Skipping $1/2

[FourNickel]

A little backround. Read SSH. Started with $50 in party poker turned it into a little over $700 in 3 months playing .5/1, got real drunk one night and lost $300 in $1/2 max games. Back to $400. Studied SSH, got poker edge, and poker office and now im back up to $600 now in a month and am winning alot at a very good rate at .5/1. Very perdictable. Because of the lack of full ring games at 1/2 I am thinking of just playing .5/1 until I get to $1200 and then playing $2/4? I just dont want to get myself in over my head. Are the moves a lot more effective at 2/4, like protecting your hand, semi-bluff and check raising?

Any thoughts?
Anyone see a problem with this?

ps I never drink and play anymore

[toss]

You should definitely put in some time at 1/2, maybe go on a bonus whoring detour. You might also want to play the 1/2 (6-Max) since it improves your game a lot. I'm sure others will advise better detail

[iluzion]

1. lack of full ring games? sure theres alot more 6max, but theres enough full ring, you might have to sit in for 5 or 6 minutes, but hey its an excuse to datamine.

2. i highly recomend not skipping 1/2. while alot of people do it, im glad i didnt, ive learned alot here. sure you can read about position being HUGELY important, and all of that in SSHE, until you apply it, its a foreign concept. position is of little importance in .5/1, but at 1/2 its so very important.

3. learn your lessons cheaper.

[Greg J]

1/2 is fun for crushing weak tighties, which I find much more fun than the .5/1 game. You learn to steal blinds and open raise marginal hands in LP. Good stuff. But if you wanna skip 1/2 no one can stop you.

[zuluking]

I skipped 1/2 only putting in 3K hands at that level. But I'm the exception, not the rule. I don't recommend it to everyone because its a more aggressive game at 2/4.

[toss]

Instead of calling with offsuit trash they start 3-betting with it. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[iluzion]

by "not skipping" i mean dont go by with playing none of it, if you can beat it for 3k hands and feel confident enough, then to move is up to you. i know i am moving when i have the roll for 2/4, however many hands it takes me to get there.

[FishHooks]

Yea the 1/2 at party sucks, but I think it will definatly help my game. The most important thing to learn is how to handle the downswings. You dont want to go from the 8 dollar pots in .5/1 to the 40 dollar pots in 2/4, you might go on tilt easier and getting sucked out on a pot that much bigger might affect you psyhologically. Just a thought

[ArturiusX]

6-max is a great stepping stone, you learn how to deal with heads up situations a little more, how to exploit reads vs tighter players, and when to know you're beat.

[bd8802]

I am glad I did not skip 1/2. I think in 1/2 you are finally starting to see some of the SSHE concepts in action. Things like respecting an opponents raise, value betting and raising, stealing blinds, and most importantly the value of agression. Some of the players actually pay attention to how you are playing, and as a result you can use this to your advantage (but still enough people cold calling and generally playing bad poker to make it profitable).

I am not yet ready to jump up to 2/4 even though my bankroll can support it. I want to make sure I can beat this weak-tight (and sometimes very aggressive) that occurs in 1/2. After starting on a mildly big downswing I am not playing 2BB/100 winning poker after 5000 hands. The lessons I have learned while playing those 5000 hands have been huge. I think I am a better player as a result.

If you do skip 1/2, good luck. One less 2+2'er at my limit is not going to be something I will complain about. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

/bd

[SCfuji]

learn to beat the 1/2 6 max. after 2/4 and 3/6 the 5/10 6 max will probably be your next stepping stone and you want that experience, not to mention the help-comfortability the 1/2 6 max will give you when you find yourself in heads up situations in full ring games.

[NAU_Player]

hey fuji, do you advocate juming straight into 6max? if not, about how many hands/how comfortable with full ring should you be before making the transition (i just moved up to 1/2 - looking for advice)

[SCfuji]

id say have an extra 100bb so instead of the normal 300bb roll id want 400bb or 8 hundo. much greater variance at the 6 max games.

the two biggest differences in order are:

1) the aggression
2) the hand selection - due to your being one of the blinds 1/3 of the time (if the game is fully 6 handed).
i. experiment with blind stealing more
ii. experiment with blind defending more

im sure there are a lot more points to be talked about but you can start by looking for 1/2 6 max hands posted either in the micros or HUSH (head up short handed) forum. hands like top pair weak weak weak kicker and mid pair good kicker (you really do want a good kicker with your mid pairs) win a lot. same with AK/AQ unimproved. but you can test it out and try it for yourself. the 1/2 6 max is definitely worth stopping by.

[ArturiusX]

Also, 6 max, if played properly, can be insanely profitable.

2.5BB/100 is attainable if played correctly. Now take into account the extra 20 or so hands you play an hour at any table, and there's some big money to be made. Its a good way of padding your roll for 2/4 and gaining some useful knowledge. Just be prepared for the swings.

[einbert]

Just beat the 1/2. It's not that hard and a 4x jump in all betting sizes is going to be hard to get used to psychologically.

Seriously, you will evolve as a player faster and your bankroll will evolve faster too.

[SCfuji]

yeah you can also hit a nice fat 25k hand break even streak. 2.5bb/100 is very sustainable.

[toss]

Why isn't anyone mentioning the massive variance abd the 200 BB downswings? Get ready to go on a ride if you decide to play. But its well worth it.

[MrEngenic]

Is the variance bigger at 1/2 than 2/4? Is it tougher? I have played 15k hands at 1/2. I was up 150BB but now I am down 35 BB so I will go down to 0.5/1, gain some confidence and bonus whore before I move up again. I don't recognise the SSHE description at all at 1/2. Everyone is very tight and only occasionally are there very bad players.

[toss]

Thats because most of the crazy LAGS are at the shorthanded table at Party 1/2. Shorthanded play against maniacs equals raise-your-blood-pressure-variance.

[einbert]

[ QUOTE ]
Thats because most of the crazy LAGS are at the shorthanded table at Party 1/2. Shorthanded play against maniacs equals raise-your-blood-pressure-variance.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not to mention fill-your-wallet EV ^____^.

[tiltaholic]

linky (http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=micro&Number=1369978&fpart =1&PHPSESSID=)

You may find that useful.

Personally, I'm glad I didn't skip 1/2.
I feel I've learned a lot there.
And since I've started 2/4, I've been on a 10k hand breakeven stretch. I can't imagine what I would feel like if I wasn't already confident at 1/2, because I'm feeling pretty crappy about it.

[LuckyStrike]

I decided not to skip 1/2 full. While the adjustment has not gone smoothly (100 BB downswing right off the bat), I feel my rate of learning has skyrocketed since the switch. I've been sleepwalking my way through the micros until now. The games are tough but still beatable.

[HajiShirazu]

You really should play the 1/2 6max as the other posters have suggested. Most of the players are so bad that even if you just play your normal game you'll win money, and if you actually adjust you can crush the game for big winrates. Plus it is good experience for higher limits.

[waynethetrain]

Based on my experience moving from .50 - $1 to $1-$2 I would strongly recommend that you not skip any levels.

[DMBFan23]

[ QUOTE ]
Based on my experience moving from .50 - $1 to $1-$2 I would strongly recommend that you not skip any levels.

[/ QUOTE ]

also 1/2 6 max is good, read tiltaholic's link for more info

[FourNickel]

Based on your advise I have decided not to skip 1/2. If I can beat it I will build my bankroll faster. I plan on playing 1/2 full ring for maybe 10k hands to get my bankroll to handle the variance of the 1/2 six max games. Then work my way up to the 2/4 from there. Thanks for the advise.