Full Tilt’s new “Rush Poker” feature is how online poker is meant to be played.  My reaction to it is:

zomg!!

In a nutshell, there is no waiting time in Rush Poker.  As soon as you fold, you will be seated with a new set of 8 other players and dealt a hand.  When you sit down, you’re playing in a pool of hundreds of players that get reshuffled on every deal.

How this affects strategy

1. Everyone’s super tight now.

When there’s no boredom, and the next hand is just 1 second away, there’s no reason to play trash or mediocre hands.  There’s no need for fancy play or overanalysis to keep your boredom at bay (and destroy your EV).

2. Fundamental poker is winning poker.

• Fold everything.
• If you’re compelled to play — like you’re dealt a pocket pair or AK — be bold. Make pot sized bets. Forget tweaking the exact amount to bet*, just hit the “pot size” button.

3. Stealing the blinds is profitable.

Having said all that in point #2, I’m now encouraging you to steal the blinds. If you’re on the button, cutoff or CO+1, and no one has limped or raised, make the standard raise.  There’s a good chance the blinds will fold.

4. Showdowns mean big money.

So if everyone is folding all the time, then only premium hands are being played.  That means that if a hand has two or more callers, you can expect it to be a big pot.  Big pots.

There’s a good chance of a dramatic showdown.

• AA vs KK
• Sets vs Two Pair

How this affects poker in general

Fish now have more fun while losing more money faster.

This feature is going to absolutely revolutionize online poker.

You ain’t seen nothing yet in terms of online poker revenues. Everyone’s going to make more money because (a) more hands are being played per hour and (b) the usability increase makes people (especially fish) more likely to play and play more hands.

The good players are going to get richer, faster.  Playing two tables, I can do 500 hands in an hour.  That used to be three full days at the office when only live poker was available.

The pros are going to absolutely kill it.

The amateurs are going to be a lot more entertained.  If I can play 15 minutes and be dealt 60 hands (that’s equivalent to 1 hour normal speed online or 2 hours at a live table), I’m more likely to play. A lot more likely to play.  10 minutes here*, 3 hours there. It adds up. Poker fiends like me are going to spend more money. (Whether the amount spent will be worth the entertainment value is up to each person.)

* When’s the Android app coming? I figure Apple won’t allow gambling on the iPhone but Android is all open and stuff, right?

Full Tilt is going to make ridiculous amounts of money this year.  Think of all the rake! This feature lets people play more hands per hour and more fun to play those hands. A gold rush of rake.

Just watch Poker Stars and the rest scramble to catch up. I would be shocked if online poker revenues didn’t grow 20x in the next 5 years. That’s without the U.S. legalizing online poker. With U.S. regulation* — phew. I wouldn’t be surprised at 100x industry revenues.

* So much taxable revenue. Congress needs to get its head out of its ass regarding online poker regulation.