Why is moving to 1/2 so hard?

[tiltaholic]

I've been thinking about the evolution of my game (and my lack of meaningful posts) and various struggles I have had moving up and I thought I'd write a little about why the 1/2 limit is so difficult for so many microlimit players.

Let's start with the comfort of .5/1, the happy place. At a typical Party .5/1 table you'll be sitting at a loose, passive table. It is this way because there are likely 6-8 loose passive players at the table. Almost every hand is going to be very multiway, and when the various loose passive players start coldcalling raises the pots get large and large often. In these games, sometimes you'll lose with big offsuit hands like KQ when someone flops an ace, or with JJ when someone rivers two pair, or with a set when someone catches a flush. As a result, it is not surprising that many feel the microlimits online (or low limits in B&M) are an "any two will do" game -- all luck. One of the first things we do, as successful small stakes players, is to recognize the amazing profit potential that exists at the tables. This is the upside to the occasional, or maybe even not so occasional, suck out or beat. Because you are virtually guaranteed a huge pot the next time you get a big hand, it's possible to learn to laugh off the beat and just move on to the next hand (as you should anyway). We can value bet and value raise all night long, go into autopilot, play 4-20 tables at once, follow the hand chart, and be happy pulling in 3bb/100. At some point, little (or no) thought is required once the proper mindset, starting hand selection, and basic postflop competence is learned.

There comes the time when the aspiring player yearns to leave the comfort of .5/1 and move to 1/2. It is often said that 1/2 "is not worth playing", or "there's no money to be made there", or even the simple "it's too hard, skip to 2/4". In my opinion this is said because there is no single greater change from any adjacent limit as from .5/1 to 1/2. As we are by nature creatures of habit, such change often and not surprisingly causes distress to the aspiring player. When moving to 1/2 our microhero is immediately hit at multiple levels with fundamental differences in the game. Some of these differences are easily apparent, whereas others are more elusive. But all are related to improving one's game at any limit, and the skills learned at 1/2 are indescribably useful in becoming a skilled limit holdem player.

Part I - What are some of these skills?

Poker is a game of observing our opponents and adjusting to their play. It sounds trivial. But often we lose sight of this especially when no observation or adjustment is required for success. At 1/2 we are no longer always confronted with 6-8 loose or tight passives, and the occasional maniac, rock, or solid tight-aggressive player. We begin to see tables where tight aggressive players exist in larger numbers, or where the table is full of rocks, or even several maniacs. When our opponent's playing styles diverge from the simple loose passive, the starting hand charts, formerly the foundation of "solid" play at .5/1, begin to lose their power. Our "system" begins to break down for the first time, as the "so-called-ideal" playing conditions break down. Back in .5/1, when the loose passive players vastly outnumber all others, the occasional deviant player (ie not loose passive) or two is inconsequential to our game. We rarely run into them, and when by chance we do go head to head, we can quite literally fold and move on to the next hand. At 1/2, we cannot always afford this luxury. We are forced to pay attention to our opponents play and adjust our play accordingly, not only in the cards we choose to play but also how we choose to play them (or if we choose to get up and switch tables).

Situations and strategies that were rare, avoided, or unnecessary at lower limits begin to occur more frequently: Blind stealing; Isolation raises; Heads up and three handed play; Bluffing. These gross categories of types of play all converge at a single facet of our hero's game - aggression. At 1/2, aggression becomes more than just a tool to pump up a huge pot with middle set or a flush draw. Aggression becomes a tool used to win pots. Lacking aggression or folding in face of aggression actively loses pots. This can be unnerving. Dealing with this involves, not surprisingly, observing and adjusting.

Finally (though I could go on), I'll discuss a relatively hidden difference between .5/1 and 1/2 games, for lack of a better term -- "the flow of the pot size" -- something which many successful .5/1 players have a hard time adjusting to. As mentioned earlier, at .5/1 we often have many loose passive players playing many hands. As a result, pot sizes are proportionally large (in big bets) across all hands in a session. These loose passive players cushion the pot, allowing us to reap the benefit over time when we have a stronger than average hand. Whether this pot comes to us in hand 5 or hand 105, we know our strong hands will get paid off. Now that we've moved up we face a considerably tighter game, where a few loose passive players have been replaced with tighter players. As a result of this, we'll have situations where the pots are very small and situations where pots will be very large realtively speaking. The practical implication of this is psychological more than anything else. For our hero, used to getting paid off on his big hands, it is quite possible that he (or she) will receive AA at the moment everyone decides to fold, yielding 1.5 SB. It is also possible the very next hand that some bad player will scoop a 15bb pot will 84o. This can lead to a tendency to overplay marginal hands, or at the very least feelings of futility or despair.

Part II - So, what should I observe and adjust? (coming soon - I've rambled enough)

[hizo]

tilt,

you write very very g00t. I eagerly await part II.

[kapw7]

Nice post! I'm confident that all low limits up to 3/6 (maybe) are beatable by most of the regular posters here for the simple reason that they are full of bad players. I make a lot of mistakes in my plays but other ppl make more so I make a profit. I don't know if I'm a winning player but I never felt outplayed on a table so far.

Outplayed meaning: I have no idea what the opponent is playing - I'm driven out of pots with decent hands - I bet my good hands and I collect small pots - I have no idea what to do now.

