Poker News

“Online poker on steroids.” That’s how one TwoPlusTwo poster described Rush Poker, the newest spectacle introduced by Full Tilt Poker that has action junkies drooling over a fast-paced format we’ve never seen before.

Full Tilt, the world’s second largest online poker site, launched Rush Poker in its latest software update on Tuesday. The concept is this: Players join a large player pool in a ring game and face a different table of players every hand they play. As soon as they fold their hand, they’ll be moved to another table for their next hand.

The player response thus far has been overwhelming.

“Hats off to Full Tilt, the update is awesome,” said TwoPlusTwo forum poster Robusto1. “PokerStars should take notes. FTP has taken a risk deviating away from the norm and I’m sure it will pay off. Now that the two sites aren’t as homogeneous they might start competing on price (rake).”

“I think it’s amazing,” added another TwoPlusTwo member. “It’s like FTP found a way to turn what would be semi competent players and turn them into complete donkaholics. I played $25NL and it felt like I was playing on PartyPoker back in the day. I never got paid off more with my big hands. Villains were pushing all-in on complete bluffs when I had full houses, calling me down with mid pair. Plus I get rakeback so it’s like a wet dream.”

Rakeback seems to be a leading reason as to the popularity of the new concept. Both rakeback and Full Tilt Points (FTPs) are calculated the same as they would in a regular ring game, but players will play far more hands at a table of Rush Poker. On average, players will see around 300 hands per hour.

In a poll on TwoPlusTwo asking if members like FTP’s Rush Poker, 72% of poll takers said “Yes” through 700 votes. While most agreed that the new concept is enjoyable, many questioned whether it is good for the game.

“It’s more like video poker in my view than normal poker,” said TheGaussBeast. “No reads, no table dynamic. Furthermore, playing you get into gambling mode. I am susceptible to this as I suppose many, but not all players are. You are clicking away getting that mental stimulation that is akin to slots. You can take your time, but will you?”

“I don’t like it for these reasons. Moreover, I am concerned that this is exactly where the fish will go. To the rush tables to gamble it up, leaving a bunch of regulars to fight and grind it out at the normal tables.”

TwoPlusTwo member StoneRoses agreed: “What good is finding a read on a player if you don’t seem him for another 20 minutes? This, if anything, promotes ABC poker in my opinion, no player specific plays just standard lines non-stop.”

Full Tilt Red Pro and CardRunners instructor Taylor “Green Plastic” Caby weighed in with his opinions, addressing both ends of the spectrum: “I actually think the Rush games will benefit thinking players. The 35 big blind buy-in makes short stacking harder, the lack of HUD (heads up display) might even more than make up for the fact that you can’t get ‘traditional’ reads on players.”

“Yeah, I don’t know if a guy historically opens light on the cutoff or what his cold-four-betting range is,” Caby continued, “but I do know he’s from Spain, bought in for 41 big blinds, and his FTP name is FelipeIvey1948 — I’d like to think I have a pretty good idea what he’s all about.”

“In sum, I don’t think these games will become more popular than regular poker, but there are a lot of reasons why I think it’s good for sites to experiment with stuff like this in order to offer a more options for their customers.”

27 Comments

  1. John Brooks Pounders says:

    Great article about Rush Poker!

  2. PokerPro says:

    Awesome idea.

  3. This is not poker says:

    WELCOME PEONS

  4. This is not poker says:

    This nothing more than a money machine for FT, and an abomination of an age old game.

  5. Ryan says:

    I love playing this game. I’ve played it the last couple of nights and can’t get enough. At the moment, I like having one Rush Poker entry running along with a normal table along side it. Been working well as long as I don’t rush through playing a good hand.

  6. Peter Finch says:

    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.

  7. Anonymous says:

    i totally agree. i been using a concept very similar to urs. however i find myself playing a different game than poker.

  8. Pinney says:

    Peter, I dont think you’re thinking it through enough. As you pointed out, eventually everyone will figure this out. And their play will adjust because of it. Your post is exactly as if poker itself had just been invented, and you said “if everyone folds to you raise and you’ll usually take the pot”.

  9. Nicholas Faupel says:

    Broke junkie is drooling.

  10. jeremiah says:

    This is the greatest damn game for those of us with ADD. I can’t get enough, I am playing 3 tables at once, and have damn near cleared my deposit bonus in less than 2 days.

  11. Ragnarok zeny says:

    i totally agree. i been using a concept very similar to urs. however i find myself playing a different game than poker.

  12. Andrew says:

    Only advantage I will get from it is the ability to make Ironman status in the shortest amount of time spent online.

  13. withheld says:

    In rush poker I am in the blind every 4 hands so the software can function over the course of 25 k hands. I am taxed so rush can work. I can provide hand histories to prove it as I did to Fultilt who replied it is normal that one might be the BB every other hand for 20 k hands. LOL gimee a break. I am not hear to generate your rake or make your software function I am here to make money. BEWARE OF THE BLINDS IN RUSH POKER.

  14. withhled says:

    I would like to replace a post I wrote on March 24, 2010 on the blinds in Rush Poker on Fulltilt. I wrote it in haste and in anger a did not express myself very well. I felt I was in the big and small blind far to often while playing Rushpoker and after several back and forth correspondences with Fulltilt I did not get a satisfactory answer.

