Interesting new hold'em variation (non-grumpy content)

A new variation of Texas Hold'em, called "Royal Hold'em," is starting its official, legal trial period today at the Hard Rock casino. Play is the same, but the deck is stripped down to 20 cards, the ten through ace of each suit. See for details: http://www.allvegaspoker.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3955&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

You can play it online for free at the sponsoring company's official web site: http://www.newpoker.com/ (I hate web sites that start playing cheesy music automatically if your computer speakers are on. The music here sounds like it could be from a porno flick. Ugh!)

That thread and this article, http://www.lowlimitholdem.com/articles/royal_holdem.htm, have hashed out the basic strategy and relevant probabilities. The reduced deck results in some weird facts:

*The only possible flush is a royal flush.

*A straight can only be the nuts if it's on the board, with no flush possible.

*The worst possible hand you can have at a showdown is two pairs.

*If you flop a straight, you are drawing nearly dead.

*Most common winning hand is a full house.

In any new poker variation, figuring out the basic strategy before the competition does is the key to winning. Having read what's available, I may need to head over to the Hard Rock tonight to see if this gives me a profitable edge over those just passing by who decide to try it out. Of course, if the game is populated by the readers of allvegaspoker.com, I'm screwed!