You guys were right (as usual).

[adamstewart]

After a few thousand hands 4-tabling Empire $3/$6, I see no significant differences between it and the $2/$4. (Aside, of course, from the small blind).

My win rate has maintained its integretity (keeping in mind, however, my small sample size thus far).

Actually, with the help of some good cards, and a few Redeposit Bonuses, I'm actually thinking of giving $5/$10 a shot in the not too distant future. (I have more than enough bankroll).

Any suggestions if I decide to do so??


Adam

P.S. I hit another huge personal milestone tonight. Thanks again to this amazing site and all....er.... *most* of its contributors.

[bicyclekick]

There is too a big different between 2/4 and 3/6. I used to play it a lot and found this and was confirmed as still the case from a couple of my friends who currently play.

[sin808]

and this difference is what?


(seriously, I don't play either and am curious)

[adamstewart]

Hmmmm.... please elaborate.

[surfdoc]

The big bets are 6 in the 3/6 and 4 in the 2/4. Glad to be of help.

[Blarg]

Lol.

To the original poster:

Well, the different blind structure affects things, for one. But I'll let other with more success and more experience say more.

I am curious, though...how many hands have you played at 3/6? It sounds like you just bounded up there and are very quickly talking about leaving. Are you sure you've gotten all the refinement of your game you're likely to get out of 3/6 for cheap before you go and see if you can avoid any expensive lessons at 5/10?

What kind of sample size do you have at 3/6 so far? Somehow it sounds like it might not be that big yet.

If that's the case, maybe 3/6 still has some lessons for you that you could learn on the cheap there. If you don't find them, again I'll let others elaborate if they want to, but...maybe that's a sign your vision is not acute enough yet and your game could use more refinement before you take too many risks?

None of my business and I don't mean to be negative. But there are an awful lot of people who say there's a big difference between 2/4 and 3/6, and zipping from 2/4 quickly to 5/10 sounds very dangerous.

[TimM]

They start to tighten up a bit as you go up:

<font class="small">Code:</font><hr /><pre>
Game ASF hands
Party 0.50/1 46.74 365
Party 1/2 34.94 2787
Party 2/4 37.42 23435
Party 3/6 32.62 24759
Party 5/10 28.72 29698
Party 10/20 27.32 1421
</pre><hr />

ASF is the Average Saw Flop percentage for the entire table. You can see there is a significant tightening from 2/4 to 3/6. I don't see any aggressiveness stats for entire tables in PT, but the pre-flop raising definitely goes up as well.

I also have to thank this site's posters and the 2+2 authors. I woke up Saturday morning and the first thing I saw was the clock which read exactly 10 20, and I thought hmmmm, good idea! Had two solid months of 5/10, now, new month, new limit. I had 200BB on site, so it's worth a shot, right? So on the first day, I break the 1K in one day barrier for the first time. /images/graemlins/grin.gif Dropped 200 today on day 2, which is nothing at this limit. Hope to be able to stick it out for the whole month and see how it goes...

[sin808]

Thanks for the stats. Everyone knows the games get tighter as you move up but not many give you something to quantify that statement with.
Though from what I've seen from watching games (along with those stats) it doesn't get significantly tougher until you hit 5/10.

OTH most of my time so far has been spent at .50/1 playing early weekday mornings...so even there 35% was about avg. Having recently swapped schedules at work I now play nights and weekends and it is sooo much softer it's unbelievable (bb/100 went from a little over 2 to well over 5 on 2 tables). Guess I should enjoy it while I still can /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[joker122]

Yeah, and I'd say the gap between 5/10 and 3/6 is larger than the one between 3/6 and 2/4.

[lacky]

the problem with the 3/6 to 5/10 move at party is IMO the 5/10 full games are lousy but the 6max games are pretty good. So, it's more learning a new game than just moving up. You might even want to move down to 1/2 6 max to start.

Steve

[Michael Davis]

If you are doing good scouting perhaps you're right. If you're just sitting down at tables and hoping they get good, as is sometimes necessary, there's no way 2-4 and 3-6 are the same. And, it seems to me that most people here are saying that.

That being said, if you are beating 2-4 for a healthy amount, you can probably beat 3-6, too. But you can probably hold your own in 15-30 as well, that doesn't mean the games are all that similar.

