Is it time to gradute to higher stakes?

[voyamatarte]

I have been playing bodog's .05/.10 LHE rooms for about a month, and up until this week, I have been playing about break even, and losing to the rake. However, over this month, I have read ALOT, and I feel really improved, and espically after my last two sessions, feel I might be ready to graduate to .25/.50.

The .05/.10 full ring tables at bodog hover around 55% flop seen, with spikes into the 60s and low 70s at time. The average player is Very loose and very aggressive, and so I have been calling alot of speculative hands knowing my implied odds to be awsome with the almost guaranteed callers behind. I keep my flop rate at about 30%, and it seems to be working. However, I would like to know if this is a large enough sample to make a decision to move up, or if I should play another 100/500/1000 hands?

My bank roll is at 100, which is 200bb at .25/.50, and should be enough if we decide my skill can handle the jump up.

All earnings are at a single table, and will probably stay that way because I have enough to think about on each hand.

Session 1 (2 hours)
34bb/2 hours
or 16.6bb/hour

Session 2 (2 hours)
28bb/2hours
14bb/hour

Total (four hours)
15bb/hr sustained for four hours.

The next level of stakes up seem to stay at about 50-55% flop seen. Does anyone have any experience with the jump in skill level between these stakes? Are they just richer fish, or other novices like me starting to develop their poker brains?

[Thomas Newton]

Wait 'til you have 300bb and take a shot then.

A couple of winning sessions doesn't mean you are ready - a couple losing wouldn't mean you are not but be patient.

For me personally, the biggest difference between levels is not skill or numbers of fish but the way that I react to the money.

From my experience a simple ABC game will let you (at least) break even upto 1/2.

[fretelöo]

LOL@you thinking that even another 1000 hands will tell you what you want to know. Try another 15k hands. Seriously. If you've been breaking even at .05/.1 and now had a couple of winning sessions - that means nothing. Really nothing. Like, nil.

Also, vpip of 30 at a very loose table is likely too high. A number of speculative hands become playable with regularily 4+ to the flop, but you want to be _in_ position, not oop. You seen not to care much - which just goes to show that you don't quite know what you're talking about yet (no offence).

Add to that that very loose tables make for sick suckouts very often, a 200bb roll isn't enough, even if you had the skill. Grind up until you reach 350bb AT LEAST for .25/.5.

If your recent reading has really opened your eyes as you say it did, that can't take you all too long...

[voyamatarte]

No offence taken. I posted this because I wasn't quite sure if my winning sessions were notable. I needed either encouragement or a reality-check, and I appreciate it.

[ QUOTE ]
Also, vpip of 30 at a very loose table is likely too high. A number of speculative hands become playable with regularily 4+ to the flop, but you want to be _in_ position, not oop. You seen not to care much - which just goes to show that you don't quite know what you're talking about yet (no offence).

[/ QUOTE ]

Now, I dont have poker tracker, so the 30%flop rate was taken from my raw stats in the poker soft ware and includes blinds. I believe that THIS is a pretty good rate against a loose table. Still think it is to high?

I will play the speculative hands, but will take out suited connectors and Ax suited in EP. Low pairs, I will limp EP if I read the table as the loose passive callers that I think they are. Of course, limping low pairs in late position, and even calling if I am still getting better than 8-1 odds to do so.

[Buzz-cp]

[ QUOTE ]
Wait 'til you have 300bb and take a shot then.

[/ QUOTE ]

Taking a shot is typically when you have less than BR justifies. i.e. you are playing a couple sessions with the idea that you could lose 40-80BB of your lower limit roll. When I hit 300BB for the next level, I auto-move there, and drop down if I hit 200BB. With good table selection, you can find donkeys at any limit*.

Buzz

* Of course you have to learn to play against smarter opponents while you are not collecting from the 1-3 donkeys, and there is the element of psychology of dealing with bigger pots.

[voyamatarte]

[ QUOTE ]
* Of course you have to learn to play against smarter opponents while you are not collecting from the 1-3 donkeys, and there is the element of psychology of dealing with bigger pots.

[/ QUOTE ]

And I would be happy to idle at 0bb/hr, letting the donkeys pay for me to learn vs more experienced players, too. At these low limits, im not playing to make a living, I am learning to play to eventually supplement my living.

I like your advice. Once I get up to $150BR (300bb at .25/.5) I will move up and test the water. Worst case scenario, I go back to .05/.1 a better player and the same BR. That can't be bad!

[fretelöo]

[ QUOTE ]
When I hit 300BB for the next level, I auto-move there, and drop down if I hit 200BB.

[/ QUOTE ]

lol Yikes. I shudder at the thought of having less than 1000bb behind. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Buzz-cp]

You should do some BR calcs with your SD. It's not as bad as you think. 1/100 players will probably be fine with 400BB.

[kerowo]

Get PT. If you are a losing player at level n-1 there is no reason to think you will be a winnning player at level n. If you have to take into account the rake at .05/.10 to break even you are deluding yourself. If you worry about rake at all the micros you are wasting your time. If you are serious about playing poker get PT and see what you are doing and what needs to change.

[nerdking]

PT is useless at Bodog unless you have Dogwatcher, and even that program is buggy as [censored]