I think it depends on the player. Some players were guaranteed
to be a waste in the first game. Late '80s/early '90's at Milford
it was Roland, who would usually win at about a 3 in 100 clip
in his first tilt.
I would imagine that a player like Barrena would be the type of
player where you would want to see their first game before betting
on them. I could be wrong, but I've noticed that the early/middle
game players often win game 8 at Miami and game 9 at Dania...so
it there may be some credence to players needing time to warm
up.
