Big Brother 18: Who Is Playing The Best Game? [Op-ed]

Big Brother 18 has been a very unusual season so far as no one person or one alliance has been dominating the game, which is something we’ve all grown used to during the past several seasons.

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Out of the gate we had the vets, or “returners” as Julie Chen and the BB announcer liked to call them, lead by Frank calling the shots. Then after the vets clashed — thanks to Da’Vonne and Frank — Paulie took over. Paulie’s reign lasted a few weeks longer than Frank’s, but as we’ve seen in the past week, it’s all but gone. Paulie’s only hope is that he has that Round Trip ticket and gets another shot this week (or there’s another Battle Back in the works).

So who will take over the game now? That’s not a bad question to ask, but instead of that question, I have a better one. And that’s who has been playing the best game all along that we may have simply overlooked? Nicole? No way. She’s playing for the guys and that’s very clear. Michelle? Nah. She’s too messy. Natalie? Well, Natalie is an option. But a lot of her gameplay has been accidental or from a place of aggravation.

OK, I’m just going to say it. Paul. Paul has been playing the best game so far. He’s playing what is the actual definition of a floater. And that’s not the dirty word Rachel Reilly and many players and fans after her have made it out to be. Floater doesn’t mean a person who sleeps all summer, doesn’t win competitions and then votes with the house before they get evicted in anywhere from 5th to third place.

A floater is a person who goes where the power is and some how manages to maintain relationships with everyone in the house. That’s not an easy job to do. The best floaters have a side angle or two as well. Take season 4 winner Jun Song. Jun literally invented the floater game. She went where the power was, but she also had two secret weapons: her cooking and her secret frenemy alliance with Alison Irwin.

In my opinion, no one has ever played the floater game quite like Jun, but season 15 winner Andy Herren came close. But of course his floater game was post-Rachel’s “grab a life vest” comment in Big Brother 12. So Andy got little respect from fans and was often compared to a rat. Which brings me back to Paul.

Earlier in the season, people were calling Paul a rat and comparing him to Andy. There were Twitter memes about it and all the typical insane fan reactions. But call it what you will, it can be a very effective strategy. And it has been for Paul so far. Will it get him to the end? Well with his secret weapons, it’s very possible.

Paul’s secret weapons, of course, are Victor (who can win competitions and get the blood on his hands) and, I can’t believe I’m going to type this, friendship. Paul is just likable. Everyone in the house likes him. Everyone in the house trusts him. Everyone in the house tells him things. And he’s always around. He never misses anything going on.

Think about Paul’s game. He was on Da’Vonne’s team, so he ended up with her trust. He was on the non-8 Pack’s side of the house and was kind of the one keeping them afloat (sorry, Josea). And then he moved on to PP with Paulie. And then he ended up in the Executives with the boys. And now he’s in whatever the people who aren’t Paulie, Nicole and Corey are calling themselves. I don’t think there’s an official alliance there, but that’s beside the point.

Paul has been in all parts of this season and he pushed for arguably the biggest move of the season, which happened this week. Sure Victor won HOH and nominated Corey and Paulie, but Victor was reluctant. Paul was Victor’s brain this week.

Don’t get me wrong, this is Big Brother and anything can happen. Everything Victor and Paul worked for this week could backfire if BB decides to do something to shake things up. Big Brother 16 winner Derrick Levasseur has even said striking at Paulie this week was a mistake. I’m not sure why he thinks so, but it seemed like a good idea to me and the majority of Big Brother fans. So we’ll just wait and see who is right.

Even if this plan does backfire, Paul still has himself in a better position than Victor, James and Natalie. So he could still have a chance to continue his solid gameplay.

Do I think Paul is a mastermind who can get to the end and win the game no matter what? No. Paul isn’t a student of Big Brother. He’s seen very little of the show and is what I’m going to call self-taught. He’s not a dumb guy, but he’s made a few rookie mistakes here and there. So his game hasn’t been a flawless one, but this cast has been so messy that his game looks pretty good comparatively.

And since I know at least half of you are going to call me crazy for talking up Paul, I’m going to say that Natalie has also been one of the better players this season. She figured out things before anyone else and she knew the right little fires to start to get the ball rolling to get Paulie out of the game. So she definitely deserves a mention here.

