Re: What\'s the biggest difference between 2/5 and 1/2?
 

Timing is very important for NL. Around 1 p.m. on weekdays, most 2/5 NL games suck in Vegas. That same poker room on Friday and Saturday nights at 11 p.m. will be kickin' with calling stations.

Re: What\'s the biggest difference between 2/5 and 1/2?
 

I think the biggest difference if comfort level. The 2/5 games are very serious with 400 raises/reraises whereas the 1/2 games, you can make a serious point with 75 buck raises.

I know this is obvious, but at the lower levels, level of comfort is an underrated consideration. After playing 2/5, I have noticed a serious difference in how my opponents view me. Now that 100 dollar raises are par for the course for me, my opponents are far less likely to play back at me because they know they can't drive me off a hand. I had two people tell me that yesterday alone.

I would move up to 2/5 until you feel comfortable, and then move back and forth to 1/2 wherever you feel the money is best.

Re: What\'s the biggest difference between 2/5 and 1/2?
 

Comfort level is a good point, a serious pot in 2/5 NL can have $1k in it with $300 and $400 bets being routinely placed. Some people in 1/2 become "serious" about pots where $215 is in the center and top pr/marginal kick battles against top pr/no kick.

It's more likely you will see higher levels of donk talk at 1/2 tables. People parroting stuff they hear off ESPN, people poorly analyzing hands, people making it evident they've never played before. In other words, easier to spot potential victims.

Last thing I would say is that in 1/2 NL, preflop raises designed to thin the field are usually much higher in relation to the BB amount. $12-$15 is likely the average serious hand open in many 1/2 games, and even this results in five or six way pots at times.