Recently, the USA-friendly Full Tilt Poker introduced Rush Poker, which allows players to move tables quickly after their action in a hand has ended. Poker News Daily sat down with CardRunners instructor and Full Tilt Poker pro Andrew “muddywater” Wiggins to discuss the brand new addition.
Poker News Daily: Give us your first impressions of Rush Poker. Was it a hit with you?
Andrew Wiggins: I love the idea. I’m an action junkie, so it’s perfect for me. The more hands I can play in an hour, the happier I am.
PND: Do you have any tips for gaining an edge in the face-paced game that you can share with our readers?
Andrew Wiggins: It’s early and I’m sure the play will change as people get used to the new game play. However, I’ve done well playing tight early and attacking in position. Players are playing extra tight because it seems worthwhile to wait for a good hand. That’s something you can exploit. You also have the added advantage of players at your table not knowing that you are playing very loose in position.
PND: Does taking notes on players become a necessity or does the action go way too quickly?
Andrew Wiggins: I think the action is way too quick to take notes. I’ve never been a good note-taker though, so take that with a grain of salt.
PND: A lot of players have experienced issues with their Heads-Up Displays (HUDs) not working properly. What’s your take?
Andrew Wiggins: It seems that the action is too quick for the HUDs to keep up. I love that. I’ve never been one to rely heavily on my HUD and I know that puts me at a disadvantage against those who know how to use it well. By essentially eliminating the possibility of using a HUD, I think the games have more uncertainty and therefore more gambling.
PND: Is ABC poker the most common strategy in Rush Poker games or what’s an overarching style that you think players will use?
Andrew Wiggins: ABC poker seems to be the common style at the moment, but the games have only been out for a few days. These games will, without question, evolve. The key is to adjust your game properly. For now, I like playing loosely to exploit the excess usage of ABC poker.
PND: Do you think that Rush Poker will be here to stay or is it a fad?
Andrew Wiggins: I think Rush Poker is an evolution of the game of poker that is here to stay. It’s a brilliant move by Full Tilt Poker and I applaud them for being innovative. I hadn’t played a hand of No Limit Hold’em cash in over six months because I was just too bored of the game. I can’t get enough of rush. If the poker sites can do anything to get people enthusiastic about playing, then they are doing something right. That’s what gets fish to the games.
PND: How have you fared so far? What stakes have you test driven?
Andrew Wiggins: I have done quite well so far, but I have a small sample size. I’ve played 100nl for the vast majority of my play. I’ve seen some really poor play and I’m hoping that becomes a trend.
PND: Explain who Rush Poker is best suited for.
Andrew Wiggins: Rush Poker is best for the action junkie who gets bored at a regular poker table, but I think anyone would enjoy it. You don’t have to pay attention to HUD stats or table dynamics and you get to play a ton of hands. Who wouldn’t like that?
Strategy is very easy in this game.
1. If people fold to you – no matter what hand you have no matter what position raise 3x the BB and you will usually take the blinds every time (around 65-70%). Don’t even look at your cards. People are waiting for big hands and fold is the order of the day. If anyone re-raises you pre flop fold. If anyone calls or raises before you – fold.
2. If one person calls you and you hit nothing on the flop – bet a pot size bet – 70% of the time they will fold right there and then.
3. With 2 callers again if your the first to act – bet the pot even if you have nothing. One may call you – play your normal game after that.
4. If any one re raises – fold
5. Because of the number of hands, most people who call you will be on high cards, if you call with crap, and the flop hits you – you will be payed off big time.
As no-one can get a read on you – you can use this every single hand and a you will pick up most of the blinds, and most of the pots after the flop. Any hands that go further than that – even if you any win a minority – you will be in front. Your going to win more than you loose – I know, I’ve been doing this for the last couple of days. it will esp. work in the lower stake games.
Its only a matter of time before everyone figures this out. This simply cracks the Rush Poker as being any game of ‘real poker’ at all. Personally, I’m a hopeless player – So my only claim to fame will be this post – the first to provide a winning system to this new form of poker.
Wow. That is some of the worst advice i have ever taken. I wanted to experiment and in following your advice for not even 200 hands, I was down a full buy in. I was playing four tables at once and it was the OPPOSITE of Rush Poker when you’re waiting for the players to fold to you so that you can raise. Perhaps I would need to play more than 200 hands for a sample, but I wanted one buyin to be my stop/loss and obviously it was a good idea because I would have lost even more if I continued. Playing bad hands, even if they randomly connect the board, is the worst, most -EV idea ever.
Then again, if the point of your comment was to get people to play poorly so that you could exploit it, then… kudos, good sir. Well played.
When playing on line – need constant action. Before Rush I would play 9-12 tables at a time. Now I can concentrate on 2 screens and get the same action. I’m up about $500 playing 2 entries at the .10/.25 for about 50 hours. Not great, not horrible. I play top ten hands out of position, typically ram and jam in position.you build up quite a few fpp’s especially at happy hour.