Where Are the Good Lay Downs?!?!?

I think that the biggest boost a NL player can give to his/her bankroll is by becoming better at recognizing when they are beat. Winning a $50 pot does the same thing for your bankroll as does getting away from a hand before you invest just as much with the second best hand. In both instances there is the same amount of additional money in your bankroll. It seems that people lose sight of this though.

What do you think poker tracker does for you? It does exactly this, although to a different extent. It helps you indentify "leaks" in your game so you can avoid putting yourself in situations where you lose money. Recognizing when to lay down a huge hand saves you money as well, but is more of a situational thing and takes much more skill to do. You aren't relying on a program to analyze the details for you. Instead you have to rely on your own senses. It has little to do with the mechanics of the game and so much more with the people involved. You have to know your opponent and be able to recognize certain situations. I know I am digressing, but you should check out this link if you don't get Card Player Magazine. Any fool can play the nuts, but world class poker is all about the intangible skills. Can you read people like this?

http://cardplayer.com/poker_magazine...php?a_id=14351


Getting back to my point.... I continually see people posting hand histories when they have the nuts or when there is a bad beat. Quads and straight flushes sure are nice, but again, any moron can play them. It takes a hell of a lot more savy to lay down a set to a higher set. I don't remember the last time someone discussed how much money they saved by making a great read on their opponent and laying down a big, yet beaten hand.
To some, folding may not be the most glamorous aspect of the game, but to me there aren't many things that make me hornier than someone having the awareness to lay down a monster that most people wouldn't because they are sure they're beat.

We all thrive on making people get involved in hands they shouldn't be in, but what about the hands we shouldn't be in ourselves? I'm sure some may scoff and say that they don't find themselves in such situations because they play smart and don't get invloved in such hands. I guess smart players never get involved in a huge pot with a huge hand and lose, do they? Of course they do!

I want to see it. Someone impress me with a hand where they had the near nuts and mucked it. Give me something to beat off to.