Empire/Party tightening up?

[Pyroxene]

Has anyone else noticed tighter play at Party/Empire in ring games?

I had switched all my Ring play over to another site a few months ago. I tried out Empire again this weekend at the .25 and .50 tables. I did not recognize any names so I selected my tables based on position relative to stack sizes.

I played at one table for just shy of an hour and Poker Tracker informed me that *everyone* at the table at sub-20% VP$IP and all had strong PFR% numbers.

So I switched tables and, about an hour later, found that table was the same way save one guy sitting at a VP$IP of about 21%.

I tend to make my money by waiting for a loose player (VP$IP > 30) on my right to make a big mistake. Clearly, these are not the tables for that type of play.

This was not how Empire was when I left it a few months ago. Did I just happen to hit two odd tables or have things tightened up there?

[Element187]

i noticed it too but i changed up from the 25 NL to the 50NL tables, so i figured that would be expected.

ive been experimenting quite a bit on these tables, since everyone is playing premium cards, i started playing lots of junk cards in position and able to take down some large pots when all under cards come on the flop.

[Chicago_Kid]

Depends on what time of day you are playing. After 12 am ET, things tighten up considerably on Party skins.

In addition, I imagine the early part of the month is bonus-whoring time, so an inordinate number of players are just seeing flops and looking for monsters while the multi-table themselves to bonuses.

[a500lbgorilla]

Yup, I said it would happen and it did.



Ah well, you'll just have to beat them some other way.

-'rilla

[Hubris1]

WPT season 3 just wrapped and we're three months or so out from the next WSOP hitting ESPN. I, Hubrisodamus declare, it will be like one of those crazy salmon farms where they have 8 salmon per cubic foot. Just wait.

Edit: Also this year's WSOP winner is also likely to be reported on every single news outlet, CNN, MSNBC, NY times. Foxnews, whatever. More importantly, they'll mention the prize pool which it looks like this year's pool will be like winning a small state's lottery.

2nd edit: Also add to that Party is making its IPO in a week and a half which will be the biggest internet IPO since google, maybe bigger. So will also have lots of poker in financial news.

[Element187]

WPT season 3 just wrapped and we're three months or so out from the next WSOP hitting ESPN. I, Hubrisodamus declare, it will be like one of those crazy salmon farms where they have 8 salmon per cubic foot. Just wait.

Edit: Also this year's WSOP winner is also likely to be reported on every single news outlet, CNN, MSNBC, NY times. Foxnews, whatever. More importantly, they'll mention the prize pool which it looks like this year's pool will be like winning a small state's lottery.

2nd edit: Also add to that Party is making its IPO in a week and a half which will be the biggest internet IPO since google, maybe bigger. So will also have lots of poker in financial news.

my prediction is some horrible player will win it all ... just look at chris moneymaker or greg raymer ... no class, no skill, just suck outs.

[Hubris1]

Which is exactly why the fish will start swimming upstream again.

But yeah, I definitely agree, the field is going to be so flooded with random internet qualifiers, celebrities and middle upper class "weekend warriors" that while skilled players are going to have huge advantages over them individually they're going to have a mosnter field to contend with.

I remember the hand that Moneymaker knocked Chan out and when he called he says "Dealer I need a heart" he had no idea he had Chan on a 2 outer and that he had his foot so far up Chan's butt his boot was sticking out of his mouth.

[dalecooper]

Greg Raymer is a pretty good player. He wasn't the best in the field but he was good. Read up:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2...ovinger/040920

[Pizzaman]

I don't really know if its tightening up or not, but the last several times I have played there, I have gotten my ass kicked. I ended up losing my bonus plus $70 this last month. And not to good hands, but alot of suckouts. I am so disgusted with the party skins, I have just about given up on trying to play there. I have been playing $50NL on Pacific and having much better luck there, up $300 in last 3 days.

