Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 4,280
I've never seen a small stakes game that a competent player couldn't beat, but many recreational games aren't designed to allow anybody, even a dominant predator to beat the rake: low ante, low stakes relative to rake, slow action, promotional drop etc.
You have to watch a game for a while and see how the action plays to decide if the game is worth playing, but at 20-40 or higher with a decent structure and no promotional drop I would be surprised if a competent player was a dog to the rake.