First shot at 15/30 this weekend. Tips/Strategy/Tricky Moves welcome..

[jaroot]

Ok I've finally gotten the stones to move up from the yellow ($2) chip to the red($5) chip game at the local card room(Canterbury Park, MN). I've done well at 6/12 & 8/16 pretty much playing TAG ABC poker.

I know I can probably get by with the same style at 15/30, but I now I'll have to mix it up and get tricky at times too.

Any help from other middle-limit'ers out there would be appreciated!

[Vehn]

You don't need to "mix it up" etc, you just need to play solid aggressive limit poker and don't make the standard mistakes that smaller limit players make which is usually not getting value for hands, paying off people that don't need to be paid off, being afraid of scare cards, etc.

[PorkchopDJG]

Good Luck Jaroot!
Please report back as to how you do as I am in the same situation as you and thinking of trying the 15/30 rather than the lotto 8/16 LAG-fest.

I'm interested to hear your opinion on the differences between 6/12, 8/16 and 15/30.

[Overseer55]

1) Don't be trickier than you need to be. Being tricky in the wrong situations will cost many more bets than not being tricky at all. (Of course, being tricky in the right situations will make you money)

2) There are certain people at 15/30 who are dumber than posts. Don't be tricky against them.

3) At 15/30, you will likely have more situational type plays, especially against the "non-posts" at the table. Look for them...these plays may occur in bunches, or they may occur very far apart from each other (in terms of time). They're not going to occur every orbit, but they will occur several times in a given session. Most of them are based upon your image at the time. Let the cards & your implicit style guide your image. Don't try and force an image.

[PokerBob]

what vehn said.

also, i think it is a good idea to play very tight for a while and just observe. moving up can be intimidating, but if you observe for a while you will find that the players are not all that great and that you have nothing to worry about. this should help you feel more comfortable/confident. good luck.

[jaroot]

I will.. I've been sifting through this mid-stakes fourm pretty hard core for the past month picking up as many little nuggets as possible.

From what I'm told the CP 15/30 is very loose/passive compared to the 8/16.

I will let you know how it goes. I plan on taking 1500 with me. My goal is to leave with 2500 or 500 - whatever comes first [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[ship it pls]

porkchop, the 8-16 may be wild, but its the great, bankroll building, type of variance - give the 8-16 a shot first imo, the 15-30 can be just as aggressive, just not as stupid

[jaroot]

[ QUOTE ]
the 15-30 can be just as aggressive, just not as stupid

[/ QUOTE ]

Ya I've played the 8/16 for a few months now with some good results, but it's very tough to know where you're at a lot of hands.

One hand for instance, I mucked two black AA on a Kd 10d 2d flop when it was 3 bets to me on the button on one hand. Fairly standard I thought. Board bricked out - All 3 showed down the nearly $360 pot.
QJo (no d)
AxQd
88 (no d)

[PorkchopDJG]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
the 15-30 can be just as aggressive, just not as stupid

[/ QUOTE ]

Ya I've played the 8/16 for a few months now with some good results, but it's very tough to know where you're at a lot of hands.

One hand for instance, I mucked two black AA on a Kd 10d 2d flop when it was 3 bets to me on the button on one hand. Fairly standard I thought. Board bricked out - All 3 showed down the nearly $360 pot.
QJo (no d)
AxQd
88 (no d)

[/ QUOTE ]

I think this is funny and so representative of a typical 8/16 hand. You really never do know where you stand in a hand. You flop TPTK and normally you would fold when it's 3 bet back to you but in 8/16 sometimes you have to make a value call or even raise.
I think knowing the player is the most important thing, above all poker logic or strategy in the Canterbury 8/16 game.

[habsfanca11]

Jaroot, take this for what it's worth - different room, different coast - but I just made the switch to 15/30 from 4/8 at my local cardroom (there's no interim 8/16 or 9/18 there), assuming that the play is similar:
- you'll need to re-evaluate more. What I mean is the player's are generally more experienced, more confident, more aggressive. They change gears better than lower limit players. So you might have some pegged as being a TAG, but you'll need to constantly evaluate - how are they playing now? You'll do better by not pigeon-holing a player into one style for all time. I'm done being surprised by a supposed TAG who open raises with 5,7s or 6,2o.
- Monitor and evaluate your table image. With any semblance of a decent image continuation bets will take the pot down on the flop or turn. One thing you can do to help your image right away is but-in for $800 or $900. About half will buy in for a rack of $500 and they'll be a few who buy-in for between $200 - $400. A decent buy-in indicates your serious and plan to be there for awhile.
- more than the lower limits play begins on the turn. You'll see all kinds of [censored] on the flop - c/r with second pair, cap with a flush draw, 3-bet overcards and plenty of calls with anything including bottom pair - but play gets serious on the turn. You'll see more laydowns than the lower stakes.
Hope it goes well. Earlier advice to watch and observe more at first was good, as was, it's not that much different. It's easy to get used to and play with confidence, there are still plenty of poor players, donkeys and gamboolers even thought the skill level and aggression level willl go up a notch.

Let us know how you did!