Tough games in $.5/$1????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello everyone,

I am a new 2+2 reader and first post i am putting up has nothing to do with discussing hands. I have started to play poker a few months ago, and after reading few books and some analysis of my game i really improved my game so much that eventually i could beat .25/.5 games in all online card rooms. Recently i reached 400 times the BB of the next limit level and moved up to .5/1 dollar games. For the last week i've been loosing quite much and had to move back to .25/.50 again. I wonder if anyone have realized the difference within these games or is it just a short term coincidence. All tables i sat to was very tough, mostly playing 2 or 3 handed, and was very aggressive. I had so far have only such experience at this one online cardroom ( i dont know if i can say names, but i rather won't) and it was really depressing. I am tracking my game in Pokertracker and my game was decent. Of course, there were few hands i now would play differently, but still is it possible games .5/1 and up are so tough? Especially makes me wonder since all the books write that games till 3/6 are very easily beatable. I am asking for your experience that you can share for my future expectation. Thanks a lot in advance

[benkath1]

Keep reading.

I have noticed the same thing. And they get tougher still on 1/2. I think the games mentioned in books are live games with drunk tourists and not online.

[milesdyson]

GOD DAMN IT STOP COMPLAINING

edit: i'm sorry. /images/graemlins/frown.gif

haha, I am just stating a fact. 0.25/0.5 is a lot easier. 5-6 people to every flop etc.

[AngelicPenguin]

Have you tried party's .5/1? There are more than 2 or 3 to the flop there. If not, pick a different table.

[stuartharris]

Vassy, like you I'm still struggling with .5/1.00 (at UB), where I'm constantly missing flops with two big cards against 1-3 opponents. In such circumstances, I think we absolutely must study our opponents to know just how likely we are to be ahead and how our opponents will respond to our aggression.

[bottomset]

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GOD DAMN IT STOP COMPLAINING



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F.Y.P

um the games aren't hard, you are running bad, or not playing good enough, not sure which, but complaining about the toughness of games, I doubt are tough isn't gonna accomplish anything

I haven't played .5/1 outside of 2+2games in a few months, but they were supersoft back then, and I'm pretty sure they are soft now(though maybe a little tougher)

[CourtJester]

learn 6m, there are more fish there...

[BlackRain]

.50/1 are very soft everywhere on the net. If there are only 2 or 3 to the flop, you are picking the wrong tables. And %90 should have at least 4 seeing the flop on average. So you really need to work on this.

Other than that, it may be leaks in your game. Simple nut peddling can destroy these games. You may want to post some of your stats, or hands for us to look at.

Thank you for your notes, now that everyone i see mentioning sites, i play at Pokerstars and feel the games tough after the .25/.5, guess that should not be a surprise, just by reading the books SSH, TOP, etc. , but especially SSH claims these games are juicy. For the last 8 games they werent and i tried to switch tables too during my sessions.

Ok, enough of the BS i put up some stats on myself:

9995 hands so far. VP$IP 22.39% , went to showdown 37.85%, won ; PF raise 7.33%; BB/100 = 5.7

Since i played out of all hands only 700 hands in .5/1 i cannot make huge assumptions. But the games are definitely packed with more aggression.

Also most of my losses came from playing overcards. I will pick few and post them here, on asking some advice.

Others may be more qualified to comment on your stats, but you're definitely playing too many hands (especially for playing on tight tables) and you're not raising preflop enough (again, especially for tight tables). You've based your play around extremely loose tables, and you'll need to both tighten it up a notch and push your edges more.

This is precisely when you should start reading "Small Stakes Hold'em." Overcards can be tricky. There are times to play them aggressively and times to drop them like they're made of plutonium. SSHE has some guidelines on when to do which.

.5/1 was the place where I've done most of my learning (so far - I'm at 1/2 now and making more adjustments). It was up and down for a while, but over time the lightbulbs went on and I was able to recognize where I was leaking.

You might try Party or Empire, but the games at Stars aren't all that bad. If a really soft table is the only thing that will save you, try Paradise, but you'll have to put up with a lot of crap in return for the softness. I think Stars is a great place to play while you're still learning.

[numeri]

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Since i played out of all hands only 700 hands in .5/1 i cannot make huge assumptions. But the games are definitely packed with more aggression.

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I know others will probably rail on this, but honestly - a 700 hand downswing is absolutely nothing. It might be the toughness of the game, it might be simply bad cards, or you might not be as good as you think you are. (In reality, it's probably all of the above.)

[benkath1]

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Since i played out of all hands only 700 hands in .5/1 i cannot make huge assumptions. But the games are definitely packed with more aggression.


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Sounds like you're not used to losing larger amounts. 700 hands?? Come on. You'll get used to it in time. If you are playing on stars, move over to party. With monthly reloads, there's really no reason not to.

[MrWookie47]

OK, this is the second post on the front page that's complaining about this topic, and this one is getting locked too.

Party isn't rigged.
There are still plenty of bad players.
There are lots of examples of people on these forums who are able to beat any given limit.