Capped NL games

I figured I'd give Full Tilt's capped no limit games a try. The idea is that you can only lose 30 bets in one hand, even if you buy in for 100 bets. Full Tilt's explanation is here.

Going in, I had mixed feelings about cap games. My impression was that it would be easier to get pot committed, implied odds go down, the fish gain a measure of protection, more pots are played and more rake is paid.

Those were my preconceptions. But were the games fun?

The first big hand I played in the 2/4 NL 6-max cap game was AKo from the blinds. I reraised a minraiser, he called. Flop came AJx, I bet about 4/5 pot. He called. Turn was a Q, which is pretty damn dangerous. Now I would have tread lightly here in a no-cap game, but I could only bet $48 more (into the $145 pot) before we reached the cap of $120, and the pot was already large, so I went ahead and pushed. Of course he had JQo for a turned two pair. Whatever.

"What horseshit," I thought. These donkeys just call, knowing that I can't bust them because they're protected by this cap. Bleh.

Then again, the cap is kind of like bad beat protection. He was possibly committed to the pot anyway, and I only lost a relatively small amount.

One thing's for sure -- that no cap game was loose preflop! At my table, the tightest player saw 32 percent of all flops, and the two loosest players had seen 56 percent each.

The discounted implied odds change strategy for the game significantly. I didn't get involved with any hands in which I had a flush draw, but it seems kind of silly to chase too many draws when you know you can't get paid off big because the pot size is limited.

Then again, you can be more sure that you will get paid off some. I'll have to play a few more games to get a better feel for when it's appropriate to chase draws.

I had fun playing the game because the action was pretty good and the consequences weren't severe. It's the kind of game I might be more likely to play if I'm drunk because I can't hurt myself too badly.

These games remind me of what Mason Malmuth wrote years ago about no limit. He predicted no limit hold 'em was a dying game because fish got busted too quickly.

Fortunately, Malmuth didn't account for the arrival of capped buy-in no limit games, which reduced players' risk of ruin.

These new capped games seem similar in that they will slow the demise of vulnerable bankrolls. I'll withhold judgment on whether that's good for the game. Here's a discussion thread.