double the stakes in my cash game?

[tminus]

ive been hosting a cash game for the past two months which meets twice a week with .25/.50 blinds. usually 5-8 players with varying degrees of skill...most of it soft.

over the past two months ive built a $500 bankroll which equates to ten 100bb buyins.

i was thinking of raising the stakes to .5/1 which gives me 5 buyins and then return to .25/.50 if i lose two buyins.

how do feel about this?

[Lottery Larry]

[ QUOTE ]
how do feel about this?

[/ QUOTE ]

It doesn't matter how WE feel about it- how will your other players feel about it?

I would recommend you don't jump the gun yet on the stakes- you've only played 18 times, not enough to determine if you can maintain that level of gain long-term.

[pfapfap]

Yeah, uh, remember that others play in your game, too.

Blinds don't really matter in NL as much as chips on the table, anyway. Sounds like you have $50 buyins. Plenty to keep you active and profitable at the current level, whereas raising it can bust you out sooner and scare away the easier money.

[tminus]

yes, i thought of this and asked them. out of about 20 people who come and go, half like it as it is and the other half want to raise it.

[Taso]

5 buy ins = very few. I'd keep doing .25/.50, but if you want to raise it, and half the group does, half doesn't, maybe instead of making it .50/1.00, put it somewhere between.

.40/.80 for example...Sorta weird, but whatever. 5 buy ins is not enough in my opinion.

[Bantam222]

uhhh. dont do .40/.80 plz..

just stay at .25/.50 for a while longer and build up your roll some more...Its hard to have other people adjust to your bankroll

[TexRef]

In the home games that I frequent some of the better players want to increase the blinds, but others are worried that it would scare off the recreational player -- the one that doesn't take it very seriously, isn't very good, but doesn't mind blowing through a few $50 buy-ins for a night of "entertainment".

I've thought about hosting a game where the blinds start out at .25/.50 (like normal), but then double after a few hours, and then double again a few hours later -- maxing at 1/2. I think it might work as it reflects the tone of the game anyway -- as the night goes on and stacks build, you are rarely seeing a flop for $3-5, let alone $0.50!

[nowags]

[ QUOTE ]
yes, i thought of this and asked them. out of about 20 people who come and go, half like it as it is and the other half want to raise it.

[/ QUOTE ]

start the game out as normal, then after a couple of hours, see who wants to raise the blinds.

[Feroc]

Here people would just start laughing at me, if I would try to even raise to NL50.
Ask you friends!

[grebe]

hello,

I am normally a lurker, but I feel like I can add something of value to this, so here it is:

-First off, if you raise the blinds and start losing, then don't lower them back down for you. Be a man, and stick to your word. Do it for the good of the game, not for your personal gain. That being said, raise it up! If people dont like it, tell them to start a new hobby...quilting might be good.

Secondly, to keep from scaring off the "recreational" player, do not put a minimum buy-in on the game. If somebody wants to buy in for $20 5 times, then let them! If they want to put the last $10 bill in their wallet on the table, why the hell not? The key to keeping a game friendly for soft money is to keep them feeling comfortable. As Phil Gordon puts it, don't tap on the glass (referring to the glass of a fish tank).

BTW, I dislike the game starting at one stake and then moving up later on....I am very against this. This would make the winners feel like the losers are getting a new chance to catch their money. I would cash out and leave if this happened in a game I was involved in, especially if I was up big.