Regardless of who is playing the best game, Big Brother 18 has really kicked into gear the past week and I hope the power players who are helping that along continue to give us something worth watching.

Who do you think is playing the best Big Brother 18 game?

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

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105 Comments

  1. Paul is a top tier player and best player this season

    Paul started off at the bottom and saw his alliance decimated in the 1st few weeks. Then he worked his way into the power alliance by agreeing to be a pawn.

    After the 1st power shift happened and Frank was overthrown he became Paulie’s right hand man. For the next 3 weeks he was 100% safe with Paulie.

    Then this power shift against Paulie that is in its 3rd and final round sets him up for top 5. Him and Victor can win out the last 3 rounds and then he will sit in final 2 with someone who was already evicted and win the game.

    He might have been nominated 3 times but he got out of the cycle and is now the front runner to win

    • He sure knows when and how to jump ship, and where to go next. Its going to keep him in this game for a while, as long as he can keep pointing targets elsewhere and not stirring up too much chaos.

  2. I have to agree. Early on, it looked like Paul would be a goner, but his social game has saved him and put him in a place of power the last two weeks. After him, I’d put Natalie and Victor in a tie for #2 (best game-wise, not what position they’ll finish the season in). At this point, frankly, everyone else’s game has been terrible.

  3. I feel like Paul lack of knowledge of pervious big brother seasons is an advantage for him. I feel like people on the house don’t really compare his game to anyone else’s from pervious seasons. I do agree that Paul has self taught himself how to play and it is working out for him really well. I hope he makes it to the end.

  4. Paul is the best one right now. He convinced Victor to put up Paulie and Corey and is now against Nicole, even though Victor liked her.
    Natalie is in a good spot, but her game has been horrible, even though she was criticizing Zakhya’s game which is very similar to hers. I do think Natalie is more aware than Z was.
    Victor has a good chance to win comps and hopefully the package, but I think he trusts Paul too much and that could be the end for him soon. Paul would rather stay with one of the floater girls.

    • I don’t think Natalie’s game is all that horrible though. She’s one of the main reasons the house went against Paulie in the first place. She’s a pretty decent player in my opinion. I don’t know if she could win, but she’s not too bad :)

  5. Completley Agree with this analysis. I think this is a really weak cast but I do think that Paul and Natalie both have all the raw skills to be good big brother players and are learning on the fly. I think Natalie is extremely intuitive. I think if both were to play again and learn strategy… they could compete well against better players.

    In reference to getting out Paulie… Once he’s gone… and Nicole and Corey become the biggest target… once you get rid of one of them Paul and Victor become the biggest target with 7 or so to go. He might have the social skills to pull it off but strategically I don’t think he’s savy enough. What do you guys think.

    • I think Natalie and Paul are the best players too. Natalie needs to get some competition wins though

    • Does it specify on the care package if Co-HoH can win HoH the next week? Idk if it does. If the co can become HoH the next week then, if you’re on the Paul and Victor team, you should 100% be voting for Victor as Co-HoH. If he can win Co-HoH next week will be all set for The Sitting Ducks (Paul and Victor’s alliance name). Then they’d have to win HoH again, and again, and again. I don’t really see any other scenario besides winning continuously that The Sitting Ducks can get to F2, and essentially comp wins is what will end up carrying players to the F2. BB18 is now one of those seasons where comps will decide the winner. I’m very excited to see what happens. For a boring season at first, it’s becoming pretty freaking exciting

  6. Definitely Paul and Victor, I would love to see them in the finale beside each other.

  7. If Nicole or Natalie used their brains they could easily become in a power position and dominate the game. They both could easily go to Meech and say the girls tried to take us out and form a girls alliance. Then they also have the showmances which they could make an alliance out of. Then only Paul and Victor are in their way and they would have to win a competition to ensure they get out, but if Nicole and Natalie put their heads together they could win!

    • Let’s hope they don’t then. If Paul gets HOH Thursday and Vic is co-HOH then neither can play for HOH the next week and they would surely go up on the block. I hope the girls and James are too dumb to realize the sitting ducks are running the house now.

      • I mean it’s not like the house is blind though, Paulie and Corey were talking about targeting Paul last night!

      • I agree but with one exception. I am not quite sure whoever get’s CO-HOH can’t play for the next HOH. I fully expect either Nicole or Corey to win HOH this week.

