Trials of a Poker Apprentice: Looking for online poker's soft spots

There's been a lot of talk lately about how the best bet for making money in online poker is now at the limit tables. The reasoning goes that since so much attention is paid to no-limit games, the limit tables are exceptionally week. That may very well be the case, and I really have no clue, since it's been forever and a day since I've played limit. However, I could see an argument for the converse, in that since the unskilled masses are flocking to no-limit, all that's left in limit would be those who specialize in the game and that it would be tougher. Then again, I don't know. I've just always thought you go where the masses go, because that's where you'll find a higher concentration of idiots.

Then again, I've heard that Omaha is the true money-making opportunity right now. Since all of today's attention is on hold'em, there is a lot less opportunity for the average player to pick up enough base instruction in Omaha, and thus a lot of people giving it a try really have no clue how to play. Again, that may be true, but I'm an Omaha idiot myself, so it really does me no good to give it a go.

However, if you're primarily a no-limit hold'em player, particularly in tournaments, I think I might have found a soft spot for you. If you play at Poker Room (or at any of the other sites on the same network, such as Hollywood Poker), you know they have short-handed SNGs (five people) of two stripes. First is the regular variety, in which blinds go up every eight minutes, and then there are the "Turbo" SNGs, where levels increase every three minutes. The turbo SNGs are seven-card crack, in that they are quick, full of action, and you can play three of them an hour, playing just one table at a time. And, oh yeah, they are extremely addictive. Once you've played one, it's hard to sit down at a regular full-table SNG, knowing it will take you at least an hour to play.

In fact, the short-handed Turbo SNGs are so attractive to players, that the regular short-handed SNGs are relatively ignored. After bubbling several turbo games in a row, I decided to give the slower ones a try, figuring they would allow me more time to make some plays that are useless in the turbos.

What I've found is that the slower games attract a large number of players who are seemingly allergic to action. Lots of checks, calls and minimum bets/raises, not to mention lots of folds to big bets/raises. You can play lots of speculative hands cheaply. Then, when you do run into an aggressive player in the slower games, they usually haven't figured out how to use aggression properly, so they end up moving all-in to win just the blinds. Really, you couldn't ask for a better set-up. You just bully the runts and sit back and wait to trap the maniacs. I've played a number of these the past couple of days have been amazed at how easy they are.

Well, now that I've given away my favorite fishing hole, let me try to distract you into forgetting it with the latest poker news: