Congratulations! You just became the manager of a Vegas poker room!

[TStoneMBD]

couldnt read all the replies but heres my contribution:

players want to play in games where the action is good. thats pretty much the simple truth. you want people talking about how the action is so live at your casino. people arent going to come to your casino to play when theres a better game waiting for them at bellagio.

there are a few ways to do this.

1) you entice your rich pit gamblers into playing poker (most likely very -ev for the house)

2) rather than give rake reduction, you set a budget for shills to come in and dump money into the game. they should be especially good at making the table think theyre absolutely horrible when in fact they really arent THAT bad. this allows for your budget to last longer while making the game look as juicy as possible.

3) you hire shills to come into the game and dump money to your props. your shills go 7 bets on the turn with a flush draw against your prop and at the end of the night, the prop gives the money back. (not exactly ethical.)

4) you actually deter good players from playing your game. while it makes logical sense to have shorthanded pros starting up a shorthanded game in hopes that it fills, who is going to want to play with them? the games will be dry and the players will move elsewhere. it probably makes more sense to just have a start time every night for when the game will go and then you dont give rake reduction to the players who play around the clock at night. instead, the money you drop that you would have given back can be used more practically. thebike has been known to kick tight/tough players out of games. they start the games with fish at certain start times at night.


also, i think giving fully free room comps to poker players is a very very good idea if your hotel never sells out. id recommend finding fishy poker players who just enjoy playing and comping them free rooms if they give your poker room enough action. this will ensure that they play long hours and make the games juicy. i dont recommend giving free rooms to your pros, they arent necessarily good for your poker room.

[cpk]

You're so gonna get fired.

[Mason Malmuth]

Hi TT:

I'm really only familiar with the operation of four rooms in Las Vegas even though I'm so swamped I've hardly played any poker lately. They are The Bellagio, The Mirage, The Venetian, and The Wynn. Without a doubt, the first two rooms are run far better than the others, and I know that many people here will disagree.

The bottom line why the first two rooms are better is that they each have a manager who is not the enemy of the poker players. Now I know that this statement will irritate a couple of people in particular who will probably argue quite strongly that they aren't the enemy of the players, but whenever I walk into either The Mirage or The Bellagio, I feel that the emphasis is on having games in which I can be successful. I don't feel that's the case with either of the other two rooms.

Now to be fair, I got so irritated with The Wynn that I closed my box many months ago and haven't played there since, and I am hearing that things are getting better. The reason for my irritation was their perpetual must move rule which in my opinion does more to destroy poker games than virtually anything else a poker room can do -- I have heard that this rule has now been changed. (By the way, I happen to like their little coffe place near the poker room and can often be found there late at night working on a manuscript, but that has nothing to do with their poker room.)

I think part of the problem is that the managers of both The Wynn and The Venetian came from other poker rooms out of state that were jammed. So they didn't understand what they need to do to develop good games which is what attracts the players.

I could give some examples, and if either manager wants to hear them, they can contact me privately. But I have had enough conversations with cardroom management over the years that turned out to be a complete waste of my time (with the exception being The Mirage) that I'm not real anxious to have another one of these. So if anyone contacts me to talk, let me tell you right now not to waste my time.

Now it just happens that I have probably written more on this subject than virtually anyone else. As an example, here is a long article that appears in my book Poker Essays, Volume III. I do want to point out that this article is a little out of date in some respects. For instance it talks about how bad pot-limit and no-limit games are for the room. Well, today, no limit is the rage. And it appears that having small blind games with a buy-in cap, as long as the cap is not too large, are working well (at this moment).

But the emphasis of the article, like much of what I have written is on developing the kind of games which will be beneficial for someone like myself in the long run. It just so happens that developing games like this is also beneficial for the cardroom and this is where much of the emphasis of cardroom management should be.

Cardroom Problems

I spoke at The World Poker Conference in 1998 that was sponsored by Card Player magazine. The thrust of my talk was to emphasize that those cardrooms which are successful are the ones that have good games and make an effort to do everything right, which assures that the games stay good. The talk began with the following statement in which I asked those in attendance to fill in the blanks.


I will enjoy my time in your poker room providing that


____ ____ ____ ____.



I then presented some problems that I have observed in many cardrooms over the years. They are related to the responses I got to the above.