      • I’m hoping Nicole wins and Corey gets co-HOH. When Paulie had control everyone wanted the underdogs (Natalie, Michelle and Bridgette) so now that it’s 5 that gang up on people and it will only be Nicole and Corey (the underdogs) I hope they win. Otherwise it will be boring because we’ll know exactly who’s going week after week. And Nicole won comps on her season. She needs to step up.

      • Yeah you would think they are the underdogs and in a way they are. The fact that they have played (not played) this year will not make them underdogs but good luck to them as well since if they win we already know who will go up just like we know who will go up i the majority side wins.

      • Actually with Nicole and Corey you don’t know who’d go up. Makes things more exciting. But with any of the 5 winning you do know who will go up.

      • I think if Corey or Nicole wins, both James and Natalie will be going up with Michelle as a renom if one of them wins the POV.

      • I think it’s BS that the co- HOH can’t play for HOH the next week, both HOH’s this week are “co” so both should be able to play next week.

      • Help me out here, so far your the only one that has said (that I have read to date) that the Co-HOH can’t participate in the HOH that follows this weeks HOH. Please bring me up to date as to where to find that.

      • I went back and reread that promo. It states that the CO-HOH shares all perks and responsiblites of the HOH but it doesn’t say they do not nor can not participate in the following HOH. Just my take on it and we will find out later. I hope your not right on that but it will be what it is.

      • I hope I’m wrong, I asked it on here a few days ago and a few people commented saying that’s how it would be, but honestly no one really knows until Julie says it. People were just saying that the co-HOH would have all the responsibilities the first HOH had so assumed they would have the same negative aspects as well

      • I reread it too but I didn’t go away with that part of it. Maybe your right and Julie will explain it better when the person (Victor) get’s it.

      • I posted/ said that yesterday about the HOH & CO-HOH. The way I read the promo the CO-HOH is under the same rules as the winning HOH. A smart player would have to think long and hard about “not” putting Paul or Victor or both OTB while the option presented itself.. Paul was right in saying to Victor that the #’s to get Paulie out this week may not be there next week so I don’t get Derricks reasoning either…I said that the coming week is gonna be very interesting….just wait for it….

  8. At this point, I’d be surprised if anyone but Natalie won…she has the clearest path to victory.

    • If Natalie can catch on to Paul and Victor before it’s too late, then by all means if she pulls off their evictions she deserves to win. If she cannot, she will not even make the final two. I think Paul is the person to beat and Natalie and heck, maybe even Victor could, but it’s not set in stone.

  9. “Natalie has also been one of the better players this season” ROTF! But I get it, why you would say that on here…

    • Gameplay wise, she has definitely been one of the more strategically savvy houseguests this season, although it might not mean much compared to how most of the house has been playing. I would love to see Paul win at this point, but Natalie’s strategic game has been pretty strong. Her social game, although good at manipulation (hence her strategic prowess), is in most other aspects lacking, so it’s clear she isn’t playing a winning game, unless she makes the final with James.

      • I agree with you on the Paul stuff… I would like to him win too, over any of the other HG…

  10. I immediately thought of Paul when I ready the headline for this. He was on everyone’s list to go in the beginning and now he has everyone’s trust. He came in a hot head with Victor and Jozae and had no idea what he was doing but he figured it out quick. I say “way to go, Paul!”. I hope final three are Paul, Natalie, and James.

    James took awhile to make a move but I think he was following Derrick’s advice and laying low until he had to strike (using his ACP power).

    With these three in the final, it would really be anyone’s game and I would love to see that instead of the predictable seasons we keep getting year after year.

    • I am sure James has laid low so far this season but to ensure his game he needs to win HOH.

    • I think your right about them taking out Vic to make it to the end together. It would be a smart move. Vic waited for his reign to take out Paulie and I’m glad to see it. But James Paul and Nat would make on hell of a showdown since each has their oun area of expertise. It would be anybodys game straight to the end:)

  11. I like Victor cause he wasn’t afraid to make a big move, and he wins comps but I’m not sure where he would be right now without Paul. On the block in Paulie World I’d guess. Hope they both
    make final 2.

