Should I move to Stars?

[Iamafish]

Whats up?

I currently play at pokerroom. Lately I had to cash out most of my bankroll due to insufficient funds for other things.

My question is...pokerroom (and PP) has to many crazy players at the $5-10 SnG level.

Would it be a good idea to switch to Stars, arent the players a bit smarter there?

Thanks

[lorinda]

No it wouldn't because they are.

Lori

[wiggs73]

I also play at pokerroom and find the 5s and 10s to be very easy to beat. I have a more difficult time at PP because of the blind structure, or more accurately, my inability to adjust to it.

Not trying to be a jackass but if you can't beat the 5+.50s at pokerroom you likely have several serious flaws in your game and should read as much on here and post as many hands as you can. These games shouldn't be difficult.

[Sidekick]

[ QUOTE ]
My question is...pokerroom (and PP) has to many crazy players at the $5-10 SnG level.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is called 'dead money' and it is what makes poker profitable for you. The fewer crazies that are in a game the more difficult it is to win money.

A lot of players (myself included even six months back) feel that if they didn't have the erratic/loose/maniac/etc. players in the game, then they could do better because their opponents would respect their raises/play smarter/not crack their pairs with garbage hands/etc. The facts are that this is where your easiest money comes from over the long term.

While the players at Poker Stars might be slightly better overall, you want your opponents to be as bad as possible for you to make you the most money.

It's frustrating to get knocked out of 6 tournaments in a row when you get your chips into the pot as a 3-1 favorite or more, but those are the situations you want and you get them most often from the less experienced players.

Don't go looking for tougher competition thinking that it will improve your results.

[Big Limpin']

well said sidekick.

if you are having trouble with 5.50 and 11 tourneys, at pokerroom or elsewhere, the problem lies in your game.

It is likely you havent developed/refined the ability to get away from a hand. People ARE drawing at you more in lower buyins, so the trick is to charge them to do it, but not pay them off when their hand improves. Concetrate on improving your "6th sence" for this kind of situation (unexpected action from odd table positions)

[Iamafish]

Well thanks for the replies, but no.

I was thinking about stars only becuase there not as friggin stupid.

This is really strange. I guess Im having a huge swing right now if i cant win at 11's, You know loosing AK to A2, or AK to KJo. I lost 4 today, and got 3rd in one (basically lost).

I can beat the 22's and 33's, but the roll wont allow right now. Back to work I guess.

P.S. Anyone have any words of wisdom to boost my confidence back up.

[wiggs73]

[ QUOTE ]
i cant win at 11's

[/ QUOTE ]

and then...

[ QUOTE ]

I can beat the 22's and 33's, but the roll wont allow right now.

[/ QUOTE ]

This I don't get... I mean, seriously, if you can't beat the 11s, I am 99% sure you cannot beat higher levels. I used to buy into the theory that "oh they're so bad and always suck out on me. I can't against these terrible players." But think about it... players at this level are consistently puting their chips in pots with you when the odds are against them to win the hand. Over time, if you're decent, you should not only beat these levels but crush them. I don't know many people on here who will disagree with me.

So again I say, if you're having trouble at these levels, then you have a leak in your game. I'm not saying that you're a bad player, just that some parts of your game probably need fixing. I don't know anyone who can't say this about themselves. Post some hands on here and I'll gaurantee you get responses and if you can learn from them, start crushing the 11s.

[Iamafish]

Well you have to understand, I just started playing 11's about 3 days ago (becuase I cashed out). You cant just assume thing (be to much to get into detail).

Also I said I must be having a huge downsing, Ive never had one so its really hitting me hard, i guess thats it.

Thanks anyway.

EDIT:
Just checked my pokerroom stats:
Mixed $20 and $30 SnG's, played 16, got in the money in 12.

excluding empire, dont play there anymore.

[Wu36]

If you're going to use stats to back up your position, try to have more than 16 sngs played.

[jimymat]

check out the blind structures between the two. poker stars is better hands down for tight aggresive.

[bookish]

Where can someone find out the blind structures?
(without downloading the software, registering an a/c
depositing money and starting to play that is).

[Slim Pickens]

IMO, the key to beating low buy-ins is not pushing marginal edges. So you're a 60/40 favorite. Who cares? If you go all-in you'll be called by some idiot who has no idea he'll be out 60% of the time. The problem with that is you're out 40% of the time. You need to adjust for this and punish people when you're a 80/20 favorite.


[ QUOTE ]
P.S. Anyone have any words of wisdom to boost my confidence back up.

[/ QUOTE ]
The next time you get all-in with AKs against A6o and actually win, you'll feel great.

Slim

[wiggs73]

[ QUOTE ]
Mixed $20 and $30 SnG's, played 16

[/ QUOTE ]
Ok, now play about 200 more and if your stats are still good, they'll actually be worth something. You must understand that 16 SNGs is an extremely small sample size. I'd say it is much more likely that you had a small, well-timed upswing when you started playing these than you are having a downswing now. You have to understand there are people on here who play 16 SNGs in a couple of hours. There are people on here who make a living through SNGs that have had a negative ROI over 16 SNGs (and more than that). 16 is just way too small of a sample size to matter.

This in mind, here are some things you might want to look out for at the $11 level that could be at least partially responsible for your losses.
1)Being too aggressive early when pots aren't significant.
2)Being too loose early, ie playing marginal hands from out of position in the 1st 3 levels of blinds.
3)Not being aggressive enough when there are between 6 and 4 people.

I can't really tell from the examples you gave what your problems are because they were very vague. That's why I asked that you post some hands. AK losing to A6 is bad when there is one card to come on a board that reads AJ84. It's bad when there are 2 cards to come on a board that reads AK3. However, if you got all your chips in pre-flop and blinds are 15-30, we just found a leak.

At pokerroom, at the 5s and 11s, you can almost fold your way to the bubble. I 3-table the 5s (which are even more reckless than the 11s) and have no trouble making the money. I imagine you put a lot of thought into each play at the 22s and 33s. At the 11s, just play ABC poker and you really should be fine.

[Iamafish]

I understand 16 is very little, and no it probably wont convince you.

And i cant prove anything from empire, but you have to understand, you cannot just assume.

And yes, I am TAG, but Ill LAG if im leader, and especially with 2-3 handed.

I think after I build up another roll, ill move to stars just to play againts those better people. I think Im a bit more interested in getting better than getting the money at this point, and Im glad.

Also I looked back at those games last night, and Im pretty sure the last 2 or 3 I was tilting (maybe even all of them!). There are several reasons why it happened, and what prevented me from realizing that it was happening.

I believe it was a great experience.

Thank you for your responses.