I. Dealers — Violation of procedures
1. The dealers pay attention. The worse situations that I have ever observed at a poker table always occur because the dealer is not paying attention. What happens is that when the floorperson asks the dealer to explain the situation, the dealer explanation is not even close to the true events. This will frequently have the effect of infuriating all the players at the table, including those not involved in the hand. It is also a good way for a cardroom to lose some customers. Dealers must be focused on the game at hand and must be aware of all action that takes place.

2. The dealers deal at the proper speed. Improper speed can be too slow as well as too fast. Slow dealers don’t produce enough hands, and players generally like a fast paced game. Dealers who deal too fast tend to make more than an acceptable amount of errors.

3. The dealers don’t comment on the size of the pot or the play of the hand. Anytime a dealer (or anyone else for that matter) gives information that has the potential to affect the action, the game is hurt. In addition, when a dealer comments as to “What a big pot it is,” he is usually looking for a toke. Needless to say, this will normally irritate the players and can sometimes even cause the cardroom to lose a customer.

4. The dealers don’t argue with the players. Whenever a dealer has a problem with a player, he needs to immediately call a floorperson. Arguing will almost never accomplish anything except to irritate the player even more. This is true even if it is obvious that it is the player who is wrong.

5. The dealers don’t routinely expose cards. In blackjack it is important that the dealers tilt the deck upwards. This is done to stop a dishonest player from “reading” the back of a card in case there is a mark on it. The problem with dealing this way in poker is that it can cause cards to flash. In blackjack it is not a problem. But in poker it is important that all down cards remain private. That is only the person for whom they are intended for should have knowledge of them.

6. The dealers don’t complain about lack of tips. Dealers need to understand that those players who either don’t tip or tip very little are still good for their income. Poor tippers still help keep the games going. If poker was restricted to only those players who are big tippers, I doubt if there would be enough players to sustain the games. A dealer should never complain about lack of tips. He must keep in mind that those players who tip little, especially if they are some of the regular customers, are allowing him to collect tips from those — frequently the tourist types — who are more generous.

7. The dealers don’t talk excessively — no extraneous talking. I regard this as the most important problem on this list. Dealers who talk excessively tend not to be paying attention, are mistake prone, deal too slowly, and are simply bothersome to many players. When dealing, there should be no extraneous talking while in the box. A few cardrooms do a good job in this area. Unfortunately, many don’t, and I consider it to be an industry wide problem.

8. The dealer’s don’t chew gum, etc. while in the box. I won’t comment much on this except to say that a professional atmosphere goes hand-in-hand with good poker games. Chewing gum while in the box looks unprofessional to many. It may not seem like much, but it is the beginning of sloppy dealing which can lead to numerous other problems.

II Dealers — Common Sense
1. The dealers don’t call open seat immediately after a player goes broke instead of waiting until he is out of earshot. Many people play poker simply because they find it fun. They love the action that it provides. Unfortunately, losing is not fun, but there must always be a loser. Because of this, it is important that the dealers be aware of the feelings of some of their customers. When a player goes broke, it is important that the dealer not remind him of this fact. It only takes a little courtesy to wait a few seconds before calling “Open seat.” This could even be the difference between that player returning to play another time in your cardroom.

2. The dealers handle occasional player abuse in a professional manner. (They don’t try to discipline players themselves, but rather call a floorperson.) This idea was actually mentioned above, but it never hurts to mention it again. When there is a problem with a player it is not the dealer’s job to do the disciplining. He needs to call a floorperson and keep the game moving. When the dealer gets too involved in this type of problem, he not only runs the risk of alienating the player in question, but he can slow down the game so much that he may upset the whole table.

3. The dealers properly make change out of the pot. This is only a problem in those cardrooms where the dealers do not carry their own tray. In these rooms, there is usually a limited amount of money in the tray. Thus, unless a dealer makes use of all resources, and this includes making change from the pot, many fills will be called for. This not only slows down the game, which the players don’t like, but it reduces the house drop since less hands are dealt.

III. Management misconceptions
1. Top cardroom management is highly visible on the floor. It is my experience that those cardrooms where top management is never seen are the ones that get in trouble. Top management needs to spend time in their room watching the games and getting to know the players. Not only will this make management more aware of a cardroom’s needs, it makes the players feel better since it will help them feel that management is on their side.

2. Management realizes that the cardroom relies on winning players. This is an incredibly important idea that many people in cardroom management fail to understand. A cardroom is very different from the rest of the casino. It needs winning players to be successful. These people help start games and keep games going. Without them, cardrooms would be hard pressed to have many games, and what games they have would certainly break down quickly.

