My computer crashed about two weeks ago which forced me to play live a few times over that span. So I ended up at the Taj last Monday and played the $80 + $20 which ended up with 72 people. I finished 13th when my AK didn't improve against 88, but that's not really what I wanted to talk about here.

It seemed that most of the people at my table played there a lot and my friend and I almost felt at a disadvantage because a lot of the players seemed to know each other. At one point during the break I asked him how he thinks Doyle Brunson or Phil Helmuth would do if they were in this tournament? Assuming the cards ran normal, not hot, or cold, and that they were playing everyone they saw for the 1st time, and lastly that nobody was intimidated by them. Are they really a much bigger favorite in a situation like that than I am or anyone else on this board for this matter?

I tend to think that a lot of their edge comes from seeing a lot of the same people again and again and the intimidation factor they bring to a table. In this situation, their only edge would be making the correct decisions based on the cards and what they could gather by playing just a few hands against their opponents. They would still be a huge favorite against a lot of the idiots that play in these things, but so am I. Are they that much bigger of a favorite against players like you or me here?

Every time I go to Turning Stone I go into $15/$30 and $20/$40 games full of regulars that know each other and I don;t know them at all. I have a significant edge over them. Likewise top players would have an edge in that field.

I'm not saying that they wouldn't have an edge. They absolutely would have an edge over lesser players, but my question is that in this set of circumstances do they have more of an edge than you or I would? How often would they be expected to make the final table if constantly put in this situation every time they played? And one more thing I want to add to that set of circumstances that makes a huge difference. The $100 buy-in or whatever it is was a decent amount in terms of their bankroll. At least an amount large enough so that they would be bothered about being knocked out early which may take away some of their aggression.

I may be way off here, but I think Intuition is something you either have or don't, but then it can be honed the more you play.

I just think we tend to make some of these guys superhuman sometimes. Give them my bankroll in a situation where they know nobody and are they really a much bigger favorite than I am to make that final table?