Maybe the word 'Limit' in NLHE has a different meaning
When you limit the size of the fields you play in and the ammount of players you play against, I think you are limiting a lot of the experience and education you would acquire if you didn't limit yourself. If you really feel like you are "stuck" in these longer tourneys, it will be hard for you to succeed with that limiting mentality.
I have just recently switched most of my tourney play from
bodog to PokerStars. I played on Bodog for about 5 years. When I started playing, I played at Bodog, FT and PS equally. But after about six months of bouncing from room to room, I switched to Bodog and played mainly at Bodog for the past five years. I switched to Bodog fulltime because the competition was considered soft in all the poker room reviews I read and the fields were much smaller, usually less than 200ppl (except for the $100K tourney on Sunday which still only seats less than 700 ppl). I do intend to contunue playing in their $100K on Sundays. These non-Sunday tourneys would end in 3.5 hours or less.
Do you know what I discovered? The competition WAS softer....The tournaments DID end sooner. So while I did cash in and win more than my fair share of tourneys, I really think I was spinning my wheels and my game became stagnant because of it.
Now, most of the tourneys I play at PokerStars seat 2000 ppl or more. I just now(after five hours and fourteen minutes), finished 106th(for $135) in a field of almost 3100ppl in a $10 rebuy tourney (where I never rebought although I did addon).
My point is.....I used to feel the same way you do. But now, I think that when you increase the size of the field, the skill level of your opponents increases comparably if not maybe exponentially. I really feel that accepting the challenge of the larger fields and longer playing times has improved my game and increased my confidence dramatically.
I hope that maybe I was able to help.
Sincerely,
FITEMAN