3. Management doesn’t want everyone to break even. This is a follow-up to the idea just stated. I have seen cardrooms where management restricts the size of the games, and discourages the tourists from playing in games where the better players may be. Needless to say, this has the effect of lowering the “earn” of the potential regulars, even turning some of them into losers. Thus, on “off” nights the cardroom won’t have the core of regulars to start games and keep them going.

4. The cardroom has a well defined rail. (Poker games have difficulty surviving at those casinos where you must walk inside the cardroom to see the games.) Poker games need to be seen. Those poker rooms which hide their games do not do a good job of attracting new customers. In rooms like The Mirage, which has a well defined rail where people can view the action, new customers are developed all the time. The idea that poker players like privacy is wrong. What poker players like is action, and “new blood” is a major source of action.

5. Management does not tolerate known shot takers — cardroom management needs to talk to them. Unfortunately, poker has a “grey area.” That is some players who can get unethical aren’t really cheating, but are still harmful to the game. An example would be those hold ’em players who buy a lot of chips and then hide their cards behind their chips in an effort to get players to act out of turn behind them. When this sort of thing happens on a continual basis, poker room management needs to address it. They need to explain to the offending player that cardroom management is trying to create good games, but that this can only be done with the cooperation of all regular players. If improvement does not quickly occur, it may be appropriate to discipline the offending player in other ways.

6. Management does not overuse props. I recognize that the use of props in many cardrooms is a necessary evil. When the core of regular players is not large enough to start games and keep the games going, proposition players may be an appropriate answer. However, since these are players who are trying to play professionally, they tend to promote “no action games,” which are not the type of games that a cardroom wants to create. It is true that many of your regular customers might play in a tight / no action fashion. But at least they are paying for the privilege to do so. They are not supplied by the house.

7. Small buy-in tournaments that break-up games are not regularly scheduled. Years ago I regularly played in a cardroom that would hold small buy-in tournaments that regularly broke up the game that I normally played. Not only did I find another room, but the offending room is no longer in business. I recognize that the very large clubs can hold small buy-in tournaments and not harm their games. I also recognize that these tournaments can be used as a promotional tool. But the medium size and smaller rooms need to be aware what affect these tournaments may have on their regular games.

Another problem with small buy-in tournaments is that they may attract undesirable customers to your casino. Several years ago I was in a major Las Vegas casino that had Frank Sinatra appearing in its showroom. I could tell by the way the people were dressed in the show line, that this was exactly the customers this casino wanted to attract. In the corner, the poker room was having a $12 buy-in tournament, and you could tell by the appearance of these people that this casino would not want them as customers. Needless to say, within six months that cardroom was closed.

8. Games are not spread that are too close in size to other games. Games which are spread that are too close in size to other games will have the effect of cannibalizing each other. It’s true that a very large cardroom may have the player base to spread both $15-$30 and $20-$40 hold ’em, but very few rooms can afford this luxury. Rooms which start to do this will often discover that they don’t have as many games as they used to. In addition, if starting a game close in limit causes another game to break, you may have some very unhappy customers on hand.

9. Management does not promote pot limit and no limit games.
A. Weak players almost never win.
B. Cheating accusations are inevitable.
C. Takes up a table that could be used for other games.

Every cardroom that I have ever seen that promotes pot limit and/or no limit games on a regular basis has run into trouble. Many people recognize that these games upset the balance of luck and skill that poker needs to thrive. When weak players never have winning nights they will frequently quit playing — sometimes necessarily due to lack of funds — and the games will dry up.

But pot limit and no limit also causes a more sinister problem which very few people in the cardroom business understand. In a game where someone will occasionally lose all of their money because of the turn of a card, cheating accusations are inevitable. Yes, it is true that “one outers” and “runner-runner” do sometimes occur. But when a cardroom develops a reputation for cheating, whether justified or not, it is frequently just a matter of time before their business is damaged. I do recognize that if players come to a room on their own and request this type of game, that the cardroom should consider it, and I also believe that these forms of poker are appropriate side games for some tournaments. But again I want to reiterate, that in my opinion, it is a major mistake to promote these games on a regular basis.

10. Poorly thought out promotions that attract undesirables players are not offered.
A. Cheap tournaments.
B. Money give-a-ways.

