Feel the RUSH

Milestones.

We've seen a lot in the history of poker - from the WSOP's humble beginnings in the early 1970's, to the Moneymaker effect of 2003 and the incredible boom of online poker that followed.

All in between there have been significant events of varying degree.

Two weeks ago there was a tremor in the force, one that will have long lasting repercussions on the digital felt and on live poker as well.

Full Tilt introduced "Rush" poker. And it is absolutely incredible.

The concept is this - sit down at a cash game table, if you like your hand and your position you play as normal. If you don't like your cards well enough to play, you fold - and INSTANTLY are transported to a completely different table with a different hand. And when I say instant, I mean under 2 seconds. It's crazy cool.

There is even a "Quick Fold" button, that you can click, before the action even gets to you. You are whisked away instantly, to another table and another position - chosen randomly by the computer. The players on the previous table don't know that you are already gone until the action reaches your avatar and you fold.

A "Rush" poker game, is a large pool of players - 3000 or so in the most popular rooms, all being automatically moved to a brand new hand at a brand new table when they fold.

I hope I've described it adequately - but for the full scoop click here.

It is the crack cocaine of online poker.

When I first went to check it out, I went to the lobby and noticed that the lowest stakes in real money were 10NL. That is not quite low enough for my online bankroll of less than $200. So I clicked over to play chips and tried it out there.

Very cool, but absolutely not poker in any way, shape or form. I quintupled my buy-in in about 20 minutes, which was moderately fun, but my inner player recognized very quickly that this wasn't helping my game - nor was it feeling at all like the real thing.

So I took a big breath, and fully aware that I was going in over my head (bankroll-wise), I took the plunge into real money play.

It was SO, MUCH, FUN.

Don't like the trash that you're catching? Just fold for about 5 minutes, and you'll catch some good ass cards.

It is literally 250 to 300 hands an hour.

Put it in perspective, at a normal online table, you're lucky if you get to 75 to 100 hands an hour.

I played 1000 hands in under 3 1/2 hours the other night.

Ah-mazing.

The bad news - I dropped 2 1/2 buy-ins the first night, playing for less than 2 hours.

The good news - I got most of it back a couple of nights later, my 1000 hand effort.

I went back for more (after a catastrophic hit to my bankroll) only because I intuitively felt that the game was beatable.

The fish are even nittier - and the sharks are pretty helpless because they cannot bum hunt, data mine or use their HUDs. (Heads Up Displays).

I found it was pretty easy to steal blinds in late position, and yet paradoxically I got paid off big time with Kings or Aces pre-flop when I shoved!

Of course, I also had my Aces cracked a couple of times by runner runner garbage catchers - but I knew for sure each time that my decisions leading to the heart ache were almost all correct.

Rush Poker is something else, and has rekindled my love for cash game play.

I have to be careful playing above my roll, but I really believe deep down that I can blast this baby, despite potentially huge swings of variance.

If I do bust, then that will be that for this year in real money online on Full Tilt - but I have every intention of enjoying the ride and playing the rush as much as I can!

So much for resolutions! (Though I am still banning myself during the week, despite my playing Rush on the Wednesday that it came out.)