The future of PLO post Party

[glass_onion]

What I'm noticing 1st off is that while stars went over 100k players last night friday, there weren't any more PLO talbes than normal. I also saw avg pots of the best tables at around 25bb, which is significantly lower than usual (at $50-$200 tables).

I'm also not seeing any more talbes opening up on Tilt, the pokerroom skins, or PRIMA.

What is seems to me is that a lot of people simply aren't playing, and that the amount of tables american players can choose from just went down by around 40%, which is pretty dramatic who really practices table selection. Of couse some of this is hopefully short term.

What are you guys doing to suppliment your game? Going back to holdem? Taking a break from it all? Maybe playing more B&M (which isn't an option for me).

I'd also be interested in how those games on party are now for the rest of the world, now that the ignorant american's are gone.

Comments???

[tempogain]

a few more random types been drifting around ub

[glass_onion]

i'll have to open up ub again. Thier bonus system sucks so much though. And they never seem to have more than 2 tables open under $200

[ITILTEZ]

There aint any more PLO tables on euro sites, it's very rare to see tables over 10 20 running at all.
I would give pokerstars couple weeks and then see how the action is.

"Going back to holdem?" There is no reason to limit yourself to one game, I dont know what stakes you play, but if you are a winning PLO player you can likely play winning holdem at least at some level.

[Big Dave D]

Party has died. No limit hilo. No plo8b. Very little plo.

gl

dd

[BluffTHIS!]

PLO has always been way less popular than holdem of either the big bet or limit variety. It is more popular in europe than america. If it weren't for online poker, the simple fact is most americans wouldn't often be able to find a plo game outside of the south. SF/LA, Vegas and AC just don't have it often except during tourney times. But party still might be the best place for PLO simply because their canadian and euro players now are larger than the euro base of stars.

But there is another reason for the paucity of PLO games even pre-US ban. And that is that it attracts a lot of WTRs (weak tight rocks or "nits" if you prefer that term), who come to the "action game" waiting for big edges to make a move, and for chances to make what are to them more easy folds (which is why competent LAGs and TAGs can steal a lot from them). But because of the type of player they are, they won't do something critically important to keep their preferred games going, and that is simply to be willing to start games shorthanded and play until they fill up. They think that they are brilliant with their rocky insistence on having the best of it, which to them includes paying as little in the way of blinds as possible.

So they wait for others to start a game, see if they think the action is good, and only then get on a list or sit down. But in reality they are like a bad shopkeeper who keeps opening later and later each day while closing at the same time, because he just doesn't think there are enough early customers to justify opening up earlier in the day. Now I am NOT saying game selection isn't important because it is. But if you want some games to select from then occasionally you have to be willing to start them up before they are full.

One result of all that has happened is that the games anywhere aren't going to be as good, especially full ring. Which means that players who play 6-max and shorter, whether in PLO or any form of HE, are going to have the edge. They will always be able to find a game, and one without a lot of weak tight seat holders sitting and waiting for the nuts.

So far all of you canadians and euros still on party, or you americans on stars or elsewhere like FT and Bodgog, if you want to play PLO all the time then you simply are going to have to be willing to "open the store" as it were and hope some customers come in. Otherwise, as I have repeatedly suggested in this forum over the past year, you had better learn how to play NLHE well, and learn to play it in 6-max format to boot.

[blopp]

Very good post bluffthis. I often found out that if im willing to start games i get games. (Party and ongame) But to do that I have to plan playing a long session to benefit from all the hazzle. (Shortstackers, hit n run artists and though shorthanded players). I consider myself to have biggest edge shorthanded on 2-4 and below, but on my random shoots at 5-10 and 10-20 its damn hard to play short. Variance is pretty big and the really good shorthanded players that leave when games get full are really though. So there I prefer full games without being a rock.

- B

[BluffTHIS!]

Hi blopp,

You are right that shorthanded anything has more variance, and thus isn't really conducive to taking shots as FR is. So it is better to be willing to start games at stakes you are adequately rolled for than higher up.

(BTW, I am guessing English isn't your first language - you used the word "though" [sounds like "tho"], which is an adverb/preposition when you meant "tough" [sounds like "tuff"].)

[blopp]

Lol, Im scandinavian, and my 1 month eastern-europe tripp, this summer even made my english worse. I actually post less then i want too cause i fumble so much.

- B

[glass_onion]

I guess another of my major fears is that, while waiting for all this to shake out, 10 person PLO becomes extinct. Perhaps i'm too nitty, but I definetely make more at 10 person tables than 9, and with all the people going primarily to Full tilt and stars, PLO is primarily going to 9 handed and 6 handed tables.

My observations so far is the smaller sites that spread 10 person tables haven't increased attendance at all in PLO or PLO8 (again, $50-$200 tables).