It seems many rooms are opening up for poker. Casinos are trying to get back in full swing and return to a more normal way of doing business. Poker is tougher to have a normal game with such close proximity of the players but it can be done. With limited seating of four to seven players, casinos are spreading a limited number of tables. Most are having special rules as to touching cards and chips, along with what you do at the table. The players are abiding by the social distancing and wearing masks in some of the rooms. Slowly but surely, poker will get back to where it was or close to it. Poker is a timeless game and will always be around and players will adjust to the changes that happen.
Playing during this time of limited maneuverability within the poker room makes for some interesting problems. Some places will not let you move tables. So, it is imperative that you choose wisely in your seat selection at the start. Choosing the best seat in relation to other players’ abilities and action is one of the keys to be a winning player anyway. Picking your game and seat leads to the most advantageous situation for you to be in while playing. Here it is most important. Also, you cannot eat at the table in a few rooms, so arriving with a full stomach is best and food and service is limited as well. A couple places won't allow you to leave and come back the same day, or even take a break and return. This will all change as restrictions are lifted and more people are willing to take the risks.
The play in the games will be much different than you are used to and you must adapt or go home a loser. The mix of players at the table is quite different as more regulars will be there than tourist types. Generally, the action players have less of an addiction to poker and have more options on where to spend their time because of that. Your play needs to be tailored now to a tougher game and likely a much tighter game than you normally would find yourself in. The amount of money that can be lost by others on that table will be less due to the smaller numbers of players around and the ease of getting money is not as it was. Overall when you play, you will likely find the win rate much less and your totals smaller as less time is put in at the tables. Generally, it will be much harder to make a living as a professional during this time period due to all the constraints and shortage of bigger money losers.
So far I am not painting such a rosy picture of what lies ahead. However, there is a silver lining in this cloud. Most of the games are short-handed hold ‘em. Short-handed makes for many more hands played per hour and few players have adapted to that kind of table. Of course, games won't last as long so you may still not get as many hands in a day as you would in other better times. Each casino will be different and have its own rules and the way it goes about the play of the table. If you are not a competent short-handed player, you will be at a double disadvantage. One being the good players will eat you alive as you must play many more marginal hands and take more risks. Also, the rake will take more money off the table and higher raked games cannot be beaten short-handed except by very good players. Even if you are a good player, the rake will eat into your winnings.
The times you do find a great table, it needs to be milked as for as much as you can win to make up for the other difficult times being had trying to negotiate around the games. This is the time to put in your hours and not hit and run. Good spots may not be there next time you come back to play. Playing the same way as in the past probably is not going to be as fruitful as making new changes to fit the situations. The situations are not going to be constant or close to the same each time you play.
After a period of time, more games are going to be played at full tables and basically the same old players will be returning to do what they always did. The rules and table restrictions will be a thing of the past.
The old ways take precedent and the casinos certainly will conduct their business as before believing that it is the most productive way. The thing that might happen is that many of the action players will have found other interests or have lost interest in poker. That may take more time for them or replacements to get back into the games.
My hope and it may happen, is that when fully open the pent up demand might really send poker off the charts. If it does and can sustain itself for awhile, all the lost revenue that players haven't made in months might be recouped. Until poker fully opens, most players have a harder time making their goals come true and must realize that they have to live with what they have been dealt.
