Shorthanded, or even heads-up should be the answer for any solid player. The fewer opponents you're facing, the less luck is involved. Look at it this way; at a full table of 10, you've got to look at the situation as if you’re facing one opponent with 9 chances at the pot vs. your 1. I think of it as this huge table monster. It's really irrelevant to you which one of them wins the pot. If it's not you, you lose. The fewer opponents you're facing, the more similar your starting hands become to the average winning hand at the table, until you get heads-up and your true opponent, the table monster, has been effectively declawed. He can no longer subsidize his weak play with more chances. At this point, the best man usually wins.