    As you may know Rushpoker is a type of poker at Fulltilt where you are whisked from table to table as you fold or as a hand ends. It is structured as a typical 9 player ring game and the rotating pool of players can reach over a thousand. As in typical ring game you are responsible for the big and small blinds. The blinds are a bit tricky to distribute in Rushpoker as there are always new players at each table every hand. Fulltilt claims that the blinds are random with it going to the player who has gone the longest without being in the blind. Now I would guess that sometimes I would be in the blinds quite often and sometimes I would be in the blind not so often. I would also guess that it would even be possible to go more than 9 hands without being in the blinds as it would be possible to go 9 hands being in the blind every hand. My problem began when I started to notice that I was in the blinds way to often and began to count using the hand history option available on fulltilt. In fact I was in the blinds over 10,000 hands every 4th hand. I play primarily 0.5/0.10 stakes. Very simple math can show you the tax I was playing to play Rushpoker. This was even greater when I played rushpoker for higher stakes. Thus I was paying double (or more) the amount of blinds I would pay at a regular ring game of 9 players.

    I wrote to Fulltilt on a number of occasions to inquire and I furnished them with my hand histories. After a few back and forths they said the matter was closed and they would no longer answer questions ion the matter. My guess is that in order for the rushpoker to function properly the software chooses a few unlucky saps to suck up the blinds (everytime they play). I am unfortunately one of them. Over the course of probably 100,000 hands I am in the blind at least every 4th hand. The fulltilt rep even had the nerve to write saying that one could be in the blinds every hand over 20,000 hands. In the language of the internet LOL. Please beware of the blinds in Rushpoker. I am curious if anyone else has experienced the same. PLease post if you have.

    Thanks

  15. Jonnya00 says:

    To withheld:

    You do realize that in a normal ring game with 9 players, you are in the blinds once every 4.5 hands, right? As people come and go from the table, they will hit you more often than this. I’m not sure what you’re complaining about.
    Am I missing something?

  16. withheld says:

    I get charged a blind every 3rd or 4th hand in Rushpoker I would be charged a blind every 8th or 9th hand in a regular ring game. I am paying 2-3 times the normal amount of blinds. I can wait 8 hands until I pay the SB and 9 until I pay the BB in a regular ring game. In rushpoker I pay the sb or the bb every 3 or 4 turns relentlessly and never more than every 5th turn

    Thanks

  17. withheld says:

    I don’t know if others experience the same.

  18. witheld says:

    Actually the blinds on a normal ring game come every 8th and 9th hand not every 4.5 hands. Every 4.5 hands is double the amount of blinds.

  19. Straycat 333 says:

    I agree. Rush Poker sucks, unless you like being in the blinds four hands in a row without ever seeing the buttom.

  20. Jonnya00 says:

    Come on man, you’re obviously not really thinking this through. Maybe you lack the intelligence to really understand it, I don’t know… Maybe I’m not picking up on some extreme sarcasm that you’ve been laying down, but this is just blowing my mind that you can’t figure this out:

    If you only had to pay one blind every round, it would be once every 9 hands. Correct?
    You have to pay two blinds every round, however, so this becomes once every 4.5 hands.

    I don’t know how to spell it out better than this. If you still don’t understand, I really feel sorry for you…

  21. withheld says:

    Dude don’t get so angry. I feel your anger is generated elsewhere. “Lack of intelligence” “you feel sorry for me ” lol my friend lol.

  22. Jonnya00 says:

    Dude, you wrote a three paragraph letter about this here, in addition to how ever many times you bugged full tilt about it. If you can’t understand it, you should just let it go and save yourself any further embarrassment.

  23. withheld says:

    Again Dude your anger is amusing and a bit disturbing. Get a puppy.

  24. My Opinion says:

    Rush Poker was designed to play 3x faster than anyone plays. The reason for that is so FLT can empty your bank account. Even if you get rake back they will eventually clean you out.The longer you play the more you pay. No matter where you play poker weather online or B&M the bottom line is they win you lose.
    Anyone who likes to play Rush Poker like I do should play tournaments or play Sit N Go’s. The payoffs are worth it.

  25. DigitalMeat says:

    I will say this about rush poker. I played for about 30 minutes today on one ring game, and then played only a normal sit and go.

    On the sit and go, it felt like i was stuck in slo-mo. If you play rush poker, you just might not be able to go back.

  26. RushMoney says:

    About the Blinds:::::It depends on how many hands a person plays will result in how often you get the blinds….if you are playing 500 hands an hour, then you are seeing twice as many hands then everyone else, so therefore you will be in a blind every 4th hand…..Try not too fold so much–LOL–
    Rush Poker is the best!!! Have to have experience to play that game.
    Not gonna tell you how figure it out on your own!!!
    and after you do…you still need experience to play it right

  27. Marco says:

    What makes online poker impossible to beat rush or not is that every one is prepared to jump in pre flop with any two cards and call you down with ridiculous prospects. When 4 people call your preflop raise your chances of wining are slim. Raising before the flop seems to have no deterrence to anyone at any price level. If you have a pair of aces pre flop and you raise hard or even re raise all in I always get callers with ridiculous hands and get cracked. No this isnt just for a ten dollar all in its for 20 and 50. I am baffled. Online poker is either corrupt or moronic. I can’t win if I play a solid game or a stupid game like many out there.

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