Friday, May 19, 2006
Too Many Cooks
I was just collecting my MTT results for this year (woeful as they are) when something struck me. I have basically had my arse handed to me on Party, Pokerroom and Betfair, but I've done OK on Tribeca (PIE, Blue Square, Victor Chandler etc.), Full Tilt and Stars. Quickly, what's the difference between the first three and the last three ?
The difference is that Party, Pokerroom and Betfair are all 10-handed. Tribeca, Stars and Tilt are all 9-handed. Now it's a ridiculously small sample of tournaments, and I have to remember that I basically made all my money on Betfair last year, but I think there's something in this. Even when tables aren't full, there's usually an extra body on the table when it's 10-handed. That's one more person to find a big pair and turn you over. One more person to raise in front of you and stop you from stealing. Fewer hands per level because more pots are contested. It all adds up. All other things being equal (which of course they aren't, you just have to balance it up) I think that better tournament players should be looking to play 9 handed rather than 10.
Incidentally this is much more of a factor in live tournaments, and plenty of players (Rodman and Parkinson for example) have spoken out against playing 10-handed in big tournaments. You have all the above factors plus you're jammed up next to some tub of lard (usually). On the other hand, I'm not that bothered what goes on in live tournaments, they're a waste of time (compared to playing online) unless you can find a good line-up for $200 or more.
The difference is that Party, Pokerroom and Betfair are all 10-handed. Tribeca, Stars and Tilt are all 9-handed. Now it's a ridiculously small sample of tournaments, and I have to remember that I basically made all my money on Betfair last year, but I think there's something in this. Even when tables aren't full, there's usually an extra body on the table when it's 10-handed. That's one more person to find a big pair and turn you over. One more person to raise in front of you and stop you from stealing. Fewer hands per level because more pots are contested. It all adds up. All other things being equal (which of course they aren't, you just have to balance it up) I think that better tournament players should be looking to play 9 handed rather than 10.
Incidentally this is much more of a factor in live tournaments, and plenty of players (Rodman and Parkinson for example) have spoken out against playing 10-handed in big tournaments. You have all the above factors plus you're jammed up next to some tub of lard (usually). On the other hand, I'm not that bothered what goes on in live tournaments, they're a waste of time (compared to playing online) unless you can find a good line-up for $200 or more.
# posted by Andy_Ward @ 2:27 PM 
