Rush!

I play a little $1/2 stud online, if the pot-limit Hold 'Em line-ups are not to my liking. 'Players seeing the 4th card' percentage is usually 80% so its not too challenging.

Anyway, couple of days ago I won 88bb in ninety minutes... is this unusual, or should I expect sessions like this as long as I'm playing much tighter than my opponents??

I don't think many of them even consider whether their cards are live or not.

[thebroker]

by seeing 4th 80%. This is so because the game has a 4-1 ante ratio (.25 in a 1-2). Overall I would expect you to better in the $2-4 game. Due to the lower ante you can wait for better starters. I hate how on paradise you go from .50-1.00 with no ante to the 1-2 with the highest ante structure on the site. I tried to talk ultimatebet in to a $1-2 game with a dime ante. They didn't listen.

[Andy B]

I have written before about my exploits playing $2/4 stud with a $.50 ante. I don't know how often I saw fourth street, but it wasn't anything like 80% of the time. It might have been something like 25%, which is significantly more than the 15% figure you see bandied about here sometimes. I don't know what the optimum percentage is, and frankly I don't care, but it doesn't approach 80%.

As for the original query, yes, this sort of thing happens all the time. You should quit your job and play $1/2 stud full time.

/forums/images/icons/smile.gif

I once won something like $5000 in a three hour stretch of $30/60 stud/8. This included the $3000+ scoop that I mentioned in Alan's "Paradigm" thread. I don't think I've experienced a rush even remotely comparable in 2000+ hours of card room play. I would say that your hot streak was pretty extreme.

I don't see how it can be correct for 80 percent of the players to be seeing 4th street, regardless of the ante structure.. these guys are seeing 4th (and 5th!) street with things like unsuited 3,6,J and sometimes for a raise.

[aces123]

80%! Where are you playing? Certainly not on Paradise.

[aces123]

In fact, if you ever hang around the lobby at Paradise you'll notice that anytime the participation rate rises above 40% the waiting list grows. The vultures swoop in. By the time you get a seat the game has tightened up again.

I prefer not to say where I'm playing - I want these games to myself as long as possible. Sorry!

Paradise stud 1/2 games frequently have fourth street seen rates over 50%, and I've seen over 70% many times. This type of very high ante vs. bet structure makes it more nearly correct to stay in with many more holdings. This is the inclination of most low limit players anyway, so you wind up with lots of crowded pots. In my opinion, this greatly reduces the advantage a skilled player has. Paradise stud 2/4 games have the same ante as 1/2, and they play tighter. It's still common to see fourth street seen rates over 40% (although far less so than for the 1/2), and I've rarely had trouble finding a loose game there. Loose players are often much less correct to call along in this structure though, making it a much better game for more skilled players.

I'll have to check the ante for the 2/4 games where I play.

The 1/2 games, I take your point that the edge can be reduced, but I find that by being genuinely tight I come out ahead pretty consistently and for decent sums. I have NEVER seen the 4th street precentage any lower than 60%, and they are almost ALWAYS between 75-80%

If those are consistently the percentages, then the players are playing incredibly badly and the game should be very beatable. However, you might find that in a game with, say 50% seeing fourth street, your tight play would not win much, as the high ante eats up too much of your ante. Optimal strategy in this structure should include more limping if the game is fairly passive, because the payoff when you hit on fourth is larger due to the overante.

[DoctorK]

If 6 of the 8 players are taking off that many cards, isn't schooling a problem?

I know it's better to play against bad players than it is to play against good players, but everyone is calling along in a loose-passive sort of way, aren't they suddenly and collectively playing more correctly?

And wouldn't that game also become more of "showdown poker?"

Just wonderin' /forums/images/icons/confused.gif

Doc.

Doc, in a word - Yes!

People hit all sorts of bullsh*t hands of course, and it is immensely frustrating. Last night my trips got beat by a gutshot straight on the end, when the guy hit the case card of my trips!! Just as an example, y'understand.

You just have to be tight as ****, knowing you will always get paid off handsomely when your hand is good.