Cheap tournaments and money give-a-ways can be successful promotional tools that a cardroom will want to use. But they need to be well thought out or you may find that the people you attract hurt your business more than it helps. Without being specific, promotions that pay people to play in small limit games will frequently have this affect. A promotion should strive to build on the strengths of the cardroom. This is frequently more important than merely bringing in additional bodies. This is especially true if those additional bodies have the effect of driving some of your regular players away.

11. The tables on the rail are utilized efficiently — this is where middle limit games belong. I recently walked into a cardroom where the only tables going were in the back of the room. The tables on the rail were empty. Needless to say, potential customers, who might be interested in playing if they could watch for a while were not attracted.

It is also important which games are put on the rail. Small limit games aren’t played for enough money to attract the interest of tourists who just might be standing near a cardroom. Very large games will attract their interest, but the amount of money at stake will often scare them away from playing. However, middle limit games are perfect. Games that use $5 chips, such as $20-$40 hold ’em have large enough pots to attract most people’s interest, but are not so large that potential customers will not want to play. Cardrooms that put their smallest games on the rail and hide their middle limit games are making a mistake. The idea that their regular customers prefer “peace and quiet” as opposed to other casino noise is wrong. What they prefer are good games and attracting new players is almost always good for the games.

12. An effort is always made to make sure that decisions are consistent. I won’t comment much on this except to say that it can be very difficult to achieve, and that all cardrooms should always strive for improvement in this area. I also recognize that there must be some flexibility in the decision making process. For instance, a questionable move made by a cardroom regular may require a different decision than if it is made by an obvious cardroom novice.

13. Management understands that a cardroom should not be like going to church. It will work with the regular players to achieve an appropriate code of conduct for a playing atmosphere (and this can include a minimal dress code). Over the years I have heard and read numerous complaints concerning player behavior. In my opinion, player behavior is much better than some discussion indicates. But I do recognize there are times when it needs to be at a higher level.

On the other hand, when a cardroom sets down rules that are too strict in terms of behavior, they will not only take the fun out of poker, but they will probably slowly lose their business. Poker should be played in a relaxed atmosphere where some indiscretion is tolerated. If a major problem occurs, it should of course be addressed. The same is true for a recurring problem. But behavior rules that are too strict will be fatal for any cardroom’s business in the long run.

14. Newly hired dealers are not placed in the biggest games. While dealing appears to be an easy job when a skillful dealer is in the box, it takes time to develop those skills. In addition, higher limit players are often more demanding than those who participate at the smaller limits, and the money on the table is frequently more meaningful to those in action. The solution to this is simple. Don’t put break-in dealers in the biggest games. They should have some period of time dealing in the smaller games before they are moved up. This policy will not only be good for their dealing skills, but it will also be good for their confidence as well.

IV. Brush System
1. New games are started with regard to those people already playing. Nothing is more upsetting than to be playing in a game and have the cardroom start another game that causes your game to break, and you now find yourself frozen out. This is especially true if you happen to be losing. The brush should always be aware of what calling down a new game will do to the current games. If it is likely to break a game that is already in progress, the best decision may be to put off calling down the new game.

2. The brush is not hard to find — potential customers enter and leave room. When the brush is difficult to locate, the cardroom may lose some of its most desirable customers. The regular players will frequently wait around until the brush shows up, but someone new to poker will frequently leave. He will sometimes think that the cardroom just doesn’t want his business. In addition, when this “new” money doesn’t have a chance to sit down, it negatively affects the games since the marginal players will now have less opportunity to win and return on another night.

3. The brush does not discourage tourists from playing any particular game. For poker to survive you not only need a core of regular players who start the games and keep the games going, but you also need some “live” money. When the brush tells an obviously weak player that a certain game may be too tough, he in effect assures that the regular players who frequent this game have a reduced “earn.” In other words, he is contributing to the games not being good. It should be the brush’s job to seat new players and inform them as to the length of the list. They should not be deciding who should or should not play in any particular game.

4. The brush pays attention to the games that have lost players thus assuring that the games do not break down when there is a live list. It is a disaster to be playing in a game that breaks only to discover that there was a list for the game, but that the brush was not paying attention. When this happens, not only will you have some unhappy customers, but the overall drop of the cardroom is reduced. The brush always needs to pay attention to the games that he is attending. Failure to do so can cause many cardroom problems.

