[Pokey]

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I had the same thoughts as US...mostly good, but I in alot of situations calling and playing poker is fine

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Calling and playing poker doesn't SAY anything. It's an ugly comment because the original poster doesn't know what the hell you mean. When you say "play poker" it's always shorthand for something else.

A bad player says "play poker" when he means "I have no idea what to do after I call." For the bad player this is a horrible choice. It is rarely followed by an easy turn and/or river choice, and after you "call to play poker" you are more likely than usual to make an FTOP mistake, and that FTOP mistake is larger than usual. For bad players, calling to play poker is an expensive mistake.

A good player says "play poker" when he means "use my insights and strategy to make good choices based on the turn card and turn action." That's fine at the tables but it's bad advice, because the original poster often doesn't know what those good choices would be on the turn. For the good poster to turn this ugly statement into a good one requires replacing the short hand with something useful. Unfortunately, this requires writing an extra (*gasp*) four sentences, but it transforms the post from correct-but-useless into correct-and-enlightening.

Take a look:

Ugly comment: "Call and play poker." (From a bad player who doesn't have a clue how to play the turn.)

Bad comment: "Call and play poker." (From a good player who knows how to play the turn but can't be bothered to explain.)

Good comment: "Call. On the turn you can fold if it bricks and your opponent bets more than 3/4ths pot. If it's 1/2-pot, I probably call hoping for a free (or cheap) showdown. I'd use the spades as a bluff card because villain looks weak, so if a spade hits and my opponent bets 1/2-pot I'm raising to $11 and expecting to win it immediately. Obviously if my straight comes in I'm pushing over any turn bet by villain. I shut down if the board pairs, checking behind and probably even folding to any bet."

One final note: in HSNL, MSNL, or even SSNL, "call and play poker" can be a perfectly acceptable comment. in uNL, it's an ugly comment because many posters lack the body of poker knowledge required to properly interpret it and implement it.