One of the top poker sites seems to be declaring war on those who poker strategy falls in to the “short stacker” category. It is rumored that those who play poker online at FullTilt will see the buy-ins for a table raised; a move that seems intended to combat the practice known as “short stacking” or “rat holing”. For the holdem player, or those who play Omaha, “short stacking” is sort of the poker strategy version of “moon’em and run”. Player go into these low buy-in tables, and then once they win a big pot, go away. A lot of folks who play poker consider these players about as welcome as dust mite, or a plague rat. They are to the top poker sites what last second “snipers” are to eBay (but in truth a lot more people do this then will admit it). While these people can be vexing, should poker sites be building a policy and rules around them?
Most of love to play Omaha poker or holdem at Full Tilt, but in my opinion this is an overreaction to what is truly a minor problem. Most of us would prefer that players hang around to invest both time and money into the game, but no matter what, you are always going to have the “Ding Dong Ditch” players. The people who this policy will hurt most are those who are just learning the game and trying to spread their wings in a more gradual style. Raising the buy-in will put some players in the early part of their development in a position where their skills and the cost to play may not be on the same level.
I like the folks at FullTilt and I admire what they have managed to do at this point, but this might be one of those situations where they are chucking the baby out with the bath water. That is just one guys opinion though.