5. The brush does a good job of maintaining the transfer list. There are many reasons why players want to transfer. It could be to find a better game, move away from a smoker, or just find a “lucky seat.” But whatever the reason, players want the transfer list well maintained and coordinated by the brush. Failure to do so can result in some very unhappy customers, and sometimes they will have good reason to feel this way.

6. When a new game is called down, a dealer and chips are available. One of the best ways to make your customers unhappy is to call down a new game and make your players wait for a dealer and chips. I have even seen situations where the dealer and chips were so slow in coming that by the time they showed up all the potential players had wandered off. Again, problems like this will only irritate many of your customers and hurt your business in the long run.

7. After a new game is called down, the game bank is picked up in an efficient manner so the game can get started. Not picking up the game bank is essentially the same problem as above. Most players appreciate a fast paced game and getting started quickly is part of this process. When the brush neglects to pick up the game bank, causing the players and dealer to sit there, fun poker is not achieved.

8. After a new game is called and only a few players show up, the brush makes an effort to announce the game or check with other players on the list to see if they are interested in playing. Nothing is more frustrating to a potential player than to go to a “new game” only to see that the brush makes no effort to fill the game. If there is a list, and the brush can check with some of the players on the list, he should do so. It might just be that the reason they didn’t go to the new game was that they did not hear it called down. Again, when the brush neglects this responsibility, it will only have the result of irritating some of your customers.

9. When a player leaves a game to go to a new game that is being called down and the new game fails to go, the player can return to his old seat. This is a problem that I have personally complained about many times in many cardrooms. It is infuriating to go to a newly called game only to find that it doesn’t go, and then to discover that your seat is taken and that you are frozen out. The brush needs to be aware where the players are coming from and not to fill their seats until he is sure that the new game will go.

10. The brush does not over emphasize the high limit games. There is no question that high limit games require more attention than the games at smaller limits. But the brush needs to be aware that he cannot sacrifice the other games just to satisfy the needs of these games. I do recognize that this is not always easy. But the brush needs to be aware that all players in the cardroom are important customers. Not just those who play in the biggest games.

To finish my talk I then provided the opening statement again with the appropriate answer and comment.

I will enjoy my time in your poker room providing that

the games are good.

However, if your cardroom suffers from some of the problems listed:

Don’t expect the games to stay good.

Finally, I pointed out that whenever an adversarial relationship develops between players and cardroom management, the room is usually doomed. Once this adversarial relationship develops, it doesn’t really matter whose fault it is. Cardroom management always needs to be aware of this, and when problems begin to develop they need to take appropriate action.

[RR]

Mason,
I am glad you reprinted this hear. This and "talking dealers" should be read by anyone that works in this industry at least once a year or so.

[*TT*]

[ QUOTE ]
Hi TT:

The bottom line why the first two rooms are better is that they each have a manager who is not the enemy of the poker players.

[/ QUOTE ]

I've been waiting for you to get involved in this conversation, I know its a topic that you know more about than practically anyone else. Your statement above really nails the true issue on the head, as a struggling "potentially world class" room the management must try to make the best player-centric environment possible. This of course means quality and stability of the games. All the other marketing tricks are worthless without this fundamental requirement.

[ QUOTE ]

Now to be fair, I got so irritated with The Wynn that I closed my box many months ago and haven't played there since, and I am hearing that things are getting better. The reason for my irritation was their perpetual must move rule which in my opinion does more to destroy poker games than virtually anything else a poker room can do -- I have heard that this rule has now been changed. (By the way, I happen to like their little coffe place near the poker room and can often be found there late at night working on a manuscript, but that has nothing to do with their poker room.)

[/ QUOTE ]

You would be very impressed, the room has come a long way in their management philosophy. For example must move policy has been changed so it only exists at the beginning during the start of the game, they are willing to spread new tables before a full list, etc. And I also know that at least some of the managers (I dont know if all) have been reading your Poker Essays series t help improve the games. But thats neither here nor there for this thread, just insight that they have come a long way.

[ QUOTE ]
I think part of the problem is that the managers of both The Wynn and The Venetian came from other poker rooms out of state that were jammed. So they didn't understand what they need to do to develop good games which is what attracts the players.

[/ QUOTE ]

Their problems stem from more than the executive management coming from out of state rooms that were jammed, they were both also in markets without competition! So their marketing philosophies were both fundamentally flawed. Wynn's have gotten better over time but still needs help, Venetian's are so lot and mired in what "locals want" that they are deemed to fail.