[detruncate]

I don't mean to hijack the thread. Just thought I'd stop in to say that I agree + repost some thoughts on factors that contribute the to difficulty of adjustment.

1) Your (true) winrate will probably quite a bit less than it was at .5/1, meaning that downswings are going to be more common.

2) People frequently overestimate their winrate at .5/1... especially since they usually move up when they're "crushing" the game for what seems like a lot of hands, but isn't nearly enough to narrow things down to a reasonable range. A few good sessions can have a huge effect on your winrate even after playing several tens of thousands of hands. This is a comment on the weight people put on stats, not the number of hands one should play at .5/1.

3) People usually move up after running well for a while, and therefore find themselves regressing to the mean at an unfamiliar limit.

4) The pot size might not seem that different, but you may end up contributing a higher % on average due to a fewer players seeing the flop and beyond.

5) People are nervous and/or affected more than usual by bad beats/runs given the fact that they're playing an unfamiliar game (often thought to be harder). The general difficulties re. maintaining confidence are amplified. As is the perceived impact of mistakes.

6) Adusting to the new $ is an added stress.

7) Your losses will be proportionally greater (relative to the size of your bankroll) due to the fact that saving up for a move leaves you significantly over-rolled at your previous limit.

8) The character of the average game at your new limit is probably different than at your old one, which therefore necessitates moving out of your comfort zone more often than you're used to.

9) The games are often harder for one reason or another (fewer poor players, more better ones, greater aggression, smaller pot sizes, etc.)

10) The effect that bonus $ + rakeback has had on the bankroll building process is often not fully acknowledged.

I'll butt out now.

[kapw7]

I agree:

2. Moving from 0.5/1 to 1/2 gives an instant boost to your winrate for the plain reason that you pay less rake. See this post on rake

3. I actually moved up after a 250BB downswing. Regerssing to the mean was really profitable but I was confident on myself (What an idiot!)

[Nfinity]

Good work. Eagerly awaiting part 2.

[DeathDonkey]

I am jealous of your eloquence. Great post. You should submit it as a 2+2 magazine article, as your target audience is almost certainly the largest on 2+2.

-DeathDonkey

[shadow.]

[ QUOTE ]
I am jealous of your eloquence. Great post. You should submit it as a 2+2 magazine article, as your target audience is almost certainly the largest on 2+2.

-DeathDonkey

[/ QUOTE ]

Word. (And it's an easy $200).

edit- Except I am far more eloquent. Harvard sucks.

[malo]

Tiltaholic....really appreciated your post and look forward to part two.

I'm a fairly new player...started in February.....and now have 24000+ hands at .50/1.00 and 5600+ at 1/2. I'm currently back down after dropping 125BB at 1/2.....got kicked around pretty good. The move down is to rebuild BR....because it feels like what I need to learn will have to be at the 1/2 tables themselves. The games seem different enough, I'm wondering how much more I can glean from the .50/1.00....altho that may be wrong thinking on my part...dunno. Feels like at some point (once BR is back at comfortable level) I'll just have to get back in there, take my licks, and learn as I go.

Obviously, anything I can learn beforehand will minimize the "poker tuition" I have to pay.....which I'd like to do.

Thanks to the OP and all the other posters.....lots to think about....

[tiltaholic]

[ QUOTE ]
I don't mean to hijack the thread. Just thought I'd stop in to say that I agree + repost some thoughts on factors that contribute the to difficulty of adjustment.

1) Your (true) winrate will probably quite a bit less than it was at .5/1, meaning that downswings are going to be more common.

2) People frequently overestimate their winrate at .5/1... especially since they usually move up when they're "crushing" the game for what seems like a lot of hands, but isn't nearly enough to narrow things down to a reasonable range. A few good sessions can have a huge effect on your winrate even after playing several tens of thousands of hands. This is a comment on the weight people put on stats, not the number of hands one should play at .5/1.

3) People usually move up after running well for a while, and therefore find themselves regressing to the mean at an unfamiliar limit.

4) The pot size might not seem that different, but you may end up contributing a higher % on average due to a fewer players seeing the flop and beyond.

5) People are nervous and/or affected more than usual by bad beats/runs given the fact that they're playing an unfamiliar game (often thought to be harder). The general difficulties re. maintaining confidence are amplified. As is the perceived impact of mistakes.

6) Adusting to the new $ is an added stress.

7) Your losses will be proportionally greater (relative to the size of your bankroll) due to the fact that saving up for a move leaves you significantly over-rolled at your previous limit.

8) The character of the average game at your new limit is probably different than at your old one, which therefore necessitates moving out of your comfort zone more often than you're used to.

9) The games are often harder for one reason or another (fewer poor players, more better ones, greater aggression, smaller pot sizes, etc.)

10) The effect that bonus $ + rakeback has had on the bankroll building process is often not fully acknowledged.

I'll butt out now.

[/ QUOTE ]

all very true. good points.
i was trying to keep the focus.
your post from the microlimits goals thread is also applicable. we often compare ourselves to others and THEIR progress through limits - this usually means negative things for our own progress.

for example, that sucker entity (wait, and the deathdonkey too, and you as a matter of fact come to think of it) came here as a total noob MONTHS after me. yeah, i suck. wtf is wrong with me??

great points...