Party's bad beat tables...

[ZootMurph]

I just finished clearing a bonus at Party Poker by playing the 2/4 Bad Beat tables (stupidly hoping to get lucky...). Anyway, I got all my hands into Poker Tracker and noticed that my VP$IP is almost 30% and my PFR is just under 5%. My normal stats are around 19%/7.5%. I made 6.5 BB/100 during this run, but I didn't have an unusually large amount of big hands. In fact, my PFR was low because of the small amount of raising hands I had. However, I noticed that there were an average of just over 5 people seeing the flop. So I was hitting a lot of speculative hands and getting paid off nicely.

Basically, I noticed three changes to my normal playing style, due to the different texture of these tables. I was able to get odds to play a LOT of speculative hands, especially suited connectors, I played almost anything from the blinds...even against raises, and I didn't raise hands like AT, AJ, KQ, etc. as I normally would because I wasn't thinning out the field with the raises, but when I hit my hand, I would get paid off by lesser hands. When I didn't hit, folding was a lot easier most of the time with the unraised pot.

In any case, my questions are:

1) Does anyone here play the Bad Beat tables regularly?
2) If you do, do you notice a change in your playing style?
3) Again, if you play these tables differently, how do you change your style?

I'm really curious if it is just me, or if everyone that gets onto these tables sess the need to make these adjustments...

[pokerjunky]

I play them at night from time to time because they're generally softer than the regular games. I still haven't decided if its + EV or not due to the extra $.50 that comes out of each pot since your getting eat up by the rake as it is. Plus if you look hard enough you can find regular tables that are just as juicy.

Anyway, I adjust my pre-flop play as well by playing more suited connectors and pocket pairs from early position if I'm expecting a lot of players and very little raising. The value of offsuit broadway cards goes way down although I'll still raise AK and AQ offsuit. I might fold AJo and KQo from early position if the game is real loose however.

[CallMeIshmael]

Perhaps not the best place to ask, but, while we're on the topic..

Does anyone know how much equity we have in the $0.50 that drops?

Also, do you get rakeback on the extra drop?

[pokerjunky]

[ QUOTE ]
Perhaps not the best place to ask, but, while we're on the topic..

Does anyone know how much equity we have in the $0.50 that drops?

Also, do you get rakeback on the extra drop?

[/ QUOTE ]

I think we'd need some mathematiacians to tell us what the odds of hitting the jackpot are combined with a few extra donks playing the hand to know if its + EV. Maybe the probability forum would be a good place to ask.

[peachy]

i used to play those tables exclusively...and i didnt alter my play much. I made an avg of about 600BB there a month, but that could have been chance, that I was running hot, or a combo of 394230942903 other things. People do losen up at those tables, and I got paid alot for that but u also get burned on good hands b/c someone catches something. I loved those tables...and plan on playing them again soon. Plus, hey, if a table hits you get paid...cant complain about that and even more YAY if im the winner/loser of the hand!

[ErrantNight]

there's a few places around here where the size of the bbjackpot makes it +ev to be involved in the games at different levels... just search for it