  12. There is no love lost between Paul and Nicole and I think she is the person that Paul will need to watch the most. If she wins HOH, she will be gunning for him. Of course, this next week, it will be utterly impossible for Corey or Nic to vote any of the others out(without some OTHER twist, like HOH advantage maybe?)even if one of them wins the HOH comp. The only way would be for Nic to win and Corey to get the CP. I think Paul is playing an awesome game. His and Vic’s relationship entertains me greatly.

  13. Paul would be a good one to say but I haven’t counted out anyone else just yet. There is still plenty of time for a underdog to win HOH and make even a bigger move.

  14. If it wasn’t for the girls deciding to take Paulie down, Paul would not be in this good position. He was very very wise to align with them against Paulie Inc. It was an unsafe move that most BB players would not do. This has not happened to my memory ever because people are too scared to make a big move against the bossy one. James was very scared to go against Paulie, if he wasn’t so crazy for Nat, he certainly would not have done so. Van and Amanda were the bossy ones for their season and I couldn’t wait for them to leave!!

    • I agree. The girls were responsible for Paul’s flip, and then he convinced Victor. I do see the girls hiding behind Paul and Victor and unless one of them start winning some comps, their only game move won’t make much of a difference and they will go home one after the other.

  15. Agreed. Paul is more aware and more influential than Natalie. Went from being one of the most hated to one of the most loved. Not an easy trick. And once America sees his Secret Service punishment this week, they’ll choose him as AFP.

    • Doubt he’ll be in the running for AFP. One, he’s primed to get to the end at this point, should Corey go next week, and Two, America seems to like James and Natalie???? more.

  16. If I recall, before Victor re-entered the House, he was told by Bronte to “Trust Paul” ?? Wondering how much of this advice was taken to heart by Victor and what direction he would have taken, if not for this advice from Bronte ? Hmmm

    Considering where Paul was at by end of week 2 .. quite surprised that he has been able to last this far, let alone being one of the powerhouse(s) this Season ?

  17. People are starting to mention Pauls name. Hopefully him and Victor will be sitting side by side sooner rather then later. Didn’t like either of their behavior the first couple of weeks. And who the heck is Jun? She is one of the most forgettable players of BB history. She won by default because everyone hated Allison more then Jun. Nobody even clapped when she won. One of the most boring players in BB history.

    • To be honest, both of them (Paul/Vic) have the biggest target. Specially, Vic. Derrick even said, the girls will realized they’re not gonna win sitting with any of them and could be tempted to take them out with the help of James.

      • Yep, I don’t see a happy ending for the Vic/Paul duo. They are going to be the next targets the HGs are going to want to get out.

      • I wish Nicole and Corey would team up with James and Natalie. Get to the F4 and fight it out.

    • She still won Big Brother. Only 17 people can say that. And she is the only non-white person to ever do so.

      • She’s forgettable. And one of the worst players to ever win. Nobody even wanted to give it to her. It was laughable when they walked out and nobody clapped. I would of been embarrassed.

      • But they still voted for her for the money because she had better relationships with them. Just because she didn’t play a flashy game doesn’t mean she played a bad one. Her main aim is to win $500000 not to entertain people

      • What Radio said, and also the fact that jury votes in Survivor and Big Brother have long proved you do not need to make the jury want to give you the money, you simply need to make them want to give it to you more than your opponent(s).

      • Which is one of the two reasons why it’s a mistake for these HGs’ long-term games to get rid of Paulie now.

  18. Paul is probably playing one of the better games but I don’t count out Nat and Victor, in fact I think after Paulie goes it can be anyone’s game. I don’t agree with Derrick that it’s a mistake to take out Paulie this week. In the past how many times have we seen a player left in the game because everyone felt they could get them out at any time. The house guests know that Paulie is strong in comps and they now know that he has lied to all of them and probably has no allegiance to anyone except maybe Corey, so I think they did the right thing. You have to strike while the iron is hot.

    • Keeping around a bad sport like the wouldent be smart by any measure. Just am starting to hate this whole RT ticket

      • I haven’t liked the RT from the get go. I don’t like when they bring players back into the game. Most of the time the player winds up going right back out so why bother. Victor seems to be the exception here.

    • I’m curious of Derrick’s reason why it’s a mistake to takeout Paulie…what did he say?

      added: never mind, I just read the article, he didn’t say why. Anyway, I don’t agree with him.

      • I am stumped by why he said that as well.. unless it has to do with the RT or a juror returning..hmmmm food for thought..

