Will SSSH continue to get tougher?

[BuzzKillington]

I've hear lots of people talk about how the online games are getting tougher, specifically the lower limit 6handed games. How much tougher do you see them getting in the next year or 2, and why? Do you see them getting softer? Why?


edit- i guess i should have asked "do you see them getting tougher" instead of "how much tougher", as there is no way to measure "toughness of games".

[yourface]

there are less new (fish) recruits for lhe, nlhe gets most of them

[Heisenb3rg]

Short answer. Yes.

Long answer. Yes.

[Leader]

Poker is an economic system. If the game becomes too tough, many good players will stop playing. Many already have. Notice the massive increase in the NL forums here and the decline of the limit forums from 05. Fish play until they bust regardless of how the game is however. Some will never bust. So naturally the system will fluctuate around some equilibrium that is around the minimum necessary for the sharks to keep playing. The key is to get into those games that are fluctuating above that minimum and above your required rate of return.

Note that this is for when the games are bad. They won't always be bad. Certain developments in the world may make the games have a surplus of fish relative to the amount of willing and able sharks. This situation could conceivably continue indefinitely because there are a limited number of people who have the resources, interest, ability, discipline to become a good player. The amount of fish is limited only by interest and resources.

[sailorman]

I think as long as you are playing 3/6 down you will have no problem if you are good. Also, there is usually at least one or two pretty good 5/10 and 10/20 games going on most big sites nowadays.

[imitation]

i think they may be as tough as they'll get now but i fear less bonuses, less rakeback opportunities and increased rake will hurt the games in the future.

[Oink]

There is a HUGE differerence in how the low-mid limit games have developed over the last year or so.

Game selection at sites like AP, FT and UB have toughened up. While game selection at non-us sites such as Ongame Party and boss media are pretty juicy still. I dont know if its true but it seems like the flow of fish into LHE is greater from non-US areas than from the US. Maybe because US fish cant be bothered with the difficulties in funding their accounts.

If the UIGEA is removed and if online sites such as YAHOO, Google and Microsoft gets into online poker I am pretty sure we will see another boom in online poker. The boom hasnt stopped in Europe. You US guys dont notice this cuz you play at sites where a lot of europeans wont play. Partypoker and 888.com is using HUGE amounts of money advertising all over Europe.

[yourface]

[ QUOTE ]
Partypoker and 888.com is using HUGE amounts of money advertising all over Europe.

[/ QUOTE ]

thank god

o canada baby

[TheWunderkind]

The games will not get as tough as most ppl think, of course they got tougher since 03 or 05 but this is normal since the moniiieees were too easy, now its not all that easy anymore.
As mentioned the less fish the less sharks etc.

. Tough games dont attract sharks, other sharks will go broke and others just stop playing since they dont want to do all this work for a small WR. Really i dont think things will be that bad as some ppl think.

I can remember heisenbergs Post where he suspects that things will come donw to a point where only the best players in the world will have a small winrate . I think thats not true, since many good players will just stop playing for a small winrate and therefore the games will never get that tough in my opinion.