Is Party 1/2 6-max a worthwhile step?

[ddubois]

I normally play 3/6, or more recently 100NL, and am of course hoping someday to progress onwards to the reputed oasis that is 15/30. I am told the natural progression is 5/10 6 max, to prepare for the aggression levels at 15/30. As I am pretty bad at shorthanded play (and downright awful at SH NL), moving to 5/10 6 max is a step I am not at all ready for, despite my 500bb bankroll. I've been infrequently messing around in 1/2, but my intial impression is that this play isn't at all what I would expect at higher levels. I hear about SH aggression, but what I have seen at 1/2 are often passive players who coldcall any raise with any face and call down with any piece or sometimes even ace high. Clearly that's a beatable game; I just need to eliminate semi-bluffing, ensure all my draw bets will really be for value, and of course bet good/marginal hands for value more. But is learning to beat this kind of game basically a waste of time, or worse, would it create bad habits for the normal short-handed games I might eventually move up to?

[imitation]

Well I don't know if its useless and wouldn't say its pointless to learn how to beat a variety of different games textures. I mean bankroll considerations I aside why is it that we move up each level progressively, to gain experience. More on to the differences between 5/10 and 1/2, there are major differences in aggr and you will find yourself in much more HU situations.

Just hang out at these forums and read up as far as learning SH goes.

[Jeff W]

If you want to progress toward $5/$10 6-max and are more concerned with gaining experience than earn, then you might want to try playing on another site that offers 6-max games at the middle limits like Absolute and Ultimate Bet.

If you have the bankroll for $5/$10, then consider taking a shot at that level after preparing yourself by studying and watching some of the games. Set aside a portion of your bankroll(say $1,000) and then move down if you lose that money.

[sethypooh21]

I agree with the poster who said try limits between 1/2 and 5/10 at sites other than party. The UB 2/4 and 3/6 short games (and even 1/2) seem much more similar to the party 5/10 game then the 1/2 party game, which as one of the regulars posted a few weeks ago, is essentially a tedious exercise in value betting.

My own experience of crushing the party 1/2 game before getting a thorough ass whupping in my limited shot at 5/10 convinced me that I wasn't ready, and I'm glad that I started playing the UB 2/4, as I feel that I'm able to improve as a player while staying profitable. Another thing of note is that the pace of the games on UB are significantly faster then party, 100-110 hands/hour is not unheard of. Of course, on the flip side, game selection is often an issue, especially if you multi-table.

[turnipmonster]

my impressions of 5/10 6 as a relatively new player:

I have to say that the 5/10 6max is much more passive than I thought it was going to be. it will be more aggression on later streets than you are used to, but you should get a feel for that quickly. how you respond to that aggression is going to be a lot more player dependent. against certain people you absolutely must see a showdown and against certain people you can fold many hands.

what gives me the warm fuzzy feeling at the table is seeing my opponents make mistakes. if I am in a game where noone appears to be making any mistakes, I usually get up. at 5/10 6max, your opponents will make many, many mistakes. you will learn to shrug off some horrible beats also /images/graemlins/smile.gif. like everyone says swings can be huge in this game, but those swings are fine if it's people sucking out.

--turnipmonster

[sammy_g]

I was basically in your situation, and I decided to just take a shot at the 5/10 6 max. I'm glad I finally moved up. These games can be really profitable, particularly if you find the right tables.

Check out threads like this (http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=1081324&page=&view=&sb=5& o=&vc=1) to get a feel for what starting hands to play. Also, it's tempting to turn into a complete LAG because the games are short. Be careful about this. You still need to play tight/aggressive poker.

I haven't played the 1/2 6 max games much, so it's difficult to say how well they will prepare you for 5/10. That said, anyone who is beating the 3/6 games consistently should be able to beat the 5/10 6 max games with some adjustments.

Good luck!

[Grisgra]

[ QUOTE ]

what gives me the warm fuzzy feeling at the table is seeing my opponents make mistakes. if I am in a game where noone appears to be making any mistakes, I usually get up. at 5/10 6max, your opponents will make many, many mistakes. you will learn to shrug off some horrible beats also /images/graemlins/smile.gif.
--turnipmonster

[/ QUOTE ]

I absolutely agree. There are enough tricky people playing 5/10 (too damn many 2+2'ers!) that table selection is important. (Given, I'm not one of those 8-tabling gods of poker.) During peak hours, it is usually not too difficult to find a table where most of the people are making silly mistakes AND are playing fairly passively.

[Benjamin]

I wouldn't bother with Party 1/2. I'll agree that going to another site where 2/4 or 3/6 short games are offered is a good intermediate step. I've put in a lot of time at UB 2/4 and 3/6 and thought it was great preparation for Party 5/10. I also think that if you just follow this board for a couple of weeks and observe a Party 5/10 table while you play your usual 3/6 game then you would probably be ok going straight into 5/10 since you have the 500 BB bankroll.

Good luck.

B.