Moving Up....1/.2 to .25/.50 ?

[Poker Plan]

Why not take some shots at the higher level over the next couple of weeks- that why you can aclimatise (sp?) to it before moving up.

Also: What do you mean by "I haven't learnt anything"? How are you going to address this?

Ian

[Lawman]

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you might also consider playing at Paradise since you can clear the bonus on the 25c/50c tables there. When I played their soft 25c/50c games I think I cleared the bonus at a rate of $100 per 500 dealt hands.


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Paradise is a must at some point (soft games), but wait until your roll is big enough to maximise the bonus. I did not find much difference between 0.1/0.2 and 0.25/0.5 (at Paradise). The big jump was to 0.5/1 since this is the lowest level that bonus whoring becomes practical.

As for clearing Paradise at $100 per 500 dealt hands at 0.25/0.5, I think you are mistaken.

Each $10 of bonus needs 100 points and you get 1 point (and no more) when the rake reaches $0.25. So to clear a $100 bonus requires 1000 points = 1000 dealt hands assuming EVERY hand is raked $0.25. My guess would be that only 20-25% of hands reach the threshhold at 0.25/0.5, so more like 5000-6000 hands. (At 0.5/1 it's about 45-50% raked $0.25)

[Bona]

I play at .10/.20 - .25/.50 - .5/1.0 about evenly. I see no real difference in the quality of play from level to level. The difference is the quality of play from table to table and the variance you have come to expect. For what its worth you will probably win at any of the microlevels if you play your game and don't "freeze at the switch"

From .50/1.0 through 1/2 I have experienced what APPEARS to be a tightning up but might just reflect my own discomfort with a high bet level. I have put my toes in the water at 2/4 but either I am not capable or I let my head beat me because I haven't had a winning session at that level. Yet.

[OziBattler]

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As for clearing Paradise at $100 per 500 dealt hands at 0.25/0.5, I think you are mistaken.

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oops. good call...I put too many zeros in my post. I meant to say $10 per 500 hands since it was about 20% of hands getting to $5 (ie 25c rake) so something around 5000-6000 hands is about right....just a guestimate of course as it all depends on how many lagtards you get at the tables.

[Lawman]

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I play at .10/.20 - .25/.50 - .5/1.0 about evenly. I see no real difference in the quality of play from level to level.

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Which site(s)? I only have experience at lower than 0.5/1 at Paradise and I'd have to disagree.

[Bona]

I am mostly speaking of Stars and Paradise but I also play at Party sometimes. I think party's lowest level is .25/.50. I'm not speaking from many thousands of recorded hands at all levels; just an unsubstantiated impression. When I get beat I can usually look back and find I beat myself at any of these levels. at 1/2 I think I frequently beat myself by not being aggressive enough or trying to play too tight. At the other (lower) levels I make an interesting variety of errors!!

[TomTom]

I mostly play the PS .25/.50 tables... very beatable even sticking to the SSHE table. Nothing very tricky going on there, their best play very common is the slowplay turn C/R (which is rairly a bluff). Bluffs are never set-up on the previous street, so seemingly meaningless river donks are usually bad steal bluffs.

Bet early and often for value. Slowplay nothing (OK, but just AK on an AAK board).

[Smurph64]

I just went back and checked my numbers and found my bb/100 was going down rather quickly so I noticed a big difference at the tables playing the same way.

I continued to move up very fast because even at the sharp decline at 3/6 I still was over 2 bb/100 and so tried 5/10.

Needless to say, the results put me back at the micro levels starting from scratch almost.

But this time I have tightened up and really buckled into a better player. I still play with some major differences from the 'book' but at least this time around I did feel like I learned something.

Now at the .50/1.00 tables again and I plan on staying for 20k hands at least. I spend my time between that and the lower levels playing different games besides just limit holdem and also playing 6 max tables.

I find that the new strategy, combined with getting better at understanding poker and poker players in the different games, has made me a better player and this time around my bb/100 is twice as high as it was at this level the last time around.

The other thing I would caution for you to do is pull some money out before you move permanently up to the next level.

I know its micro and your bankroll is very important but I think a lot of us forget even at this micro levels that it is money.

I took out my initial investment as soon as I had it again. I borrowed off that money buying books and dvds and software, Poker Academy is one helluva learning tool.

Even though doing so slowed my curve of 'moving up' I think it has more than made up for that by improving my poker IQ as a whole.

[Romulus141]

I remember my move from PokerStars 0.10/0.20 to 0.25/0.50. Actually, for a while it felt for me that the 0.10/0.20 were much looser during the night, and that it was slightly more difficult to find loose tables at 0.25/0.50. However, they're still there, and rather easy to find. As you build your database, you'll be able to determine from the players seated if a table is worth playing.

I also remember the switch to 0.25/0.50 being somewhat difficult, since it was my first limit switch up. The larger bets scared me at first, and I did have to move back down to 0.10/0.20 to retool my play. However, after a couple false starts, the switch finally worked and I haven't looked back.

A good way to sorta break your way in is to two-table (I'm doing this currently to slowly feel my way into 0.50/1.00 from 0.25/0.50, which I currently am still playing). Make one table 0.10/0.20, and the other table 0.25/0.50. If you're running bad at 0.25/0.50, you can always close it and try and recoup with the 0.10/0.20 table. This way, you won't feel like all the money you're playing with will go away quickly. If nothing else, it'll give you a psychological boost.

And remember, for now, stick to ABC poker. Don't play 0.25/0.50 any differently than how you would play at 0.10/0.20, and you should be fine.

[citizenwind]

Don't be scared. Get $500 and go for .50/1. Players are tighter, but they still play terribly post-flop. If you take a bad swing, move back down.

Taking shots is huge. Especially from nano's to micro's, where the opposition isn't considerably stronger but you'll be making considerably more money. .25/.50 to .50/1 is a much easier dip than 1/2 to 2/4 or 3/6 to 5/10.