Variance of varying games

[Rasputin]

I was just wondering about the variance involved in different games and what causes a game to have higher variance than others.

For example, it is said that limit hold'em has more variance than no limit because you continually have the pot odds to call draws and thus win and lose more larger pots.

I was thinking about information. Since poker is a game of incomplete information any further information you can get is of enormous importance. Would that translate to less variance?

Just for the moment looking at hold'em and stud. Preflop in hold'em you've seen two cards. In Stud you'll see one of everyone at the table before a bet hits the felt. Seems to me this would reduce variance a) by letting you know when you're behind more, and b) by getting a more accurate read on your pot odds.

So...does it?

[Rudbaeck]

Variance in stud is very related to the size of the antes in respect to the bets. As stakes go up in stud antes become proportionally larger creating more multiway pots.

Mason has articles on this is one of his essay collections, atleast peripherally. Low limit stud, especially when there is only a bring in and no ante has very very small variuance.

[Rasputin]

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As stakes go up in stud antes become proportionally larger creating more multiway pots.

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Just in general terms, what is it that drives variance? Is it how many people are in the pot? The frequency of multi way pots?

[Iceman]

Variance depends a lot on game conditions and your playing style as well as what game you're in, but here are some ideas:

Is a strong hand typically a big favorite (draw poker, deep money NL holdem ring games) or a slight favorite (Omaha high, razz, NL holdem tournaments)?

Does a lot of money go in before hands are really defined? (games with a lot of early raising have much higher variance)

Split pot games usually tend to have lower variance than single-winner games. The fact that you win pieces of a pot more often more than makes up for the fact that you more often have two players driving the betting on later streets instead of just one.