Poker is Getting Hard

I took about 10 months off from playing poker for the most part, when I came back it seems like most of the old tricks dont work, and I have to result to either playing like a p@#sy, or playing like a complete sicko.


So my question is... do you guys think poker has gotten harder to beat?

People have gotten better, that is for sure. But there are still plenty of fish around. The one thing I've noticed that doesn't work anymore, is the +2 BB bet in pos, per limper. That play will get you alot of heat.

So I stick with standar pre-raise, even if there is 1, 2 or 3 limpers. (3-4 BB)

But it's getting harder. You just have to take in account what people "know", and then use that to your advantage.

(NL ring games.)

My play now is almost exclusively live tournaments so can't comment to much on the rest. I've noticed the fields are tougher, but in Vegas especially there not so tough that its hard to find a game beat. Its just that where before I could expect on average to cash for 4 times the tournament buy-in (less fee) so for example EV of +$220 in a $80+$120 tournament (4 x $80 = $320 - $100 entry = +$220), I'm down to about 2.5 times. So same $80+$20 = $200 less $100 entry = EV of $200. For the most part I've found doubling my money over the long haul in every tournament I play to be a more accurate number. This goes up as vig goes down, however its pretty close. I'm not the best player in the field either. I'm sure its possible still for some to still have an expectation in 3 times range.

Any specific numbers in online tournament or big bets / big blinds in ring games as far as difference you guys can share?

For the most part I've found doubling my money over the long haul in every tournament I play to be a more accurate number. ........... I'm sure its possible still for some to still have an expectation in 3 times range.

Just off the top of my head, that seem's way too high. Aren't there sites you can look up the results of the best internet pro's?

Originally Posted by Barton

Just off the top of my head, that seem's way too high. Aren't there sites you can look up the results of the best internet pro's?

Its extremely to high for online tournaments, I'm referring to live tournaments though. There are two reasons for the difference: Live the fields are much softer, and also the payouts are a lot more top heavy. There are plenty of 80-200 player tournaments in Vegas that pay out greater than 50% to first place. Even in the big fields you'll see 30-35% which is much higher than 15-25% online and it seems 25% is much rarer these days. So the better players are sharing more of there profits with the worst players online than they are live.

Hello, Barton!
How are you doing, old fart!?
I've missed your butt pictures!

http://www.officialpokerrankings.com/

OPR is a great stats site. That used to be my homepage when I played a lot, it was a free account but I could have all my friends results on tab pretty much there, so I could wake up and see how everyone did the last night and see if they won anything big. sharkscope-dot-com is a good site for Sit n go results to

Maybe it's time to try a new game? I've been playing some Razz lately and it's funny how bad players are. I read one short article on how to play the game, and took first & second in my first 2 sng's. After that I started playing some cash games and it's actually funny how bad people are. Often times people will bet or raise you when their up cards clearly show they have 0% chance of winning the pot. I think a lot of these players are coming from HORSE games, trying to learn Razz, but the way the game works doesn't seem to register for a lot of players. People without hi/lo experience seem to have a hard time figuring it out, so it's very profitable right now.

So have been trying and trying to get myself ready to start playing poker full time and every step of the way I have encountered some dip stick problem! Is this a sign? If it is I am well and truly ignoring it, but come on, things shouldn't be this hard!!

I agree with Donks advice. Razz games are still very soft. So are Triple Draw and Badugi games at PokerStars. The non-flop games have a lot of value right now.