IN THE world of high stakes poker the hands that you don't play are just as important as those that you do.

This weekend Derry and Donegal face their own poker game, National League style, as both are in the running for a place in the final.

But they must make the decision whether winning this game is worth the punt.

Brian McIver and Paddy Crozier could make a big play to reach the final in the hope of bolstering their momentum to date. But that could backfire if such a performance gives away their hand ahead of the Championship clash in seven weeks time in Ballybofey. Therefore what we have is the football equivalent of a stud poker game, where both managers must put some of their cards on the table but keep a few concealed. This week Gaelic Life correspondents Ronan Scott and John Hughes take a seat at the table alongside McIver and Crozier to analyse both manager's hands and see where the pitfalls are in this high stakes game.

Derry

The player:

Paddy 'The Ballymaguigan Kid' Crozier

He's already earned his seat at the main table of Ulster football. He put his chips in against Tyrone last weekend and when the cards were turned Tyrone came up with rags while Derry raked in the chips with a flourish. Crozier is the type of player who plays the hands that are given to him and rarely takes a big risk. At the moment all his players have performed well at one stage or another. However, he hit the skids in Galway and nearly lost the shirt off his back. Lucky for him that the home game last weekend has kept him in for another round. On Sunday he's likely to play the best team available to him. Considering that his opponent, Brian McIver, knows Derry's playing style well there is little that Crozier can conceal, so he'll just have to hope that the cards fall right on the night.

His Cards

John Deighan

Proved to be a big asset against Galway when he made numerous saves. Derry may have lost but, because of his heroics between the posts, Derry's scoring difference is a lot better than most other teams in Division one. It will not ruin Derry's plan for the championship to have him play. In fact it might help to put Deighan up against Donegal as it will test him out against goal getters like McFadden and possibly Devenney.

Kevin McCloy

McCloy's inclusion could be a handy little diversionary card. If he is played at full back, he'll get a feel for the Donegal forwards and be better prepared come the start of June. Niall McCusker is the natural choice for full back while McCloy will get a more free flowing role in the half back line. But it might be best not to show Donegal that line up on Sunday. Expect McCloy to be make an appearance to flush out the Donegal danger men.

Gerard O'Kane

Crozier would do well to resist playing Gerard O'Kane. He's not up to full speed yet, but at full power he is one player who makes Crozier's hand really strong. The half back line is the one area where there is a certain amount of mystery for opponents. It often changes and for Derry to win they have to do well in this sector. Giving McIver too many clues about how Derry will set up in this line in June would be a mistake, so perhaps O'Kane should sit this one out.

Joe Diver

The secret weapon at midfield, although McIver knows well how to deal with him considering that Diver played alongside Johnny McBride in their 2006 defeat against Donegal. Perhaps Crozier should start Diver against Donegal and allow either Doherty or Conway to rest so that Donegal don't get to see all three midfielders play together. Furthermore, with Patsy Bradley still to return, Crozier must keep his ideas for midfield very close to his chest.

Paul Murphy/Barry McGoldrick/Mark Lynch

It is likely that come championship time a combination of two of these three will be played alongside Enda Muldoon in the half forward line. McIver knows all there is to know about Muldoon having watched him play since he was a teenager, however the others will not be as well known to the Tyrone man. Keeping their talents hidden might be a good idea for the Derry boss.

His Strategy:

The decision whether or not to make a big play for the National League final will dominate Crozier's approach to this game. Will he bluff McIver by playing a weak team or play his strongest side to allow them to gel? We think that Crozier will choose the latter. Crozier won't want to fold his cards in round seven instead preferring to build a winning streak. He'll do that by playing the strongest team available to him. However, what Crozier believes to be his strongest side tends not to be what the fans think. In a poker game it is a good thing to sit down against a player who doesn't bluff, that means that you know not to bluff either. However, sometimes people don't realise they have a winning hand and make mistakes. That could be the case with Crozier. Yet if he fields the same team that played against Tyrone then he still has a few surprises left up his sleeve. Come June 1 if Crozier plays those cards right then McIver could find himself going all in against a team of Derry Aces.

Donegal

The player:

Brian 'Ardboe Slim' McIver

McIver threw in his cards after a promising hand went awry on him last year, but he was lured back to the table by the possibility that he could take the big prize in 2008. He's a player who wears his heart on his sleeve and has no problem letting people know what he is thinking. Unconventional maybe, but it seems to get results. Witness the aftermath of Donegal's anaemic display against Tyrone. McIver laid his cards on the table and said that when the team needed everyone to stand up and be counted, too many Donegal players went missing. His frank talking was rewarded with a marginally better performance against Laois, but there are still a number of areas of concern for this experienced card sharp. He knows that he will need the aces in his pack to deliver a much better performance against Derry if he wants to progress to a National League final. That is, of course, assuming he does.

His Cards

Paddy McDaid

Since coming back to the table McIver has shuffled his deck a bit and one of those to benefit is Termon's Paddy McDaid. The freak loss of Paddy Campbell last year has been McDaid's gain and he has grabbed the opportunity with both hands. His performances to date should ensure a championship start. He's likely be up against Eoin Bradley or Conleth Gilligan in this match-up and he will be using this opportunity to tease out any weaknesses in his opponents so he can exploit them come June.

Frank McGlynn

Injury to Paddy McConigley has given Frank McGlynn a regular place in the half back line this season. The Glenfin man has done a steady job, but his lack of penetration and attacking instinct could be a weakness that Derry will look to exploit. Knowing that his man will seldom venture past midfield will give the likes of Mark Lynch or Barry McGoldrick the kind of freedom they are sure to capitalise on.

Neil Gallagher

The ace up McIver's sleeve. Gallagher has been driving Donegal forward all year and his midfield dominance has been responsible for putting the county in the elevated position they currently enjoy. Missing the League game through injury his absence presents Crozier with a massive imponderable come the Championship. How the hell to handle the big man from Glenswilly? McIver couldn't have engineered events better if he tried.

Michael Hegarty

Hegarty came back into the Donegal squad against Laois in Ballyshannon last week and showed that he has lost none of his creative instincts. A head-up footballer his ability to pick out the player in space has always been his best quality. However he often found himself foraging for possession around the half back line where he was too deep to make passes that would really hurt the opposition. Whether Derry will be able to exploit this tendency or McIver will be able to counter it is one of the key battles of the league tussle.

Leon Thompson, Kevin McMenamin, Ryan Bradley

McIver has struggled to find a full forward combination to compliment Colm McFadden so far this year. Bradley, McMenamin and Thompson have all been tried with varying success. Of the three Thompson has had the least game time and started against Laois. He gave a workmanlike rather than impressive display. Will McIver give Thompson the sop of more game-time against Derry in the league knowing he can deploy the more damaging Bradley in the championship?

His Strategy:

In a sense this is an easy hand for McIver. Winning the League did Donegal no favours last year and no-one will be more keenly aware of that than McIver. In order to progress to the League final this year Donegal would need to beat Derry and hope that Galway beat Kerry or that Kerry beat Galway and beat them well. His fate is out of his hands so this should leave McIver with his focus firmly on the Championship. He can afford to hold back his ace, Neil Gallagher, for the bigger pot. He can shuffle the deck up front knowing that he could potentially be putting out a forward line of Bradley, McFadden, Devenney in the championship. That would leave Derry with a lot of guesswork to do come June, whilst McIver will already have seen Crozier's best hand and will be able to develop strategies to counter it. We can't forget either that McIver has a camera over Crozier's shoulder in this game having brought Ballinderry to All-Ireland glory and so knows many of Derry's key players inside out. As the song says, you gotta know when to fold.