Thanks everyone for your comments! A few answers:
Quote:
Originally Posted by LazyAce
To me that would just close the gap on most players ranges from one position to the next. [...] If ranges become more static because there is no incentive to play looser or tighter in a particular position, then it will take some of the skill out of the game. It would definitely be boring and less dynamic as zelov stated.
This is a good point. I agree that understanding ranges is important for today's game, partly because it forces one to understand how ranges change, understanding board texture relative to ranges, and often pitting a strong hand OOP with a weaker hand IP. Removing this element will hurt the game, and it's not clear if it's worth it for the advantages.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stryd0r
An interesting idea. I'd have to think about it but it may make it too hard for the BTN to play, having to open into a large field, especially in a game that is as static as NLHE.
Well, it can't possibly harder for BTN to play in this variant than it is for UTG today. Plus, BTN knows he'll have position over everyone postflop. I think the ranges from all positions will be similar, unlike today. Whether this is a good thing is a subject for debate, but I suspect it is.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NimhOfJoy
Fundamentally, I'm not sure why balancing the power the positions is necessary. The game plays just fine with the BTN having the biggest advantage and I don't really understand why you need to mitigate that.
Well, if I told you that there's a game where skilled players can make twice the EV per 100 that they can make right now, you'd be thrilled. Would you be less thrilled if I told you that game is holdem with reversed pre-flop positions? Reversing pre-flop positions makes more hands playable from :early" position (e.g. UTG, UTG+1,...) which means that now people will be able to play more hands overall, I think. IMO this is likely to be good for the game.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NimhOfJoy
Also, stud does play positionally, it's just based on down cards rather than BTN position and changes on each street, but you do have an advantage on a particular street if you're later to act.
Stud is what is called "an unpositional game". From wikipedia: "Stud games are also typically non-positional games, meaning that the player who bets first on each round may change from round to round". I didn't invent this terminology.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stryd0r
I think my main issue with OP's idea is that the opener is always stealing into people he has position on. This makes it really hard to defend, and will probably decrease the amount of flops actually seen.
Other way around. The opener is always stealking into people that he's OOP against. This makes it
easier to defend.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wraith
Reversing order postflop is creating an entirely new game. In this scenario I'd feel the blinds had the greatest position and advantage since they're already semi-priced in and will act last postflop.
Other way around. I suggested to reverse order preflop (more specifically, that BTN acts first, and you go counter-clockwise from there. Postflop order stays the same.