Hehe. Well, as you know (or can tell from the adverts here), we like Prima (of which The Gaming Club is a member). So I have moved there.
Now for a long time I've been reading ice's posts about how rubbish the play is there, but let me tell you I was not prepared for it!
I've been playing at Prima since Feb 1st and was previously playing Party or Stars. Of course my variance was v. high at Party, and Stars was a bit of a rock garden at the times I play (in the UK).
So, onto the Prima network we go.
The software is pretty crappy. No doubt about it. I don't like cashcheck or playcheck at all. The game playing GUI is okay but I don't like it much either. The text summary of a hand doesn't even tell you about kickers.
But the players! Wow. They are unbelievably passive. Get a table full of scandinavians and you will be utterly amazed.
I have seen someone with quads get bet into for like 1/4 of the pot and just *call* ON THE RIVER!!
I have seen people call all-ins with K2o and the like.
People regularly play awful kickers or go to the river with 2nd pair or an unimproved A-big. I've seen someone call a substantial bet on the river with a pair of threes, with FIVE overcards on the board.
I have had people call potsizers to the river with nothing at all (even worse!). Scary but profitable!
The only downside to this is that when they do have monster hands it is VERY hard to tell sometimes because THE SWEDES/FINNS etc. ARE NATIONS OF STATIONS!! They just call, call call.
And they let you draw for cheap! Oh yes they do! Do they have a set? If they do, you may very well get pot odds to draw to the next card if you're on an open-ender or flush draw. Amazing.
Another thing about players from these countries is that a lot of them seem to be playing while drinking, drunk or stoned.
My aggressiveness has gone way up since joining Prima. Quite often I will now raise near the button with any two cards at all then bet or raise to the pot. Where I've tried this in other poker rooms I've not had nearly as much success with persistent stealing. Same with ice's article 'stealing small pots'. If no-one's bet and you're in LP, bet it. Often you will be left with a single opponent if it didn't work. Just bet it again! Fold.
I am just amazed. Yesterday I saw a guy (who was drunk) called Djamisorenson or something like that blow off a good $300 at the same NL $50 table in about an hour and a half. Talk about throwing a party? The guy didn't have a CLUE. Anyone with AA or KK would just bet their entire stack and he'd call it! The guy wasn't a maniac, he just loved that call button! He bet virtually nothing.
So my opinion of the scandinavians is: Awful. Really horrible. In a good way.
I've not yet lost a full stack at Prima. It's verty hard to, because they just don't know how to bet. The most I've lost is like $30 of a $50 stack, and that was me trying to push someone off with a huge bet on the river (he called with K2 for a pair of Kings - *station*!).
I just can't imagine playing anywhere else. I hate the software (I still haven't analyzed a single hand since I've been playing because of that damned playcheck) but the play quality and the god damned passivity of the place make it amazingly attractive.