i can't legally play poker where i am and all i have been able to find around town is various 1/2 nl games with a 10%rake up to $10 with a $2 high hand drop. i spent most of my time playing online limit so am not familiar with what things should look like for live nl. the games are very soft but the structure seems awful. opinions are appreciated.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJshw2Axsqc#t=00m17s

Haha, awesome. But for OP I'd be interested in knowing the buy in for this game so that your question can be answered better. What's the minimum and maximum buy in, and what are the other players buying in for? Game would be much better if the other players had $200 stacks and up vs. having $100 or less.

150 to 200 is common, but those stuck and late night drunks buy in deeper