Tyrone Slothrop wrote:
Paul Rubin wrote:
...There's tension in that kind of poker position because until the "move"
(revealing the cards) is actually played, the players don't know what
the position is. Other than that unknown factor, it's pure simplicity.

To imply that competitive Texas Hold'Em Poker is "pure simplicity" is
to greatly underestimate this game. Consider that today, there are
computer programs that rank among the best in the world at chess. But
in poker, despite the efforts of the team at the University of Alberta
and the many thesis and PhD dissertations on this topic, the world's
leading experimental poker program (Poki) is still greatly outmatched
by good human players, even though it can play a solid game.

By the way, if anyone still thinks that poker, because of its
relatively simple rules, is a simple game to play, I suggest
downloading the commercial version of UofAlberta's Poki
(http://www.poker-academy.com/), and giving it a go yourself. I'd be
surprised if you don't change your mind. Poker can be as mentally
challenging and, these days, can be a lot more lucrative to play, than
chess.

A very good chessplayer can master chess in less than 5 years.

Nobody can master poker, even the greatest poker champions, in a
lifetime.