      • I agree it was the right time – while the majority of available votes was highly excited and collectively upset at him. Don’t pull a Helen – lol

      • ..and he’s only asking for a week. One week less for being claustrophobic in the Jury house..the mansion.

  19. I agree. Paul is playing the best game by far.
    I really don’t think Nat is playing the game. Seems like she is basically just hanging out and looking for sympathy…..unless that is her game.
    Although I still don’t think Nicole is rat or a snake I am disappointed that all she wants to do is cuddle with Cody. She should have been delevolping other relatiobships as well.
    Victor is doing well too. I like how he has stood up to Paulie.
    Michelle is too easily manipulated and her allies know that. She will probably get cut from that side first.
    Cody seems to just be there to agree with Paulie and cuddle with Nicole.
    James is not playing a bad game either. Hopefully he keeps his head in the game and doesn’t sacrafice his game for Natalie.

  20. No one is playing particularly well.

    Victor is likely to go out like all big comp threats do. But he did well to get himself back in the mix on his re-entry.

    Nicole … I don’t get Nicole. She will actually be in a better place if Corey gets evicted in the next couple weeks. It will let her go alliance shopping, but the relationship with Day and her flip flopping may have sunk her.

    Michelle … Even failed at getting evicted. That’s right, she was so excited to be back on a ‘team’ that her grand plan was to take all the heat for the vote flip so she would go out. And Bridgette went instead. Ironically, she is in a not bad spot at the moment, but little of it is because of her.

    Natalie … Decent social game and quite good at figuring things out, but the Z vote flip was literally her first foray into trying anything at all. The good news is that while Paulie blamed her for a lot, Corey and Nicole seem to like her and James more than other options. She could be in a good spot.

    James … My candidate for playing the best game, even though it is a pretty terrible one. Still has relationships on both sides of the house, and is liked. But has been going with the flow too much prior to last week. He needs to successful put NiCorey against Victor and Paul.

    Paul – is he in a good spot? Sure. And his social game is decent.

    But you could argue he is where he is in spite of his play, not because of it. He survived the first weeks only because Victor and Jozea were even worse than him. PP may have protected him, but he was protected for doing exactly what Paulie wanted, including giving up a potential ally because she was Paulie’s target.

    He has solid control of Victor, but loyalties outside of that may not favour him. He really needs to cement a final 2 with Michelle and keep it quiet, or if Nicole goes next week, rope Corey back into a boys alliance.

  21. If Victor makes it to F2, regardless of his Competition Wins, wondering if the Jury will see it the same way, as he had already been evicted and able to return to the Game? In particularly, when the rest of the House, if I recall, had originally agreed to send the returnee HG back out the door ?? Hmmm !!!

    • It depends who he’s with in the finale. If it’s Paul or Natalie he has no chance. If it’s someone like James, he seems to have some chacne

      • I don’t know about Natalie. I mean, we (the viewers) can see what she’s done and why she should be a serious contender to win, but I fear that the other players will see her as just a cute girl who got where she is because she was absolutely no threat. I’m still rooting for Natalie, though.

  22. It has to be Paul or Victor. I’d give the edge to Paul. Vic will continue to get his by winning comps, Paul has to play the social game. He was my absolute least favorite player at the start (big douchey beard, millennial soliloquies, aligning with the worst people in the house) but now I get the feeling that he’s figured out how Big Brother is supposed to be played. From what I gather he was not familiar with the show when he was selected but has become a relatively quick study.

    • It’s funny how someone who knew very little later picked up on the game. And that’s pretty much Paul.

      • I agree and good for him. I hate when they have house guests that don’t know the history, other than the DVD they give them of the last season to watch in sequester before they move in. Pleasantly surprised to see someone with no knowledge figure it out on their own.

      • I rewatched season 1-5 over the summer and it was a completely different game. You know, back when they let people over 30 play.

  23. I think I can rank them from least to greatest:

    8. Corey (similar to Shane Meany)- He’s pretty much hiding behind Paulie along with Nicole. He has been nothing but Nicole’s boy toy and Paulie’s lackey. No big moves on his end is just bland all around to expect much from him.

    7. Nicole (similar to Danielle Murphree)- Let’s see. A nurse who’s friendly at time, mean at other times, who wants nothing more than to have a husband on BB. Yeah she’s Danielle M. Seriously it’s like after she won week 1 HOH, she pretty much rolled over and died.

