50c-$1 to $5-$10

[someday]

i want to improve my 6max play enough to hold my own in the party 5-10.

i tried the party 5 for a few thousand hands and got my ass handed to me. could not adjust properly.

not aggressive enough
then overly agressive.
over all terrible play.

my bank roll could handle the 5-10 game comfortably.
I however, could not and moved down to the 50c game, then $1-$2.

ive done reasonably well 2-3bb/100 but Id be interested in how 5-10 players would regard the lower limit 6max games. Are they a good training ground for the 5-10, or are the games so different that its not worthwile?

At this level i feel like im reduced to playing fit or fold poker the majority of the time.

No-one seems to fold.
All i can do is value bet like crazy.


i read that last coulpe of sentences back to myself and almost deleted the post altogether. Im not complaining about being in a game where nobody folds.....my concern is that im waisting my time playing this game with the thought of using the skills i learn there to take on the party 5 succesfully.

was thinking moving up through 1-2, 2-4, 3-6 6max in prep for the 5. any thoughts?

any input appreciated.

[Alobar]

There are posters who can tell you better than I, because to move up through the small stakes 6max limits means not doing it on party, and I havent played any 6max anywhere but party.

I can howerver say that the party 5/10 is a HUGE step up from the party 1/2. So much so that unless you have zero clue what to do 6max wise, its not worth your time. If you already have a grasp on starting hands and playing in the blinds, 1/2 wont do much to prepare you for 5/10.

I dunno if thats the case for you. But one thing is for sure, you sound unready to handle the psychological aspect of $5 and $10 bets (theres nothing wrong with that either), so time spent on like a stars 3/6 might be time well spent. But others who have played in those games should elaborate.

[Transference]

I've dabbled in 5/10 and done OK, but I dont have serious numbers so I might not be the type of poster you had in mind for a response. Anyway.

First and foremost don't bother with 5/10 unless you can think strictly in terms of big bets and small bets.

I'm squarely in the 1/2 6 has value for 5/10 camp but obviously it needs to be qualified. 1/2 just starts you on a very natural progression through the limits. Also, you will eventually encounter many different styles in 1/2. Use this limit to get comfortable handling tables with 2 or more LAGS, isolating maniacs and dealing with aggressive blind defenders.

2/4 and 3/6 just predictably get gradually more tight and aggressive, but the foundation is still the same, adapt adapt adapt. I also reccomend throwing in some paradise 5 max hands and some short handed 10max games.

If you really like rakeback like me youll find the shorthanded full games can be very profitable but also very challenging. Its very hard work constnatly moving, quickly adjusting when the game fills up and dealing with thin reads, but these games have definately helped me mature as a player.

My experience is that the biggest jump is terms of general playing style is from 2/4 to 3/6.

Finally the 5/10 and even 10/20 SH posts can definately improve your lower limit game, just be prepared to constantly evaluate if you need to translate advice to adapt to your current level and why.

[Silverback]

I think $1/$2 can be a great training ground for any limit,

Theres such a wide variety of games, you can test your game in the overly tight games and also the opposite big pot games, with multiple fish and LAGS, so you can learn to play against all players.

Theres fish and LAGS, good and bad LAGS at all limits, bad players at all limits, so you can get a feel for all.

Id also recommend climbing the limits via other sites, and or playing in short full games, the jump to $5/$10 is a big one and ideally you need to be mentally prepared to handle a decent downswing -300bb, and or have a bankroll of 600bb

[helpmeout]

Poker is poker if you know how to play it doesnt matter whether you play 6max, HU or ring.

Playing low limit 6max is like playing low limit ring it only really prepares you for the next step up.

I assume you are a winning 3/6 player? if so dont waste your time playing in lower games.

6max is just common sense poker, those who struggle really werent poker players in the first place.

-If you struggle, then learn how to play poker, read books etc.

[Silverback]

[ QUOTE ]
common sense poker

[/ QUOTE ]

6 max can be hugely aggressive and alot of what you see does not make any sense to a full ring player, who get raised out of all drawing hands when some players hit any pair etc etc

shorthanded poker doesnt feature indepth in any books.

[helpmeout]

$5/10 isnt hugely aggressive.

Much of the play is common sense. Doesnt take a genius to realise that much worse hands are expected to win(compared to ring) and 1 pair headsup is a good hand.

Shorthand isnt indepth in books but poker is and thats all you need to know.

Experience makes up the rest.

[Ray Of Light]

Once you hit $5/$10, the game is the same, with loads of 'seeing the flop 50% or more of the time' fishes to feed on.

But now that the game is shorthanded, you have little room for making mistakes. Thats why your postflop game shorthanded, has to be good.

So when you say that your game play overall was terrible, and you were 'reduced to playing fit or fold', my advice is that you go back to the full ring game and focus on working your way up to $3/$6 there, first.

Three areas that you need to have solid before hitting the $5/$10 6max games are:

Preflop isolation plays... Are you able to work out when to re-raise with QJo and when you need to muck it? Finding fish is one thing, isolating them preflop is a big key to $5/$10 6max success.

Blinds defense/stealing... You need to know how to steal and defend. If you don't have clue how to do this, then you are going to bleed chips from the blinds, and find yourself barely breaking even.

Heads Up play... Do you know what to do when you have missed overcards and your opponent is most likely holding a small pair? Or they hold a draw? Or they are betting with Ace high hoping to push you off your hand?

In full ring games, you can simply stick to ABC poker and be profitable, and to a large extent, you can do the same with $5/$10 6max but your player reads at this level start to become very important.

No-one seems to fold.
All i can do is value bet like crazy

Semi-bluff/Bluff less against players who are unlikely to fold.

[helpmeout]

You dont need to isolate to beat 5/10.

Isolation plays work much better at higher limits because people generally play much tighter and there is also only 1 very weak player not 5.

To beat 5/10 you only need to play solid poker.

Good preflop strategy, hand reading, pot odds, value betting, good post flop skills, protecting weak made hands, blind stealing and defense, table selection.

Pretty much what you need to beat $2/$4 and $3/$6 full except that you have to adapt to playing weaker hands.

[Wynton]

I've played some Party 1/2 and a little 5/10 there, but mostly stars 2/4 and 3/6. In my limited experience, I found significant differences between the games.

This does not mean that 1/2 is not good training for other limits. At the least, you get a feel for what types of hands win at showdown and are playable. But I think it is important that, as you move up, you keep reevaluating what works.