I read somewheres that Railbirding (excuse me if I messed up the term) was a good idea when possible to get a good idea as to what the 'feel' of the table is. I was also thinking it would be a good idea to see what kind of bets people are laying, observe some possible bluffing, etc.

However there is a small problem with this, in that you never see what anyone has until they show it down. Do you find that watching a game does help? I've thought about seeking out ilikeaces and watching some of his play to get a better, 'visual' idea of what winning poker looks like.

Good idea or bad idea?