Friday, February 18, 2011

Good Card, Bad Card #24


My absence from the blog has been due to my return to full-time poker. I didn't want to write a "blah, blah, blah" article about all that. It seems there are tons of poker clowns out there who write blogs. Makes sense, playing poker is actually a lonely business. You're surrounded by people all the time but you're really isolated in your own thoughts. I'll spare you the mundane, bullsh*t experiences of a poker life. But I did come across this the other day in an Internet search. It was an interview with Tony Gammell many years ago:


I remember a great article written by John Corbett which compared Poker to Star Trek CCG. He said that when you face an average player, just play a basic ABC game and your skill will take you through. But when you play a world-class opponent, you have to use tricks that you would not normally have to use in order to beat the player.

I still look back at this game as one that totally changed me as a player. I had to concentrate so hard for the entire hour, I was forced in to playing smarter and wiser, and I looked at the game from a new perspective. Games like this, where you become a better player than what you were before, are one of the best reasons for players of any level to attend such a large event.


So I guess I can dish out a nugget of wisdom every now and then. So if I come across a worthy poker lesson that applies to Trek I will still share it with you all. But enough with all that, let's get back to finding good cards and bad cards.




Good Card: Just Following Orders

Why: When a new set come out I like to throw a new oddball dilemma in my pile. Usually it doesn't work and I curse myself for trying new things. This sneaky little dilemma helped me out big time when I blew an event up with it (today's 'bad card'). I like dilemmas that destroy events. Especially if you have a deck that's light of event destruction. Just Following Orders has the "can't gain skills" ability, which is good. One side of the requirements has intelligence, easy to track. The other side: geology, honor and navigation. Those are three skills that usually don't go together.



Bad Card: Captain on the Bridge

Why: This falls in the category of "the card isn't bad, it's what you can do with it". Even now, since it's been made unique, it still annoys me. Two problems: OT Kirk and playing Krudge to the Federation Qel'Poh. Both are lame and bad for the game. While the "Legacy Effect" is in place in 2E OT Kirk is going to be everywhere, which means this event is going to be everywhere.
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Today's Pic: The dirty girl on the left is the actress who play Isabella on a TNG episode. I forget her name. Looks like she's turned into a bad girl.......





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