[ChezJ]

the party factor is vaporizing for a variety of reasons including:

1. multitablers
2. pokertracker, playerview, pokerspy, etc.
3. bonus whore rocks
4. robots

this is not to say there isn't an abundant supply of fish at party, because there is. but there too many well-equipped fishing vessels out there competing for them now.

the best fishing holes are gonna be the ones with no multitabling and that don't work with the third party software augmentations. unfortunately, they tend to be the sketchier ones. as usual, more risk means more reward.

ChezJ

[Element187]

Greg Raymer is a pretty good player. He wasn't the best in the field but he was good. Read up:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2...ovinger/040920

i saw him play on poker royale, he would call any all in preflop with A-rag.. didnt matter if it was the chip leader or not.

[Greedo017]

here's a little piece of that article.

Sure enough, the next morning, in a no-limit hold 'em tournament at Foxwoods, there were about 30 players left, when a relative newbie with a short stack went all-in with his last $800 or so. I was in the small blind with an A-x, with only about $1,000 in chips myself. Normally, I would not have called, would not have even considered it for more than a moment. But as I looked at the guy, I suddenly "felt" as if he desperately didn't want me to call his bet. I'm not sure why -- it may have been something about the way he was holding his head, slightly cocked to one side as if he were a chicken waiting for the ax to fall. Anyway, I called, and before my chips hit the table, the guy was already apologizing -- "I thought I had to make a move before it was too late" -- and turning over ... 8-6 unsuited.

Later, the guy asked me why I had called, whether he had exhibited some kind of amateur's tell or something. "Nah," I said. "I guess I was pretty desperate myself."

[a500lbgorilla]

here's a little piece of that article.

Sure enough, the next morning, in a no-limit hold 'em tournament at Foxwoods, there were about 30 players left, when a relative newbie with a short stack went all-in with his last $800 or so. I was in the small blind with an A-x, with only about $1,000 in chips myself. Normally, I would not have called, would not have even considered it for more than a moment. But as I looked at the guy, I suddenly "felt" as if he desperately didn't want me to call his bet. I'm not sure why -- it may have been something about the way he was holding his head, slightly cocked to one side as if he were a chicken waiting for the ax to fall. Anyway, I called, and before my chips hit the table, the guy was already apologizing -- "I thought I had to make a move before it was too late" -- and turning over ... 8-6 unsuited.

Later, the guy asked me why I had called, whether he had exhibited some kind of amateur's tell or something. "Nah," I said. "I guess I was pretty desperate myself."

Sounds like he was pretty desperate himself, made a standard Raymer call and latched on a fun story after the fact.

-'rilla

[Zangief]

the party factor is vaporizing for a variety of reasons including:

1. multitablers
2. PokerTracker, playerview, pokerspy, etc.
3. bonus whore rocks
4. robots

this is not to say there isn't an abundant supply of fish at party, because there is. but there too many well-equipped fishing vessels out there competing for them now.

the best fishing holes are gonna be the ones with no multitabling and that don't work with the third party software augmentations. unfortunately, they tend to be the sketchier ones. as usual, more risk means more reward.

ChezJ

Robots? For real?

I want a robot that will fold all my crap hands for me.

[Zangief]

here's a little piece of that article.

Sure enough, the next morning, in a no-limit hold 'em tournament at Foxwoods, there were about 30 players left, when a relative newbie with a short stack went all-in with his last $800 or so. I was in the small blind with an A-x, with only about $1,000 in chips myself. Normally, I would not have called, would not have even considered it for more than a moment. But as I looked at the guy, I suddenly "felt" as if he desperately didn't want me to call his bet. I'm not sure why -- it may have been something about the way he was holding his head, slightly cocked to one side as if he were a chicken waiting for the ax to fall. Anyway, I called, and before my chips hit the table, the guy was already apologizing -- "I thought I had to make a move before it was too late" -- and turning over ... 8-6 unsuited.

Later, the guy asked me why I had called, whether he had exhibited some kind of amateur's tell or something. "Nah," I said. "I guess I was pretty desperate myself."

Sounds like he was pretty desperate himself, made a standard Raymer call and latched on a fun story after the fact.

-'rilla

Actually, this part of the article was quoted out of context. It was the article's author that played in this tournament and made this call. The author was describing how he had learned a lot from talking to Raymer.