    6. Paulie (Amanda Zuckerman)- Like Amanda, Paulie started out decent and was a pretty nice guy for the most part. That changed when he started to think more for himself causing Paul and Vic and James not to trust him. Let’s also not forget that he’s been a complete mental case, in which no one (minus Corey and Nicole) would team up with him. Sad, I had high hopes for him

    5. Michelle (Lydia Tavera)- Originally Michelle was a mean girl who just hated Bridgette due to crush on Frank. But once Frank left she made amends with Bridgette and together with Natalie all three pretty much made the change in this game against Paulie.

    4 James Hueling (Donny Thompson)- James has so far not been nominated yet. Nobody seems to see him as a target or a threat. And the fact that he’s pretty liked by everyone makes it easy for him to root for. I think if he focuses on the game rather than his relationship with Natalie he can do ten times better. Don’t focus on love James. If you wanna take Natalie to final 2 that’s fine, but focus on the game with her rather than make out all day.

    3. Victor Arroyo (Caleb Reynolds)- Pretty much what happens if Johnny Mac and Caleb fused together and make a comeback kid with a really strong comp game. He later matured after coming back even making amends with former enemy Natalie. Right now he’s making all the right moves and is finally seeing Paulie for who he truly is.

    2. Natalie Nerogotti (Jordan Lloyd)- I didn’t think much of Natalie when she first came in. I thought she was gonna be clone of Jordan. And I was slightly wrong. Because why did Jordan win? Because nobody liked Natalie Martinez? Kinda, but Jordan also has pretty good social game which earned her votes from people who didn’t even like her (Jessie & Lydia). If she focuses more on the game and taking James to the end, I think she may win due to more strategic and social gameplay.

    1. Paul Abhrahamian (Enzo Palumbo)- Paul originally came off as one of Jozea’s goons which made him a target. After Victor left the first time, Paul later sharpened up his gameplay and tried to bond with people in the house. Even the weirdest things he does, like making muffins for the houseguests pretty much makes him a really good social player. And when he realized that Paulie didn’t have his back, he intimidatly changed sides and went against Paulie. Right now Paul is in a good spot and if he can take anyone to the end, I think he’ll win.

    • I agree except James was being mentioned a number of times by paulie.

      In addition, I would place vic as #2, with Paul and vic alternating between #1 and #2.

      Natalie should be #3

    • I agree with everything except James making out with Nat all day. I haven’t seen a lot if any making out with those two. James used his america’s prize wisely. He got Z out and started the ball rolling for Vic’s big move, even though he knew he would receive the wrath of Paulie.

      • I was kinda exaggerating on that part meaning he has a showmance and he needs to focus on the game.

      • I’m talking as far as gameplay. And in 13 Jordan did talk crap behind others’ back.

  24. All these comments….Has anyone ever played a good game? And I am not talking about winners only. There are 8 people left. In past seasons how many of the last 8 were playing good games. Not even 5 I would guess. Everyone will have their strengths and weaknesses.

    Paul is playing the BEST game (different from a good game). He is social, wins some comps here and there and influences people.

    Victor…..comp beast

    Paulie….comp beast but horrible person

    Nicole….dickmatized and hasnt really done anything of not. Just bigger targets than her.

    Corey….brain seems to be occupied with things other than thinking but he has won comps here and there

    James….playing a pretty good game so far. Deliberately throwing comps, social game, and….talking to much? It seems hes honest and tells people stuff b4 hand so no one hates him? Seems to be working for him.

    Natalie….hasnt done much other than the last few weeks with Z and then Paulie.

    Meech…..I dont think shes done anything of note besides crying like a idiot

    • Corey’s brain ‘seems to be occupied with things other than thinking’..
      HAHA! That comment wins today’s internets!!! Lol

  25. Maybe Jozea really is the Big Brother Messiah… His two disciples have the biggest chances at winning this season!

  26. Paul, Victor and Natalie are the most impressive to me. Although I still like James and Michelle

  27. I just think Andy wasn’t as smooth as Paul with the floating. If I remember correctly, Andy would more likely force himself into conversations and rooms where there’s whispering. Paul uses the power of “friendship” to naturally be able to be in the know of things and has good sense to know when to shift/float to the other side naturally.

