Absolute small stakes that much harder than party?

[Artsemis]

I've been playing Party .5/1 for a couple months and am up $900 ($200 is from bonuses and maybe $100 from SnG's). It's rare to have a losing session. Enough about that -- I know, you dont care, it's just necessary for my question.

I signed up for absolute just to get the PSO NJ chips for 400 raked hands. I deposited $100 and sat at a few .5/1 tables and in about 30 minutes I was down $40. I have noticed the games are MUCH tighter, most flops have 3 people where on Party there is 4-6. Granted, I've missed a ton of flops and had some bad beats (6 Quads in 2 hours now, not all involving me of course).

I guess my question is: Is absolute just tougher in general? I was thinking maybe because Partys lowest stake is .5/1, all the new players go there, where on Absolute they have lower choices. I was just surprised at how much of an increase in difficulty it was.

After the first hour, I did tighten up a ton more than I'm used to and have been break-even the past hour but I'm still a little disapointed.