[Cactus Jack]

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I think the most important part of this discussion is:

Are the limit games becoming tougher because they are full of average to above average 'dinosaurs' and smart tags?

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No, at least not at the low limit games in Vegas. If anything, you're likely to find more better players at an average NL table than an average limit table. One of the reasons I started playing my low limit Tour was to see if the adage was true: "you can't beat the low limit games." I did, consistently, and am doing okay still at 4/8, despite my recent bad run. There simply are very few good players at low limits, and almost no TAGs at all. Some tight/weak, but mostly loose/passives.

What makes me think that no limit games might be starting to hurt is lower pot sizes, and lower stack sizes I'm seeing at the NL tables around my limit games while I'm waiting. The caps are going up, which isn't going to do the games any good, but few buy in for the full amount, leaving them even more vulnerable to good players with full stacks. The good players don't have large enough stacks to attack, so they aren't making as much. It's a cycle I think that will continue on a downward trend. Watch the size of pots. Those are the giveaway.

I don't buy the "not enough gamble" argument, as I don't believe poker itself has inherently enough gamble in it for real gamblers. They play every hand in bj, so folding hands sucks to them. Even in NL, or even esp when you consider how fast you will go broke in NL playing every hand.

It's all good, however. They go broke playing no limit, but want to keep playing, so they come over to the limit tables. They eventually will find their way into my game. I'll be waiting for them.

I'm very good at tournament poker. I'm improving at fixed limit. I'm damned good at SNGs, but my ring NL game has always been poor and never has gotten better. I just don't have that ability, so I'm sticking to limits. Better to eat many small meals than go hungry when unable to eat the elephant at one sitting.

CJ