of my Full Tilt bankroll was being tied up in a fishy $2/4 6-max table, and I only had $35 more dollars left to resupply after clicking on the "Get Chips" portion of the screen. I click it and pick myself back up. MI WILL PLAY SERIOUS NOW, she types, mocking me. The next hand, thankfully was KK. I was to the maniac's left and when she raised $1.75, I went all-in. Nobody in their right mind would call something like this. But a maniac is like a monster, totally unpredictable and likely very lacking in that part of the brain that dishes out logic. She calls with AJo. The kings hold up. Does it hurt? I immediately type. Payback is a bitch. I've been trash talking people way too often recently. Something I need to think about. IT'S NOT MY MONEY. comes the creepy "A Prayer for Owen Meany" response. I WILL GET IT ALL BACK, she types again as the next hand is being dealt. I hope she's not breaking things right now. Hee hee. Next hand, she's all in again. This time for more than $40. I have KQo. Not the best of cards. The timer beeps. Kurokitty, you have 15 seconds to respond. I call. I can crawl back to my bankroll if I need to. Some other guy also calls, for $20 more. Uh oh. He has AK. She has A3s. Card Player.com's poker odds calculator says Mr. Big Slick has a more than 48 percent chance of winning the hand. Maniac has a 26 percent chance and I'm a little less than 26 percent. Flop comes and its a pair of tens and a rag. Q on the turn. I feel buoyant. This just might work. River is another rag. The maniac has left the building. And I end up tripling up off some guy who wouldn't have called me otherwise. A year ago, say, I wouldn't have known what to do against a maniac. It's still questionable calling with what I had the second time around. But now more than ever, I know that playing people correctly is clearly a crucial part of poker. What is someone's mindset? Why are they calling you down with what they have? You can study the Jedi arts, but it ends up not being enough. You have to understand how to strike where your opponent is least suspecting it. Deception and aggression are such a large part of the game I think that poker is less "Jedi" than it is "Sith"-- the archenemies of the wise do-gooders in Star Wars. Maybe the Jedi arts help you counter endless arrays of betting and raises by would-be deceptive opponents. Being contemplative like ol' Ben Kenobi likely helps you avoid tilt and helps you get ready for the next round, even when you've been knocked down by a maniac.

Source: Poker Cats