I moved back to uNL despite doing good at NL100

[ciki57]

I played the last 10K hands on NL100 6-max but decided to move back to NL50. Not because i would lose money (I made 1000$ on NL100), but because i realized after going through hands i played that i kinda suck:
- i get stacked too many times with TPTK, overpair and even TPGK. I'm a calling station with those hands.
- After a bad beat i often start to tilt and make crazy plays like moving in with 22 and calling all-ins with flush draw.
- I bluff too much. Often right into the nuts.
- I like to call big turn bets with flush draws although i know i don't have the odds...

Also the games at NL100 seem to be tougher (more aggressive) . If i start running bad i might go busto there even though i have sufficent bankroll for NL100 (25 buyins).

I decided to move back to NL50 and learn the game properly. I'll go back up after i will:
- be able to control myself and not tilt
- can avoid getting stacked with overpairs, TPTK
- will bluff only when i have reason (read)
- read some NL books (i have HOH and Sklansy/Miller NL books at home, but have read them only briefly [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img] )
- studied all the materials in "Essential Selection of uNL" post

Seems like a good plan? [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Spanky1974]

I like a game plan. Stick to it and you should improve. It seems easier to plug some of your leaks/tilt issues at a more comfortable level.

[matrix]

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Seems like a good plan? [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

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yes and no.

are you confident that you can beat $50NL?

why can you beat $50NL?

why are you having trouble at $100NL?

for sure the games up there are tougher - they are definitely more aggressive for starters, and that can be tricky to adjust to.

If you are sure you can beat the 50's then you might well be harming your poker development by refusing to move up.

If you have the bankroll I'd suggest playing at least some $100NL - playing tougher games against harder opponents improves your own game faster, I learnt more stuff more quickly playing $100NL than I ever did playing $50NL you are put into tough spots much more often which forces you to grow as a player.

If you're not comfortable there sometimes that can be a good thing. By all means move to 50's and play most of your poker there until you are happy you are crushing the games - but if your roll can take it I'd keep taking shots at a higher limit until you get used to the difference.

[ciki57]

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are you confident that you can beat $50NL?

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Yup, i may suck against against the best players at that level, but i do some game selection. If there is not at least one obvious fish at the table i find another one. And i'm 100% sure I can beat 50/10/2 guys at this level [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img].

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why are you having trouble at $100NL?


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I'm not really having any trouble with losing money currently. I'm just not feeling comfortable. I'm still a NL noob. I deposited 30$ on Party in december and started playing on NL5. And then moved up to NL10,NL25,NL50 and now NL100.
I only played about 40k hands (all levels) total so I feel a little inexperienced.
But i'm not a total poker noob. I used to play limit. Was doing quite well in 0.5/1 limit games, but then i cashed out some and went playing 1/2 LHE underrolled. I went busto and sweared never to play poker again lol. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

I might just be running hot. I mean, I know i dumped something like 10 buyins becuse of tilting on NL50 and I'm still in the green at that level, lol.
It would suck to get a bad run at NL100 + some tilting and bankroll would be gone...

I just want to get a solid grasp of basic concepts at softer games.

Also here are the stats of all my NL hands so far. Do the basic stats like VP$IP look OK?

[Gelford]

Matrix is right on many levels, but if you really are uncomfortable, then you are uncomfortable.


Things take some getting used to and well, in order to play good you need confidence, and if you do not have it, then you do not have it.

There is a danger, that if you move down your game will grow state or that you can't take the stake seriously and start to be careless etc etc.

I agree with matrix that if it is solely a question of working on your game, then you should stay where you are.

If it is a question of lack of confidence in your game and insecurity in whether it works or not and you want to get your game tested in an enviment that your are familiar with and in which you are more able to make a read on yourself, then well .. yeah ... move down, play 20.000 hands or so and if everything looks fine, then move up again.

[marcof3]

you should play the stakes that makes you confortable. That 20 buy-in rule is something that work for a lot of players, but not to everyone. Maybe for you 100$ is not a lot, neither 500$, but 2000$ maybe is a lot. It depends on the person playing.


I play atm NL10, already had BR to NL50 but took some money to buy a CPU. I have around 400$ and i'll probably switch to NL25 as soon as i get 500$ because i can afford a lose of 500$ if things go bad (ok, the risk is low, but we all know how poker works. it's easy to do the maths by moving down the stakes but the reality is TILT). If i had 2000$ i'll probably think twice before i move up (even knowing i already won at that limits) because that's something that makes damage to my real life.