So, you are sitting there with a pair of deuces..(a very low poker hand)

[Stuart G]

There are two players left in the game. One looks like he has a flush. (a very high and). The other looks like he has a full house..(even higher than the fellow with a flush)..So, do you try to bluff the other two out, and try to make them think you have four of a kind (very rare, but higher than either a flush or full house)..Try to fool the other two so they leave the game and you win. Will that work? I doubt it. Don't you?

..That is what Trump is trying to do with this stupid "wall." He cannot win because the deal is so stupid. He thinks he knows how to make a "deal." His pair of deuces mean nothing, and he is stupid to think they will somehow beat the full house. The guy with the full house (3 of a kind plus 2 of a kind) is not going to fold on account of the bluff. And think of this. In a few days that guys poker hand somehow, because of some kind of miracle, automatically becomes a royal flush..(highest hand in poker, yes beats all other poker hands)....

So the guy with a pair of deuces is going to bluff the fellow with a royal flush?...There is an old expression, know when to hold them, and know when to fold em. Trump is not smart. He is stupid to risk it all on a pair of deuces against a full house. And not just stupid, very very stupid.

[Electrical Arc]

1. He has a 2 7 offsuit.

He has nothing

[Stuart G]

3. I agree with you completely. "He has nothing." Too stupid to know that...

[panader0]

8. Welcome to DU!

And I agree with the 2 7 offsuit--the worst deal you can get in hold'em.

[Jim Lane]

14. Unfortunately, he does have something.

You write that he has nothing but he has the loyal support of most of the Republicans in Congress.

Consider the history: Individual-1 said he'd sign a clean CR, so the Senate passed one unanimously. He then changed his mind, so the GOP majority in the House dutifully refused to vote on the Senate bill, but instead sent over a bill with wall funding, which of course was DOA in the Senate. The House Republicans knew that it would go nowhere, but they were unwilling to put Individual-1 on the spot by passing the Senate's bill.

Congress could still pass a clean CR. I expect that the House, once under Democratic control, will do so quickly. If the Senate were to repeat its previous action by passing the same bill, then Individual-1 would have to either fold or take unambiguous ownership of the shutdown by vetoing the bill.

Unfortunately, the Senate Republicans probably won't pass the bill they passed earlier this month. They'll continue to try to protect him.

[fierywoman]

2. And clearly he's incapable of a "poker face." And his "tells" run rampant.

[brush]

4. He's the stupidest man going. All we have to remember is that if there's no wall...

he's a sure loser in 2020 for not delivering on this campaign promise he's hyped to maximum visibility.

Of course, I hope he's gone long before then.

[TheBlackAdder]

5. Pair of deuces? I'm not sitting next to Don. Jr. and Eric.

[Stuart G]

6. I hadn't thought of it that way...Oh ...???

[Xipe Totec]

7. Trump is playing Mexican sweat. The rest of the table is playing poker

Mexican sweat is where you hold your card on your forehead face up where everybody can see it except you. Then you bet against the other players who are holding their cards the same way.

Except, that in this case Trump is the only one holding his card face up. The rest have their cards face down.

[TheCowsCameHome]

9. Trump and Pence - a pair of douches.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

16. I'll see your douches and raise you a pair of dunces.

[MineralMan]

10. I'll bet Trump never plays poker.

His face always reveals his mental state. He's actually a lousy deal-maker. Putin walks all over him and laughs in his face while he does it.

[ooky]

11. What makes this deal so stupid is Trump thinks

he can get Pelosi and Schumer to give him something without him giving them anything in return. It would be funny if he wasn't driving 800,000 people toward bankruptcy while he plays this stupid game.

Trump can't negotiate his way out of a paper bag, he's just used to bullying people to get what he wants and claims that's negotiating. But he has no leverage to bully the democrats with.

Trump is stupid to the bone, but he really isn't responsible for this shutdown. The Republicans who have let his presidency spiral so far out of control without doing anything are responsible for this shutdown. Specifically Ryan and McConnell, who are traitors to their country.

[Stuart G]

12. Yes, Ryan and McConnell ...total traitors...and the time has come for them be recognized ..

for exactly what they are.

[brooklynite]

13. No, this is not what Trump is doing...

To pull off this kind of bluff would call for the type of strategic thinking that Trump is incapable of and has never exhibited. He thinks (correctly) that his tough guy act plays well with his base, and that's enough for now.

[Achilleaze]

15. republicans & russians put a failed casino hustler* in office

to be their Croupier-in-Chief, and their "republican family values" role model. As with everything else in his life, he* has made a big fat stinking mess of things.

* aka republican Draft-Dodger-in-Chief

[kentuck]

17. But if the other players do not have a full house or a flush...

His bluff might work?

It would be difficult to call or raise his bluff with a busted flush or busted straight.

A cautious player might fold?