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To: pat mudge who wrote (13437)	9/25/1999 12:13:00 AM
From: Glenn McDougall	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 18016

***OT* Wrong! Dispatches from the Front: Betting on a Bluff From Shoe-Box Steve By James J. Cramer 9/24/99 5:19 PM ET We used to play a lot of poker at The Harvard Crimson in the 1970s, particularly those of us who worked there during the summer. None of us had a lot of money. Almost all the money I had came from delivering the darned paper after I had taken it off the press. What a thankless job that was, although it was a sure cure for insomnia. What I remember most about those games was "Shoe-Box Steve." Yep, every game we played, Steve Ballmer, now president of Microsoft (MSFT:Nasdaq), then general manager of the Crimson (I was the president), would bring this shoe box full of nickels and dimes to bet with. It was always unnerving because Ballmer was a superior bluffer and you could never tell from the stupid shoe box how much money he had left. Was is 10 bucks? Was it $30? Was it $4? Nobody could bluff like that guy. I see nothing has changed in the last 20 years. Ballmer's still bluffing when he sees fit. His "tech stocks are overvalued" gambit no doubt suited some need he has, a need we saw often in the days of Shoe-Box Steve. I've always loved the guy, but I know to take what he says with a grain of salt. It is what he does -- which is to hold on to as much Microsoft as humanly possible -- that matters to me. That's been Shoe-Box Steve's most important tell. I bought some 'Soft today. I think he's bluffing again. ****** James J. Cramer is manager of a hedge fund and co-founder of TheStreet.com. At time of publication, his fund was long Microsoft. His fund often buys and sells securities that are the subject of his columns, both before and after the columns are published, and the positions that his fund takes may change at any time. Under no circumstances does the information in this column represent a recommendation to buy or sell stocks. Cramer's writings provide insights into the dynamics of money management and are not a solicitation for transactions. While he cannot provide investment advice or recommendations, he invites you to comment on his column at jjcletters@thestreet.com.