-Michael

[Nightwish]

The 5/10 at Party is significantly more aggressive than the 3/6. Be prepared for it.

[daveymck]

[ QUOTE ]
Yeah, and I'd say the gap between 5/10 and 3/6 is larger than the one between 3/6 and 2/4.

[/ QUOTE ]

I would agree with that, the better players are much better at 5/10 than 3/6.

I am finding the jackpot tables are a bit more looser and easier than the normal ones.

[sammy_g]

The 3/6 is definitely tighter than the 2/4. There is a difference. I don't know why people say there isn't.

I just moved up the the 5/10 6 max games and wished I had done it sooner. I was in the same situation as you: playing 2/4 with a bankroll for much bigger games. The 5/10 games can be very profitable, but they are much more aggressive. There are more swings.

At 5/10 6 max, it's tempting to loosen up a lot and go a bit aggro since the games are "shorthanded." Be careful about this. You should be playing like you would in a ring game when the first 4 players fold.

Good luck.

[adamstewart]

Thank you very much for your thoughtful reply.

You are right, my sample size is extremely small right now. I am not thinking of "skipping" $3/$6... merely possibly "trying" $5/$10 once or twice, just to check it out.

I by no means wish to pay more than I have to for the many lessons I've yet to learn.

Adam

[adamstewart]

[ QUOTE ]
At 5/10 6 max, it's tempting to loosen up a lot and go a bit aggro since the games are "shorthanded." Be careful about this. You should be playing like you would in a ring game when the first 4 players fold.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hey, thanks.... this sounds like great advice. To be honest, though, I don't know how likely I am to stick with 6 max... I truly feel that "my game" is limit, ring-game.

Adam

[sprmario]

I totally agree. I don't have a ton of hands at 3/6 but I notice the difference as well. You are much more likely to be playing 2 or 3 handed at the flop than in 2/4 where 4 or 5 to the flop is more the norm. I also see a lot less people hanging in there with total crap but it does happen occasionally.

3/6 is a lot more reminiscent of the 1/2 party full ring games. I wonder if anyone has 30k hands or so of 1/2 full ring data to compare the average % seeing the flop.

[ QUOTE ]
The 3/6 is definitely tighter than the 2/4. There is a difference. I don't know why people say there isn't.

[/ QUOTE ]

[adamstewart]

[ QUOTE ]
If you are doing good scouting perhaps you're right. If you're just sitting down at tables and hoping they get good, as is sometimes necessary, there's no way 2-4 and 3-6 are the same. And, it seems to me that most people here are saying that.

That being said, if you are beating 2-4 for a healthy amount, you can probably beat 3-6, too. But you can probably hold your own in 15-30 as well, that doesn't mean the games are all that similar.

-Michael

[/ QUOTE ]

When I think about it.... this is what I think I meant to say. Not that the $2/$4 and $3/$6 are no different, but that I am not forseeing a problem beating $3/$6.

$3/$6 is definitely tighter, and at times, more aggressive.

I think the key in your response is that, even though the games change as the limits increase, an already SOLID, WELL-KNOWLEDGED player can continue to beat the games (up to a certain point, which will vary from player to player).

I believe that by playing solid/tight/aggressive poker, making less mistakes than one's opponents, and taking advantage of the mistakes one's opponents make, that a player can continue to beat $3/$6 after progressing from $2/$4. (But that's the whole foundation for winning poker, isn't it...?)

Anyway, I've really enjoyed the discussion on this thread thus far.

Adam

[Blarg]

[ QUOTE ]
I wonder if anyone has 30k hands or so of 1/2 full ring data to compare the average % seeing the flop.



[/ QUOTE ]

Here are my ASF figures at 1/2, for which I have 26,391 hands, along with some others:

.50/1 = 1,249 hands = ASF 41.58
1/2 = 26,391 hands = ASF 38.43
1/2 6 max = 6,964 hands = ASF 55.32
1/2 6 max(new different database) = 9,397 hands = ASF 54.69
2/4 = 17,778 hands = ASF 37.62
3/6 = 1,759 hands = ASF 32.37

Same 5-point drop in ASF between 2/4 and 3/6 as the other ASF figures noted by the previous poster.