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Actually, putting money in isn't any kind of issue for me. I have very strict guidelines about how I manage my bankroll so that I'm never at risk of going "broke" (in the sense of losing my gambling bankroll). If I loose too much money, I just move down to cheaper tournaments or stakes. More of an issue is cashing out- I want to make sure I'll be able to take money out if I so desire.


The problem is that the money you win comes from recreational players who are net losers at the game. They need to be able to buy in again, or you're going to be left playing against other net winners and you'll be in a very nasty survival-of-the-fittest proposition. No fish, no profits, unless you are a really good player that can beat other somewhat good players. Unless you play full time, that is a very difficult thing to do.

So, the REAL issue is that the legislation drives fish away. Pros will continue to play even if they need to go to some lengths to establish off-shore accounts (or even residences). The fish won't, and the games will get much tougher. My prediction is that the shark:fish ratio will move from 2-3% up to 20-30% because of this, but we'll see. All of the Party sharks are moving to Stars and Full Tilt. Not all of the Party fish are doing so. That means a higher concentration of sharks at the sites.

The good news is that most modestly-winning players are pretty bad themselves, but win because most of the fish are truely horrible. So for the best players, the games will stay beatable. I actually prefer to play against these players, because their game is rational and they have some understanding of it it means that they become "readable". Most "good" players don't mix their game, so once you learn how they play, you've got them. The really horrible fish are actually tougher (especially if they are aggressive), since they play completely irrationally you can't logically deduce how they are playing and what they hold -- the game becomes a pretty boring hand-holding contest. My winrate is higher in mid-stakes NL games than in the smaller stakes NL games for this reason. I gain a bigger edge because hand-reading skills come into play, since my opponents are playing logically but badly instead of just badly. In the smaller stakes, I just make sure I hold better hands and "let the math do it's thing."