[ QUOTE ]
As an example, here is a long article that appears in my book Poker Essays, Volume III.

[/ QUOTE ]

Its really gracious of you to share this essay with the B&M forum. For those of you who have never read Mason's fantastic Poker Essay series and have an interest in this popular subject, I recommend picking up Poker Essays II at an absolute minimum to read his excellent cardroom management essays co-authored with Donna Harris of the Mirage (the topic of card room theory is discussed in all three books, the best of which was Volume II). Mason shared this with the 2+2 forums a few months back in the 2+2 Magazine, but since that issue has expired your only hope is to read Poker Essays II. It should be required reading for all card room management and staff!

[cpk]

[ QUOTE ]
9. Management does not promote pot limit and no limit games.
A. Weak players almost never win.
B. Cheating accusations are inevitable.
C. Takes up a table that could be used for other games.

Every cardroom that I have ever seen that promotes pot limit and/or no limit games on a regular basis has run into trouble.

[/ QUOTE ]

Two questions and an observation.

i. Does this point apply anymore? It seems that the only good middle-stakes games these days are in fact no-limit games. Restricted buy-ins help keep the weaker players from going busto as quickly, which helps the health of these games.

ii. To follow up on the above, do rooms on the Strip offering uncapped low-stakes and middle-stakes NL games heading for disaster? Or will the continuing expansion of poker mitigate it?

iii. I think it does apply insofar as trying to get a 30-60 going. Most of your live ones for 30-60 are probably playing 5-10 NL instead (which is usually uncapped on the Strip). 5-10 games decimate the medium limit games not only in the casino which they are spread, but in a wider area also.

But what are you going to do about it? I mean, the reason people are playing 5-10 NL is because they want to play that instead of 30-60. You can't really be successful as a cardroom if you don't offer the games people really want to play. Can you?

[*TT*]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
9. Management does not promote pot limit and no limit games.
A. Weak players almost never win.
B. Cheating accusations are inevitable.
C. Takes up a table that could be used for other games.

Every cardroom that I have ever seen that promotes pot limit and/or no limit games on a regular basis has run into trouble.

[/ QUOTE ]

Two questions and an observation.

i. Does this point apply anymore? It seems that the only good middle-stakes games these days are in fact no-limit games. Restricted buy-ins help keep the weaker players from going busto as quickly, which helps the health of these games.

ii. To follow up on the above, do rooms on the Strip offering uncapped low-stakes and middle-stakes NL games heading for disaster? Or will the continuing expansion of poker mitigate it?

iii. I think it does apply insofar as trying to get a 30-60 going. Most of your live ones for 30-60 are probably playing 5-10 NL instead (which is usually uncapped on the Strip). 5-10 games decimate the medium limit games not only in the casino which they are spread, but in a wider area also.

But what are you going to do about it? I mean, the reason people are playing 5-10 NL is because they want to play that instead of 30-60. You can't really be successful as a cardroom if you don't offer the games people really want to play. Can you?

[/ QUOTE ]

I think you missed this line from Mason's post, it should answer all of your questions -

[ QUOTE ]
I do want to point out that this article is a little out of date in some respects. For instance it talks about how bad pot-limit and no-limit games are for the room. Well, today, no limit is the rage. And it appears that having small blind games with a buy-in cap, as long as the cap is not too large, are working well (at this moment).


[/ QUOTE ]

[cpk]

Oops, fair enough. [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img] But, to be fair to me as well, it didn't answer ALL my questions. 5-10 is not a "small blind" game. What do you think about the demand for 5-10 NL vs. 30-60, and how should it be solved? Or should it even be solved--should management be targeting 5-10 NL instead, because that's what the players seem to want?

[*TT*]

[ QUOTE ]
Oops, fair enough. [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img] But, to be fair to me as well, it didn't answer ALL my questions. 5-10 is not a "small blind" game. What do you think about the demand for 5-10 NL vs. 30-60, and how should it be solved? Or should it even be solved--should management be targeting 5-10 NL instead, because that's what the players seem to want?

[/ QUOTE ]

I think the answer is not as simple as you would like, it should be addressed on a case by case basis.

[RR]

It has been years since I read that essay, but as I remember it all of Mason's points about NL apply, it is just with the flood of new players (over the last few years) it doesn't really matter if you break a few of them.