  28. Yes, Paul is the actual true definition of a floater, and there’s nothing wrong with that strategy, as it has worked in the past and, clearly, is keeping Paul safe. But thinking he’s playing a good game and liking him as a player are two different things.

    As far as Derrick saying this was the wrong week to strike at Paulie… he’s right. And I’m going to come at this from a gameplay standpoint rather than a viewer one. After this week, Paulie is a target. That bullseye is firmly on his back and it’s not going away. What these HGs have is an advantage in Paulie, which is why they need to keep him. He’s always going to be a target before them. Any of these HGs can use him as a shield to guarantee safe passage to the end. Furthermore, should they end up sitting next to Paulie at F2? A few weeks ago, I would’ve said that’s a mistake. Not anymore. None of the jurors will vote for Paulie if someone like Victor or Paul or, yes, James is sitting next to him. It’s a guaranteed win.

    And before anyone says “why would we want to reward that behavior?”, let’s not forget who’s been rewarded for being a mean person in the house in previous seasons. Natalie from BB11 and GinaMarie of BB15 are two of the biggest offenders of this.

    • But that’s what happened last season with Vanessa and she almost made it to F2. Everyone was saying how much they hated her but said if she was in F2 they would’ve voted for her to win. They thought she was a target in front of them and it didn’t work out that way.
      I just think this was the perfect time because you still have the votes to get him out. If you wait too long you won’t have those votes or you can’t guarantee you’ll have those votes. Right now you can.

      • Timing is important for these things and with the get them out now or wait argument its hard for me to know which is better. On Survivor it’s clear, get them out when you can, but here, not so much.

    • They haven’t done a very good job of keeping the bigger targets around imo. Sure they talk about it but they still got them out pretty quick. Its funny to me when they talk in the DR about how it would be better for their game to keep so and so around as the target but like clockwork they leave anyway.

  29. I see both sides of the argument. The problem is Paulie wins comps, so better safe than sorry. Get him out when they have the chance. We have seen this time and time again and yelled at the TV how stupid the HG were.

  30. I think Paulie will be back anyway with all these twists and turns. If he comes back and wins HOH, James is going. What I did really like about James is he had a honest conversation last week with Nat and told her to be prepared because the time will come where they will not be able to keep each other safe.

    • Little nat nat will throw James right under the bus when push comes to shove. You can’t trust those jersey girls.

  31. I called it after Vic was evicted. They kept ‘teaching’ him how to play the game and kept underestimating him. The student is now schooling them.

  32. What’s up with Paulie going naked twice today? In the kitchen and walking around…has he totally lost it?

    • He told a story the other day that this is how he would cook when he and his girlfriend lived together. Just in case something came up, he’d be ready.

      Maybe he wants Natalie to pop up in the kitchen. Oh wait, she’s I’ll from all of his shenanigans.

  33. I like Paul better than Andy because of his personality. Andy was a rat not only because of gameplay but personality. Paul seems more likeable and not as insulting to others, even though he can be brash in the DR.

  34. All you Paul fans-are kidding me? He has shown his true colors. He is gross. He is a fake tough guy. He made fun of Natalie, called her FT to her face. He was “bragging” how he was going to terrorize Bridgette once Frank was out. Make her cry. Make her “lose it”…He had a stick up his butt with Frank and would start conversations with Frank then run back to the rest of the house like a rat to report. He also pleasured himself on camera and the live feeds (was quite gross)…..I know it is BB and you have to lie, etc. But Paul has been at the forefront of personal attacks on people who were at the bottom of the totem pole. Even this week-Paulie is going home..how many times does Paul have to tell Natalie (another gross person) and James and Michelle to gang up on Paulie?

  35. As for Natalie-the only reason she became relevant this game is b/c she is jealous that Paulie did not go for her…she was a mess when victor dumped her, then made up lies about him. Her entire convo with Z was to manipulate her to abandon Paulie if she had RT. Yet, when Paulie calls her out on that, he is the bad guy? He should not have used the language he did, but everything else he said was spot on. She is fake. She hugs it out with Paulie then 2 hours later is joining in on the gang up. Please!! She is fake. Anyone who thinks that she really likes James, well I have a bridge in NJ to sell you. It is in good shape. Don’t worry.

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