Absolute small stakes that much harder than party?

[BruinEric]

Absolute .5/1 FULL RING Limit Hold 'Em is tighter than Party, for certain. It is not just the overall Absolute player climate, but is also a function of .5/1 limit HE being the game of choice for bonus clearing by "bonus whores."

Swings can be hard everywhere. I just had a 1-hr session at Party where I spewed chips, losing with KK twice, losing FH vs. FH, folding to a couple donkbets before I had reads, etc.

There is a style of player that can do quite well against a typical Absolute rock (I'll count myself in the group of rocks). It is a style that doesn't work everywhere, and that's why really strong players can adjust their game really well (I won't count myself in that group.)

Even without being "really strong," you need to get reads on your opponents and know who is betting with top pair or better and who is a TAG going aggro with overcards or 2nd pair plus draw trying to get you to fold. This doesn't come right away.

It is much more rare to find a 75% saw-flop guy or the player who donk-bets into several players with nothing on Absolute at .5/1 FULL RING Limit HE.

At .5/1, the 6 max game seems totally different from my limited experience. I'll bet the avg number of players to see the flop in the avg 6 max game at Absolute is quite close to the avg number saw flop in a full ring game.