Thoughts on new party games?

[Centrist]

I played the $100 NL prior to the change, although I also dropped down whenever necessary to find jucy tables. So I'd play a mix of usually $100 and $50, with the occasional $25 thrown in.

With the new blinds, I've been playing mostly $100, with probably even less $50's and $25's. I don't play as much as you guys -- maybe 1000 hands since the switch -- so my results are not meaninful yet.

This is how it feels so far, though:

First, it looks to me like there are two big drop-off stages in terms of the loosness of tables. The first is between $25 and $50. Much of the time, the $25's have pots just as big as they did pre-switch -- which has to be hugely +EV.

The second is between $100 and $200. The $100's seem plenty jucy, and I've actually felt much more comfortable and positive about my game since the switch. I understand, of course, that staying at the $100 is in some sense a drop down in stakes, but there seems such a huge drop-off from $100 to $200 that I wouldn't even consider making that move.

Second, the game feels *very* different. I seem to almost always leave a table with a modest win. Losses are less frequent, but all-in hands are far less frequent, so you're not doubling and tripling up.

There seem to be almost no tables with the kind of maniacs you used to see with 5x the buyin or more. I'm sure those guys were around in the early days, and some of them still are, but they get beat so quickly that they're not there by the time you get to the table. Big-bet, slot-machine poker has been dealt a serious blow, if not quite eliminated.

I'm somewhat surprised that I feel better about the game with the new structure, because I think my biggest weakness is in post-flop play. Somehow, I seem to be doing ok. I certainly feel like I'm *playing poker* much more than before -- more decisions, more maneuverability. I feel pretty comfortable laying it down to action, or, conversely, firing that second barrel if it has a reasonable chance at winning the pot.

I sense that the difference between under-aggression and over-aggression might be the second barrel versus the third one. I'm not tempted to go for the third one. And people seem plenty intimidated by the first two.

I think I'm kind of in the middle of making the adjustments to my game recommended here. One I'm having trouble with is my old bad habit of trying to induce bluffs. I'm not sure it ever worked that well, but it's especially bad now. Those min-bets on the river never result in someone coming over the top.

I flopped a set of 8's yesterday on a board with an A, out of position versus the pre-flop raiser. I check, he bets about 2/3 the pot, and I come over the top and blow him out of the water.

The guy thought about it for a long while before folding. Something tells me if I lead for 2/3 the pot, he raises me with his obvious AK, and *then* you blow him out of the water, right?

A note to myself: Bet your hand, stupid!!!