While at this year’s World Series of Poker, I took the opportunity to play in quite a few different $1-$2 No Limit Hold’em (NLHE) games at casinos all over Las Vegas. I also watched some friends of mine who were out for a quasi-annual pilgrimage to poker Mecca. In short, I feel like I got a good snapshot of the $1-$2 NLHE action in Las Vegas. Of course, this game is crucially important – it is the “default” poker game played in casinos all over the U.S. now. What used to be $1-$5 Spread Limit Seven Card Stud and became $2-$4 (or $3-$6) Limit Hold’em is now $1-$2 NLHE. If you walk into a random small poker room in a U.S. casino, the most commonly spread (if not only) game will be $1-$2 NLHE. While there were certainly plenty of games and plenty of interest, I’m not completely comfortable with the overall state of this bellwether game right now. First, I’m not sure the game is beatable. Many casinos are taking 10% rake up to $5 (i.e. the rake is capped when the pot reaches $50 – not hard to do) plus a dollar for a bad-beat or high-hand jackpot. Now add a ...