The Future of Poker
Marcus Bateman
/
Marcus Bateman /
05 April 2009 /
Leave a Comment
....weak players regularly have winning sessions, which keeps them believing that they are good - when in reality over the year they will be going broke just as if they were playing in no limit hold'em games.
Poker is a constantly evolving game, and in order to be able to stay consistently profitable a player has to think about how the game will change in the future.
Certain games shift dramatically in popularity, and understanding how and what games will become popular is crucial in working on your game.
A great example of this is the current status of no limit hold'em. Although still extremely popular at the low stakes, at the higher limits these games are steadily drying up. This is simply because of the nature of no limit hold'em - it is perhaps the most extreme variant of poker in terms of how quickly a bad player will lose money. As a result of this, fish soon start avoiding the games, as they basically never win, which clearly does not appeal to even the worse player.
Compare this to a game like pot limit Omaha, which is currently extremely popular at the higher limits. Although a good Omaha player arguably has an even greater edge over fish than they would in no limit hold'em, it takes a great many more hands for this edge to be realised, due to the high variance of the game. Because of this, weak players regularly have winning sessions, which keeps them believing that they are good - when in reality over the year they will be going broke just as if they were playing in no limit hold'em games.
Mixed games also provide a great game to keep bad players in. Due to the extensive rotation in either H.O.R.S.E or eight game, only a very few players has a huge edge over any other at all the games. Although the fish might be a terrible hold'em and Omaha player, they may well play a fairly decent tight stud game, and by having these rotations you keep these players in for the games that they are really bad at. Limit games are also much less psychologically taxing for bad players, as no one mistake ever costs them their stack - a feature that allows the losses to be more gradual and easy to accept for bad players.
It will not be long before the heads up no limit hold'em specialist is about as redundant as the five card draw specialists of the sixties or the seven card stud players of the seventies and eighties in my opinion. The very best players understand the nature of all the games, and try and master all of them to be able to sit in the very best games that exist not only on the day, but also over the years. It is no coincidence that the very biggest cash game in the world is usually eight game, where a player has to be good at all rotations to be able to survive.
By becoming proficient in as many games as possible you greatly increase your chances of being able to win money in the long term - who knows, one day we might see you in Bobby's room if you master them all.
Related Entries
Tournament Freerolls - Annette Obrestad
Positive Reinforcement - Marcus Bateman
The Poker Economy - Marcus Bateman
The Changing Story of Poker Online - Marcus Bateman
Download Betfair Poker and Win a Million Dollars
Read More Poker
The Floating Explosion
One of the key changes that has affected all games in the last twelve months or so has been the massive increase in the number of players refusing to believe flop bets. It used to be the case that weak...
Flatting with aces in PLO
This is one of the hardest things to drill into good Hold'em players when they start playing Pot Limit Omaha - learning to flat with aces in many situations. Although there is certainly a time and a place to flat...
How to play a good or bad card on the turn or river
Most players are aware of how 'good' or 'bad' a card can be on the turn or river in Hold'em or Omaha. Good cards can throw up great bluffing opportunities, make your hand much safer to proceed with, or make...
The Three Poker Sites Who May Have Messed It Up For Everyone
For anyone who talked about how softened the internet generation were to gambling compared to the old Texan road players, the events of the last few weeks in poker have certainly hardened everyone who may have not seen the darker...
