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Table size changes everything

Yes, it changes. Enormously. Four-handed poker and twelve-handed poker are related games, not the same game, and playing one system at both tables is the fastest way to lose money while following good advice.

Here's the honest framing. There is one dial sitting on top of the four suits, and it's the number of seats. Turn it and the correct answer to almost every question in this guide moves. Six things move, and five of them are exact arithmetic rather than opinion.

(A note before the math: Hold'em is normally capped at 9 or 10 players, because 12 players plus board plus burn cards uses 32 of the 52 and the game slows to a crawl. Twelve-handed happens in home games and charity tournaments. It's a real table size, just not a casino one — so if you play at twelve, you're playing a game most published advice isn't written for. That's exactly why it's in here.)