Why NL is killing limit.
 

1.It's more interesting to watch when you're NOT in the hand.
2.It's more skillful (if you don't know this, you don't understand where the skill in poker comes from). The fun of poker comes from its skill element, and even people who don't have much skill are choosing poker over slots for a reason.
3.Television has popularized it more.
4.It's more of a roller coaster ride. The highs are higher and the lows are lower.
5.Younger, hipper crowd; fewer nits.
6.It makes for a better tournament form, because blind size isn't quite as debilitating a factor. It especially makes early rounds more meaningful (in NL tourneys, you can double or triple up, or go bust, in the early rounds; in limit tourneys, even people on heaters don't often double up).

I see which limit players have switched to NL, and which haven't, and generally it's the better players who've switched. Who's left playing limit? Dogs too old to learn new tricks, and/or, people afraid to actually have to make a real decision (this is not true at the higher limits, because there you find pros who are just playing what their long-time live ones want; in the same way that back east good high stakes players stayed with 7-card stud way past its prime only because the bigger games were filled with older players wanting the old game).

Will the live ones go bust? Do they go bust playing slots? The only real question is: are they enjoying themselves. And in NL, more than limit, the answer is yes. Even though there's more skill in the game, as long as the customers are happy, they'll come back; as long as the game is exciting, they'll come in to begin with.

Those of you who fear the rise of NL need to switch gears and embrace it, because limit is the lowball (west coast)/ stud (east coast) of our time.

Re: Why NL is killing limit.
 

DIFFERENT set of skills. No limit- game of psychology. Limit - game of statistics.

Re: Why NL is killing limit.
 

I see which players are making these kinds of blanket statements, and which aren't, and generally it's the stupid ones.

Just in case you're really new and inexperienced and excited because you've learned how to work "switch gears" into a conversation (you rounder, you) I'll address a couple of points:

-You're about three years late to make one of these Chicken Little, "NL is taking over!" posts.

-Nobody "fears" the rise of NLHE. Things are cyclical. The fixed-buyin format of many NLHE games will help them stay around longer, then the cycle will run its course and Limit, or PL, or Omaha, or 7-Stud or Go Fish will be the hot new game again.

Re: Why NL is killing limit.
 

Actually limit is more of a roller coaster ride. See variance.

Re: Why NL is killing limit.
 

Omaha 8 is the new NLH.

Re: Why NL is killing limit.
 

I probably agree with 2-6. But not with 1. The game is extremely boring when you're not in the hand. It's just so, so slow.

Re: Why NL is killing limit.
 

true: 1,3,5,6
false: 2,4

Re: Why NL is killing limit.
 

this post blows in so many ways.

Re: Why NL is killing limit.
 

3 and 6 are correct, but everything else is either irrelevant, a half-truth (at best) or just flat wrong.

Re: Why NL is killing limit.
 

I don't have NL available at CAZ. I've played it in LV a couple of times. I found it interesting because it was different but also found it boring, boring, boring and, worse, slow. I think it's main attraction is that it's supposedly cool since it's the game on the TeeVee. In a good limit game there is constant action, constant decision making and you don't have to sit quietly during one of those ludicrous stare-downs over a $100 pot that make me want to scream in frustration. Where is the enjoyment in watching some player who knew he was folding in 3 seconds take 2 minutes while he shuffles his chips back and forth just so that he is thinking he will make his opponent respect him? Also, how many 6 way NL hands are there with the chips flying into the pot. Give me a loose limit game any day.


There is a reason that there was hardly any live NL spread until the WPT and there is also a reason that the poker rooms are trying mightily to preserve their player base w/ the capped buy-in games. They want their customers to be able to afford to play and NL will be a ruination for too many of them.