You gotta know when to hold´em

-Know when to fold´em!

Intelligence.. recent events has me brooding over the importance of this warfare tool..
And I realized that it is most important in all things,
knowing what goes on.
"It is a common mistake in going to war to begin at the wrong end, to act first, and wait for disasters to discuss the matter."
- Thucydides

Firsly, I´ve begun to play a little good ol´ Poker while my ships are being refitted or repaired..
Most relaxing to be chatting with some other capsuleers and risking my hard-earned ISK in other things then my ships.
((LINK: EOH POKER))
And it is most important to know your fellow players, how they play, what bluffs might work and what cards might come up.. the more intelligence you possess the better choices you can make.

Secondly, when I need to sit at a safespot and wait out a Criminal countdown, I´ve also begun playing an old game on my ships computers "Starcraft"
Not played in a while so I am a little rusty, but my lack of experience I make up with keeping good tabs on my enemies.. It is much easier to fight on my terms then on his.
So once again good intelligence helps profoundly.
Sadly the old AI of that game is cheating.. damn maphacker!

Thirdly, most importantly, the other day I joined a fleet camping at a gate in a system not far away.
I wont get into details as there might be sensitive information, and also I was just a soldier, so I never understood exactly what went on.
But I was thoroughly impressed by our FC´s (Fleet Commander) skills and methods:
The voice-comms were kept to a minimum to ensure that valuable information got through unhindered.
He had scouts in all adjoining systems, and could separate possible threats quickly as intel was passed to him of shiptypes and corp-affiliations.
A fleet soon formed in a system ahead of us, and he knew always their members and shiptypes.
As half of it disappeared we knew they were after us, but up to something, and yes.. our scouts behind us soon relayed they were sneaking up the rear.

I dont know if they thought they would surprise us, that we did not know they were coming.. that we did not notice they popped up on local comms.. that we did not see their scan-probes..
But we did, and were never in any danger.
He had us aligned to warp-out spots, but still sitting still.
We could have moved to safety long before their "ambush" came but I guess he wanted to tease them.. because just as they made their move, we were gone.

Initially I had been somewhat nervous of such gatecamps, as I have to put such a big and costly ship on the line, but when certain FC´s are in charge, I am never worried.

And, on the topic of poker and FC´s, here is my re-make of:
"The Gambler" (Earthen singer K. Rogers)
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On a cold space evenin, in a freighter bound for low-sec,
I met up with an FC; we were too tired to sleep.
So we took turns a-starin, out the window at the darkness,
til boredom overtook us, and he began to speak.

He said, son, Ive made a life, out of leadin fleet engagements
And knowin what their ships were, by the intel from my scouts.
So if you dont mind my sayin, I can see youre out of Iskies
For a taste of your long-limb roes, Ill give you some advice.

You got to know when to hold at the gate, know how to spot a bait.
Know how to get away, and know when to flee.
You never count your troopers, when youre engaged in a battle
Therell be time enough for countin, when the fightins done.

Now every FC knows, that the secret to survivin
Is knowin who to sacrifice, and knowing who to keep.
cuz there has to be a winner, and there has to be a loser
And the best that you can hope for, is to die in your sleep.

So keep your scanner open, and let a word not be spoken
have eyes on both front and back, and look for combat probes.
You will never loose a battle, and you will rule on the killboards
if you know your own forces, and what your enemies do.

You got to know when to hold the gate, know how to spot a bait.
Know how to get away, and know when to flee.
You never count your troopers, when youre engaged in a battle
Therell be time enough for countin, when the fightins done.
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"When generals cannot assess opponents, clash with much greater numbers or more powerful forces and do not understand the level of skill of their own soldiers, they are beaten."
-Sun Tzu