Rhythm feltee

Back in the day, there was a form of birth control called the rhythm method. The basic idea was to try to figure out exactly when the female of the couple was fertile, and simply abstain from sex during that critical time. As you might guess, this method didn't have a stellar track record. Failures of the method gave birth (pardon the pun) to the term "rhythm baby".

How does this relate to poker? It's pretty simple, really. Poker players don't want to hit the felt, so they need a form of felt control. One method is the poker rhythm method. This entails being attuned to the pulse of the game, to figure out when an opponent is probably bluffing. If the rhythm tells you an opponent's bet is likely a bluff, you should be emboldened to call. When you think you're attuned to the pulse of the game, but lose all your chips anyway, you're a rhythm feltee :-)

In the final hand of the last tournament I played last night, that moniker applied to me. I was one of three remaining players at the table. I'd been dealt a pair of sixes, and the flop came 8h 8s 4s. An opponent who had me covered went all-in for his last $745, and poker rhythm told me he was bluffing. I called; he turned over a pair of queens, and that was all she wrote.

buy_in entry_fee num_players num_hands place winnings

 50000       800           6        64     2   105000
 50000       800           6        49     4        0
 50000       800           6        46     3        0

delta: $-47,400
tournament balance: $1,242,290
balance: $6,373,021