Calling Station

[GeoffM]

I have never heard someone say this about online poker. Showdowns happen virtually always, too many idiots on line that for some reason I am still trying to figure out actually like losing money.

[Aequitas58]

I'm not speaking generally for "online poker." I'm talking about shorthanded games vs. full ring games. There are less flops and less showdowns. Check it out for yourself.

I don't think people like losing money, but I think poker is addictive and people like "taking a shot". The sad thing is, for the majority of those players, when they do win they don't cash out. They just play it out and wind up losing all of it.

[2Tone]

There's so much emphasis on the differences between Limit and NL, but I almost think the difference between six and 10 players at the table is so great that you can sort say there are four kinds of Hold 'Em.

I do fine in NL SNGs when it gets down to the final few players, but have learned the hard way to stay away from short handed NL cash games, at least for now. I'm just not comfortable with the hyper aggression you need with top pair when there's a possible straight on the board, at least when it's real cash. The difference between NL chips and cash would be another great thread ...

That said, I do think that if you can master/stomach short handed NL, your BB's an hour can potentially far exceed a full ring game.

[Aequitas58]

[Comments above in BOLD.]

A lot of money can be made playing shorthanded NL - it's amazing. The swings can (and usually are) worse than a full game, so be prepared to play and gamble.