[yad]

Nice post. I think my main problem has been the confidence part. My game has certainly improved as I moved up, and I did make a few big changes between NL100 and NL200. But on the whole I think I could have moved up much more quickly had I been absolutely convinced I could beat the next level. But not being convinced like this leads me to do all sorts of ridiculous things.

e.g. I have some lousy hand on the button, raise some limper, get a call from the BB. Flop is ragged, doesn't help me. Dude checks, I bet, he check-raises me. My 3-betting frequency is way higher when I am at 400NL than at 200NL because I am paranoid about people taking advantage of me. I don't have the confidence and, more importantly, the patience that comes with that confidence.

Then it's weird, at some point I just become convinced that I can beat a level and at that point become hugely more profitable. Actually I think once I start taking shots two levels up I become confident in the one level up (e.g. moved up to 200NL, start taking shots at 400NL, now feel completely confident at 200NL).