PLHE

Yeah, I'm going to talk about Pot Limit Hold'em.

Get back here damnit you silly NLHE snob!

I don't know about you guys but when I play $25NLHE I find myself at the most absurdly tight tables ever. Obviously these people are not interested in gamboling. I'm sure a lot of this is a product of the site I play (Full Tilt Poker, home of the tightest, most proficient low limit grinders on the internet), the limit I play (mostly .10/.25) as well as the UIGEA (worst piece of legislation ever dreamed up by some bible thumping, uptight, asswipe of a Republican ever).

We all know a lot of the fish went away when it became much more difficult to get money online. But, apparently, that hasn't dissuaded some people because somebody is literally making $$ playing online poker. Somebody =/= to most of the people you or I know but the rumor has it that there's $$$$$ to made playing online poker. Rumor. Conjecture.

I noticed one of the semi-pro players from Full Tilt Forum playing at a PLHE table the other day and I was amused. These guys are usually all about the NLHE.

Last night I fired up a .25/.50 PLHE mostly because I'm not terribly comforable playing NLHE at that level even though I have the bankroll for it and because I noticed the table stats were quite juicy.

Every PLHE table listed had a VPIP of 30% or more and the average pot size was reasonable in contrast to most of the $25NL tables where you can't find a table over 30% unless it's the FTF table and somebody is donking it up huge. I'm starting to think that players are lulled by the Pot Limit part thinking that they aren't likely to go broke like they will at a NLHE table. They play a lot more speculative hands as well as some horrible hands.

I noticed these tables have more of the LAGs that we all love. I had two tables open with at least 3 players over 40% VPIP and sometimes even as high as 70% VPIP. I definitely liked these tables. I left up a buy-in with little or no effort at all. I haven't had an experience like that at a NLHE tables since the Party Poker days.

Surprisingly, a lot of these players bought in short. That made it even easier to get them pot committed with the rags they were prone to play. Little do they realize that it's even easier to get all their chips in the pot when they buy in short at a table with a 40% VPIP.

I may never play $25NL again.

If you, too, are finding yourself at table after table of TAGs or Rocks you might try out the PLHE tables. I think you'll find the gambolers have taken up residence there.