To Rush or not To Rush?

That is the question...

Hello all. I've been away for a while. Real Life sometimes gets ahead of poker, imagine that. While I've been gone, however, Full Tilt has introduced "Rush Poker". I'm still not sure if it is a good thing or a bad thing.

Why not? After all, isn't that a Full Tilt add over there? Shouldn't you be shilling for them?

Well, I can say a few good things. It definitely fills a need for action junkies. If you can't get enough poker, then Rush is for you. If you want to multi-table, then you should be playing Rush Poker.

But there is a huge downside. If you have any leaks in your game, then Rush Poker is going to magnify them. If you are a slightly losing player, you are going to lose money that much faster. You will be playing a LOT more hands at Rush than you would even 3-tabling, if you multi-table Rush (the ads say 3-4 more hands than a "normal" table).

So why is this bad? Well, in my opinion, Rush is going to be where the fish run, as they just want action. Weekend warriors. Casual players (ie, me!) will also want to run there. But they are going to go broke fast. And the games will dry up. Sure, there might be more fish coming in, but with the way online poker is going now, there isn't a lot of extra money rolling in. People who were break-even players or small losers, are now becoming small losers or going broke.

I just don't think that the poker economy right now can sustain Rush Poker for very long. I think it is a great idea, and love to play it myself, as I can get in 500-600 hands a night if I 3-table for just 30 minutes. But I'm not a winner. I'm not even close. I'm leaking cash and I've played about 7000 hands at various limits.

If I were a much more serious player, Rush would be great. I could plug leaks, play a few thousand hands and see how my tweaks are working. But I don't think that the casual players or fish will last long, and I'm curious to see how long this "fad" lasts.

I will still play it, on and off, but they seem to play like the play money games at the limits that I frequent. And play money games do not equip one to play real money poker. I might get on and play Bingo once in a while, but my serious money will stay in regular ring games.

It's just one man's opinion. Feel free to flame away. Meanwhile, I'll cya at the (non-Rush) tables.