Lower variance games?

[J.A.Sucker]

Variance is your friend in gambling games. Seriously.

If you always won, and the suckers always lost, they'd stop playing. Nobody likes getting beaten up every day.

[hagelito]

Sorry but you missed a couple of outs, JT will win if a 7 comes up too. I know this wasn't the point...just wanted to point out the missing outs [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[Drunk Bob]

My least variance game is NLHE.Followed by

Limit Stud 8

PLO

Omaha 8

Limit holdem

7 Stud

[meep_42]

[ QUOTE ]
Sorry but you missed a couple of outs, JT will win if a 7 comes up too. I know this wasn't the point...just wanted to point out the missing outs [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

And the 2 queens to make a straight. (provided QQ doesn't redraw to a full)

-d

[PokerSlut]

I totally agree with Stud Hi/Low split no qualifier being the lowest variance. In my opinion it's also one of the best games to get action since people who are used to the more popular games like Holdem and Omaha tend to chase with hands that have VERY little chance of winning.

In the games I've played in, it is not uncommon to see someone staying in with a hand that requires 2 other players to catch bricks on the river AND their own hand to catch perfect just to win half the pot.

I also feel lowball games like Ace-to-Five, Deuce-to-Seven (my favorite) and Razz are lower variance against typical players due to the fact that they tend to lack experience in judging the relative strengths of different hands, and will pay off more frequently with losing hands than in a high-only game.

[playerfl]

limit hi/low games have less variance than limit hi only games.

limit omaha 8/b and stud/8 both have lower variance than limit holdem, mainly because they are hi/lo.

[ninthyaga]

Nobody has mentioned what I believe to be the games with the smallest fluctuations for the expert player: any high-low declare game. Because an expert player with a good read on his opponents can often escape with half the pot.

Next on my list is any high-low game (cards speak), and then no-limit. No-limit actually has very large fluctuations, but it's funny, because a great player won't need a big bankroll since his win rate figures to be so high. And I think this is basically what you want anyways, to make the most money with the bankroll that you have, and an acceptable risk of ruin.

[hagelito]

Oh bummer, I guess I missed that when I was thinking of QQ being able to make full if the Q came up. Well, I'm not too experienced yet, but plan to improve for the rest of my life [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]