[The Bryce]

I've only skim-read this thread. This post isn't really directed at you Dean, sine we've pretty much had some discussions to this effect. In any case:

Everyone has this queer (as in odd, not homosexual) obsession with variance. So what? Whatcha'gonna'do'about'it? As a player and an observer it really does seem like the thing that separates the good players from the bad ones is that when the going gets tough the good ones are able to reflect objectively every day and ask, "What more can I do? And how would I go about doing it?" The thing that seems to separate the great players from the good ones is that those better players don't wait for things to get tough to get into this mindset.

Of all the top tier players we see go through these forums, how many of them are whiny bitches? Of all the guys who last and have been playing with black chips for years now, which of them do you ever see ranting and crying about all the things that could have gone better? That's the real lesson variance can teach us, not this whinny-ninny standard deviation stuff (no offense Gabe, it's still a good post). Knowing exactly how likely you are to swing how hard is absolutely useless information. Other than some basic bankroll management, there's nothing constructive you can do with it.